Monday, July 30, 2012

Tournament

Our Saturday was filled to the brim with baseball. Gavin played in his first tournament and though he was a bit heartbroken at the end, it was a good experience.All of the boys played really well and Coach Monte was really impressed with all of them.

The day started for us at 10 AM, which was a good thing for me. I don't think it matters what time we get going in the morning, it's difficult to be anywhere early in the day, especially for something like this. Our van looked like we were going out of town for a long weekend. Between the huge equipment bag, chairs, cooler and everything else that we "needed", the car was so full we had to squeeze in.

It took about 3 minutes for Benett to be fed up with sitting at a boring ball field with nothing to do. He started to whine about being hot and thirsty and hungry and three... just when I thought he'd settle in and enjoy his new surroundings, he had to go potty. Let me just say that I'm glad he had to go early in the day because I don't think I could stand being inside one of those port-o-potty things after it had been baking in the sun for a few hours. Gross.

We made it through the first game. The boys scored 26 runs, crushing their opponent. It was a great win for them, giving them a nice dose of confidence for the rest of the day.

Game two was at a different field, so we packed the car back up and loaded everyone in (plus two additional boys and Grandma B) to head to the next field. The second field had a playground so Benett and Elle were in heaven. They ran and played, checking back in with me every few minutes... each time being a little sweatier (and dirtier) than the time before.

The second game didn't turn out as well as the first. The boys gave up 7 runs in the third inning and just couldn't take the lead back. That game did them in... so even though they played two more games later in the day, and won each... scoring more than 20 runs in each of those games, the boys went home empty handed. Gavin was crushed. I asked to take his picture after the game and I didn't realize until after I snapped the shot that his chin was quivering. He was such a good sport all day. Gearing up to catch for all but one game, in the warm and dusty conditions... even posing for a picture for mom when he could barely keep it together... That picture breaks my heart, but it says so much about Gavin.

He's a great kid. Even though they didn't accomplish what they wanted to, the day was a great experience. I think this will really propel him to work hard for next season. He's got the potential to be a talented ball player, if he wants to do that.

The littles made it through the day too. They found lots of little friends to play with and entertained themselves really well. The team parents stuck together for the most part, so all of the little people took advantage of all the familiar faces, moving from family to family to graze on snacks.

By the end of the day Benett was sweaty but very content. He met a little friend that we promised could come over to play sometime this summer. He's never really asked to have a friend over before... It was cute to see him so excited about his new friend.

Our day ended at 6:30 when we packed up the car to head for home. Ellie looked like she'd been playing in the dirt since the moment we arrived. I think she was asleep within 2 minutes... I could have done the same thing.

Yesterday was a recovery day. I was so happy to wake up and find it was raining. We needed an excuse to stay inside, at least for a while.

Gavin has shook off the disappointment and is on to the next thing today. I think us adults can learn a thing or two from these resilient kids.

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