Little League Thread

“OK, I thought I would start a separate thread. It could be that some of the major league baseball fans might not be interested in BowlderSon's or some other kids' exploits on the diamond. So here we kid baseball fans now have our own place!

So the official Little League season ended a couple weeks ago, but now Cameron is on a 9-year-old all-star team that will play in several tournaments through the summer, which will severely curtail our backpacking activities. I am one of two coaches, and the manager of Cam's LL team is the manager of this team. We entered a tourney that started on Saturday, so we only had a few practices together.

Our first game, the kids made a great comeback. We were down 7-0 after the first 2.5 innings, then 10-3 after 3.5. But we scored 5 in the 4th and 3 in the 5th to go ahead 11-10. The other guys got 2 in the 6th to pull ahead, but, with 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th, we got a double and a single to tie it up. Due to the 2-hour time limit, it ended in a tie.

Then we played late the same afternoon and completely sucked. The game ended in the bottom of the 4th due to the slaughter rule. Yesterday, we played OK, but got some terrible calls from the umps, so lost again. I think I can say that it was the first time in 2 years of coaching kids in games where they keep score that we lost a game because of bad calls by the umps.

Cam had a great weekend. He played a lot of catcher and was easily our best catcher, and probably one of the better ones in the whole tourney. He also did great at the plate. He got a 2-out clean single in the first game to bring home a run. Then, in the second game, he laid down a schweeeeeet bunt that would have scored our runner from third, but the kid didn't slide well and was tagged out. Cam went to 2nd on the play (without any help from the 1st base coach, whoever that might be - oops! It's me!). In the 3rd game, he struck out once, but on a good hard swing. When he faced the same hard-throwing kid in the final inning who had struck him out earlier, he got a nice line drive single to right to keep our desperation rally alive. He also made a great play to catch a popup out in front of the plate.

So we ended up in the "losers bracket" and we'll play Wednesday and maybe Thursday, maybe Friday. If we win that bracket, we would claim "3rd place."

It was very interesting to watch the other teams, coaches, and parents. All throughout the games, we would find things to laugh about, our players' parents would josh with us, we'd tease the kids to make them smile, do the wave in the dugout to ease the tension, and we'd always be smiling, enjoying ourselves (other than then occasional "Arrrgh!" on a bonehead play), while the other folks were way serious all the time. I just wanted to say "What's wrong with you people?!" Oh, well, we'll probably live longer and enjoy it more....”

“Well that's all well and good, but if it's cutting into the backpacking, man! I dunno...

My son's scouting may make it difficult for me to plan trips in the future.”

“Nice report bowlderman. Backpacking will always be there,,,the kids won't stay young forever.”

“Baesball has cut into my spring and summer backpacking as well. My son just graduated HS so I still have the college years to follow. They are young only once and I am savoring my time watching him. I plan on hitting the trails again come August.

As a proud papa I want to report my son is a State Champ after winning the Illinois Class A Hitting Derby two weeks ago.”

“Nice handle! Must be a pitcher!”

“My son used to play in a league too, Bowlder. I used to love to watch how some of the parents used to get so bent out of shape over a game. Some of them seemed so clueless as to how they are taking away from the kids' fun. And I used to love the scores (double digits against double digits)! Pitching duels!!!!”

“Last night we had a practice for over 2 hours. The kids really had fun practicing. Even when we had rules like making them do 5 pushups if they made a bad throw! They would kind of sheepishly drop down and I would count "One, two, two and a half, two and three quarters..." It's hard to do pushups when you're laughing! Then the manager said you have to do 5 pushups if you picked up a ball that was just laying on the ground with your glove instead of with your bare hand. Only 1 of the kids had to do that, but the manager had to do it five times - oops!

Next game is tomorrow night. I have a feeling the team is starting to gel, and get their confidence back. Should be fun!”

“Well, BowlderSon's all-star team was eliminated from the tourney last night. It was their first tourney of the summer, and they only had a few practices together before it started, so it was really just a chance to get some games under their belts and for us coaches to see who was best at what position, etc.

In last night's game, our hitting was weak, even though the opponent's pitching wasn't that good. We had good pitching and fielding in the final 3-4 innings, but made some bonehead plays in the first 2. Also, our starting pitcher fell apart in the first inning, which didn't help matters.

Our next tournament starts on 7/10, so we'll have an opportunity to practice some more, and we will likely play a couple of practice games against a team from a nearby city this weekend.”

“After an intense week of practices, the "Red" 9-year-olds (our city has 2 teams, red and blue) start another tourney tomorrow. Our first game is at 8:30 AM, so we'll find out if the boys are morning people. We play again at 2:30 PM against the "blue" team - too bad we have to face each other so early in the tourney. We play again Sunday at 11:30 to finish up the round robin part of the event - elimination play then begins on Tuesday.

