A baseball player is born

Making the decision to enroll Camden in his first season of Little League wasn't an easy one. It wasn't surprising to anyone that I was hesitant, of course; after all, that's just kind of who I am. But Matt had his reservations too. I think that came as a surprise to everyone, as he's known to be the laid back one in our marriage-- not to mention the fact that he's a die hard baseball fan. Our concerns were the same though: was he too young? Were we rushing him into something he wasn't ready for?

I remember my stomach was in total knots at his first game. When he walked up to bat, I was holding my breath. And then he hit his first ball and joyfully ran to first base. I exhaled, and knew we had made the right decision. Not because he hit the ball-- that was just an added bonus-- but because it was so apparent how much he was enjoying himself out there.

Watching him play over the past season was such a fun experience. His team was downright bad-- they only won game the entire season-- but he loved every minute of it. Whenever he walked up to bat, he'd quickly scan the sidelines until he found me-- and then he'd smile, wave, and give me a thumbs up.

He matured so much during the season, too. On the first day of practice, he cried when the coach made all of the parents gather for a meeting, leaving the kids alone in the dugout. He was surrounded by unfamiliar faces, unsure where his dad went, and he was uncomfortable. As the season progressed, I watched as he joked and laughed with the other kids in the dugout. By the last game, he was one of the most talkative kids on the team.

I like what sports teach kids too. Of course, he learned a lot about being a part of a team. He learned about commitment-- we didn't miss a single game all season. And he learned that hard work pays off. Camden would often ask me to practice with him in the backyard after school. We played countless games of "zombie baseball" over the course of the season. His hitting, running, and fielding all improved noticeably by the end of the season.

He's disappointed that there's no more baseball until the spring. The silver lining, though, is that  Matt asked to manage a rookie team in the spring. I'm pretty certain that baseball is going to be part of our lives for the long haul.