Tball

One of my favorite memories from my childhood was playing organized sports. I first started playing soccer when I was five, then picked up softball and played both sports until I was in the sixth grade. I played soccer for one more season and then chose to pursue school sports. I started playing volleyball and basketball for my middle school when I was in the seventh grade. I loved playing sports so much and had a passion for it. I continued with volleyball and basketball through ninth grade and then my sophomore year, I decided volleyball was too "girly" for me (you know, the tight pants/swim suit bottoms and all the cheering) , so I continued with basketball and then that same year, my high school got a soccer team. I continued with those two sports all through high school and then decided to focus on basketball, so I committed to play for a small, local college for two years. After playing two years of ball, I transferred to Texas A&M, and I felt like my years of competing were over, so I decided to focus on academics and finding a mate ;-). However, while I was at Texas A&M, I played intramural sports: soccer, softball, indoor soccer, basketball and flag football, I just couldn't stop.

I love competing and the world of sports, so before we even had kids, Jeff and I would talk about what playing sports would look like for our children. I remember getting so excited about the day and thought that it would never come for our first born to start playing. We thought age 5 was about a good age to start getting Joseph involved and see what he would become interested in and pursue his desires.

Just for fun, here is a picture of me when I was 5, playing for my first soccer team, the Kickers.

And here is my 5 year old at his first coach pitch/tball game.After talking with different parents about the different leagues and organizations they have here, we decided on a program called i9. We weren't interested in a program that was going to be all out, intense, "were in this to win it!" environment. We really wanted this to be a nice, positive introduction to the game, learn the rules, get a feel for what organized sports was about, and have a great time. One of the things that we love about this particular program is that the practices and games are all on Saturday morning. We didn't want Joseph to hate baseball and here we were going to two practices a week and games all weekend. We thought that might be a little miserable...for everyone involved. So this past Saturday morning, we all loaded up and headed to the field and watched and cheered for our little guy.

I was really nervous that he wouldn't even want to participate because he is my supersupersuperSUPER DUPER shy, timid child. The night before, we took all his equipment and went to the field where he was going to play. Joseph always does better if he knows what to expect. We prayed for him Friday night that he wouldn't be scared or afraid and then prayed again Saturday morning. We had a few whinny moments, but after talking to him, he really got it together and participated well.

We were so proud of him and we are looking forward to watching him blossom in the next six games.

We love you Joseph!