Pitching is improving, but still has a ways to go. Hitting is still good, and was helped even more by a fun session at the local batting cages the other night. I was feeding some balls into the machine for a few minutes and caught a screaming line drive just below my belt - man did that ever hurt! Hopefully that kid will be able to get his hits without killing anyone this weekend!”

“So, what you're saying is; you got your balls smacked?

Good luck guys!”

“I coached youth baseball for 10 years. I really enjoyed working with the kids,...but the parents;...well that's another story. Most people don't know what coaches go through, even myself, until I started doing it. Parents don't understand all the time, effort, lost work time, having to alter personal time, etc. that coaches do to help the kids. I also know it dosen't matter if you come in first place or last place, there will be some parent complaining about your coaching. I now have a whole new respect for any person who volunteers to work with kids in any type of youth activity.
My own kids are about grown now, and I really miss their little league days, it seems like time just flew by. Enjoy every moment while you can.”

“I hear you on the time and parent issues, Mildbill. We've been heavily involved in Scouting for over 6 years now. I'd love to drop-kick some of the parents, if we didn't have to beg them to volunteer once in a while. Most of the parents think being a Scoutmaster or adult leader means you get paid. They don't understand that you pay to do this. At a troop/parent committee meeting last year, we were discussing money issues, and this idiot actually suggested the leaders take a pay cut. We all just stared at this guy. HPM is stepping down as Scoutmaster this week. It'll be hard to get less involved than we have been. It'll be strange to have so much more time to ourselves each week too. Not to mention HPM not gone every weekend on a Scouting trip or meeting of some sort.”

“Ha ha, Geezr! No, fortunately, the ball hit me right in the bladder. Still hurt like hell, though....

So BowlderSon's all-star team finally won a game yesterday - whew! We were beginning to think they'd be oh-for-this-summer. Worse yet, they were playing badly, not having fun, really dragging butt. They were just falling apart after making one little error instead of shaking it off and moving on. So the other coach gave 'em the ol' stubbed toe speech. "How does the rest of your body feel when you stub your toe? Lousy. So when you make a mistake and stomp around and let it bother you, you bring your teammates - the rest of the body - right down with you. Who wants to be the stubbed toe?" "Not me!!"

It seemed to work: the game wasn't completely error-free (only one gaffe by the first base coach), but they played great, stayed loose, had fun, and we all went for ice cream afterward. BowlderSon made a terrific throw to third base from the outfield to hold a runner to a double, caught a fly ball in center field, then threw out a runner at home (as catcher) who was trying to score on a wild pitch - it was a beautiful play!

The single elimination part of the tourney starts tomorrow for us. We play a team that we played in the previous tourney and could have beaten. If we win, we might play the other 9-year-old team from our city, who beat us on Saturday.”

“BowlderMan, Enjoy and cherish these years as much as you can. They pass quickly. My son just graduated HS and starts his college ball this fall. I RARELY miss a game.”

“I am indeed enjoying it, chin, almost as much watching the other kids as my son. It's amazing the plays that these kids can make - it makes it easy to forget they're only 9!”

“Thwack! That was the sound of the night last night at BowlderSon's game. Our hitters pounded the ball in the first inning, and got pounded, with two of our kids getting hit in the helmet with pitches. No harm done, and we scored 10 times. The other team refused to give in, though, and made it interesting by closing the gap at the end to 11-8.

A 2-game win streak! So we play again tomorrow, possibly against the other team from our city, who was in a struggle in their game when we left the fields last night.

Oh, the other "Thwack"...

Poor BowlderSon, who caught for the final 4 innings, took a foul ball, well, um, on a part of his equipment that made a thwacking sound. That would be the cup. While it certainly protected him from serious injury, it got his attention in a big way. After a few minutes of writhing on the ground, then deep breathing, then jogging around, he got back behind the plate and finished out the game. Whew!”

“That's why my nephew will never be a catcher.”

“nothing gets your attention like that does! I played catcher in Little League and Babe Ruth - you really learn the meaning of "trust your equipment" when the pitcher can throw over 65 mph!”

“Just found out that we'll play the other team from our city tomorrow. I was hoping we wouldn't, primarily because I just wanted the boys to get to play new teams, not the same old guys they already know. But also because our previous game against them was our worst game of the summer, so they might be a little uptight about it. But they are playing about 100 times better now than they were last Saturday when the "Blue" team shellacked us, so we'll probably do OK....”

“Just posted a few pics from the weekend games here (the 1st six are the most recent).”

“Hehe... looks like a pro in all that cather's gear Marty! Hopefully, you guys will get three in a row tonight!

I just recieved my nieces' baseball card with her final season stats for t-ball:

HR - 3
BA - .910
RBI - 21

Bats and throws Left. (A future Democrat!)

