Garyn didn't act interested in playing sports much up until this past year; probably because we didn't talk about it being an option. He did have friends playing, though, and he never complained about not being on a team until recently. We started with soccer in the fall and then signed him up for Red Bank Dixie baseball this spring.
Garyn's team obviously was the Orioles. His soccer coach actually saw us at the try-outs day and picked Garyn since we knew him. We had some other kids from church on there we knew, too, but there were a lot of new faces we got to know.
Ansley wanted to be a part of the team, too.
The first couple games were a little stressful. Garyn's excitement wore off quickly when he didn't do well at bat. In fact, the first game he cried and I about did. I didn't know how to fix it for him! It was that realization that this was real life and he couldn't just keep trying at bat until he hit the ball like we do at home. He instead was out. At one point, it was my fault according to Garyn because his sunglasses were keeping him from seeing the ball. As you can see from this picture, we naturally posed him to hit right handed.
After that first game, Tyler got him out to practice with his helmet (which he had not done) and discovered that he did better left handed. Tyler hits left handed, as well as golfs left handed. They both write right handed, though. Sure enough, the next game he got a hit and was much happier! I never felt so excited about a hit in my life after!
(Playing second, he is the one with his hand on hip)
Out in the field, he was attentive but didn't know quite what to do. Besides messing with his hat some, he really paid attention to the batter. He (and most of his team) would try to get the ball no matter where it landed. This age was real entertaining to watch. Sometimes, they would actually fight over the ball in outfield! Tyler and the other coaches tried to instruct them but you know how much time it takes to teach young ones! Garyn would always get so upset, too, when he did something wrong especially if his daddy was the one correcting him. I fear he is going to be very competitive and has a Type A personality. There is nothing wrong with either of those, I just hope he doesn't always take things so hard. We are going to have to watch what we say and how we handle things, I guess.
(running the bases)
His team won some. Garyn usually based the success of the game on if they won or if he got a hit and was able to score. He was happy as long as one of the two happened. We enjoyed watching him grow throughout the season. It was amazing to see what he and his team did learn in the short time frame. They made a lot of progress in how they stand at bat, throw, and hit. Next year, I'm sure he'll have ups and downs still but I know I will be more prepared for the failures! Tyler, I feel, has learned he isn't coaching high school and they are going to respond differently to his coaching!
Here is a quick video of him getting a hit.
So Garyn is officially in the sports world now. He can't wait to play fall soccer again. And I officially have a "ball field bag" now. Many more years of that to come and I can't wait!