I think this was for only 4 games.”

“Wow, BB! That charts out to 122.5 homers over a 162-game season! Think of the endorsement contracts!”

“lol - I'm picturing her hitting in the 2 hole. Being a lefty, hitting for average with marginal power, she should solidify the top of the line-up.”

“Well, BowlderSon's team got swept in 3 games over the weekend. They played OK in the last 2 games, but lost anyway.

BowlderSon took one on the chin, literally. In our second game, the pitcher hit our leadoff hitter in the helmet on the first pitch. Two batters later, BowlderSon squared to bunt, then tried to duck when the pitch came straight for him. It grazed his chin, and he was lucky it didn't open up a cut. Unfortunately, the idiot umpire mistook the sound of ball-on-chin for ball-on-bat and called a foul ball. BowlderSon bravely got back in there and worked the pitcher for a walk. He then sacrificed himself on a double steal and we got a run home. When he came up his second time, one of the parents from the opposing team shouted "Pitch it inside!" Nice. Really nice. The other coach got a carefully worded email from me this morning suggesting that he have a little talk with the parents from his team. Takes a lot of guts to heckle an 8-year-old, huh....”

“Damn, that sucks BowlderMan. I think that the opposing team should have to forfeit the game when one of those idiot parents mouths off. Jeez they're just kids! Go heckle pro players, they're paid to take it!”

“I told BowlderSon if that ever happens again - some parent saying anything negative while he's batting - to call time out and come tell me (1st base coach), and I will deal with it.

We have another tourney this weekend, and we may play that team again....”

“OK, I'll be watching the headlines.

S.F. Man Drops Boulder On Heckling Parent”

“Hey, with my "skill," I should be able to get the parent and all of the coaches with one boulder!”

“Just like ninepins!”

“OK, tourney #4 for the Bad News Bears, uh, er, I mean BowlderSon's all-star team starts tonight! We were able to convince the tourney directors to let us play our game here in our city to avoid Friday getaway traffic, since we're playing the other team from our city anyway. We're going to have a big BBQ with both teams afterward. Tomorrow we play 2, then another on Sunday. Championship games will follow late Sunday afternoon. We'll probably make it home in time to mow the lawn!”

“Whew! Tournament #4 is in the books. BowlderSon's team went 1-3, and was never out of 2 of the 3 losses. They played really well, even with 2 extra kids we added at the last minute because 3 regulars were out of town. They really looked like a "team" over the weekend.

The game and BBQ Friday night was fun - it was great seeing the kids from both teams horsing around together after the game/dinner. We won Saturday morning, then lost big Saturday afternoon. Yesterday, we had one bad inning in the field, otherwise played the other team pretty much straight up. Our pitchers walked a total of one batter yesterday, and our fielders made two incredible diving catches. BowlderSon scored one of our 2 runs, and was solid behind the plate.

It was a fun tournament; nice people.

Next up is our own tournament in a couple weeks. We're giving the kids (and ourselves!) a break for a week before we start practicing again. I have a feeling everything's going to come together in the final tourney of the summer. We're just a couple of plays away from winning most of the games we've lost lately, and the kids know it - they're really upbeat because they know they're playing well.”

“very cool, Bowlderdude! congrats to your son. :-)”

“Thanks, lyra! You'll be pleased to know that one of the kids on the team is very good at making a face that looks like a monkey. BowlderGal was cheering for him yesterday: "You can do it, monkeyboy!"”

“now that's pure talent! :-)”

“Roger Clemens asked to leave son's game


I guess the other team just couldn't hit his 100mph splitter...”

“Believe it or not, it's that time of year already! Our league has "tryouts" starting tomorrow. Unfortunately, a gigantic storm is due in for the whole weekend, so most of the activities will likely get rained out. This will be my first year of participating in this, since I will be managing BowlderSon's team instead of just coaching - yikes! We watch all the kids, then there's a draft in a few weeks, then practices can start as early as the first week in February. I can hardly wait!

BTW, we installed the home plate in our back yard, and have about half of the pitcher's mound in. We need some more dirt....”

“Tonight is the draft for BowlderSon's Little League season. Of course, I automatically get him on my team, and I have a few other primo draftees I'm looking at (the ones with the nice parents!!). It's become a little stressful because the woman in charge of the thing and the guy in charge of maintaining the fields have become freakin' raving lunatics. I've never been part of an organization where volunteers like me were treated so poorly. Oh, well, I'll just stick to having fun with the baseball part of it and just ignore them....”

“Whew! Went through my first LL draft experience last night. Unlike the level above us, whose draft I went to watch the night before, our group was much more laid back, less serious, and went faster. I was able to draft a great team - got almost all the players I wanted. If we don't make the playoffs, it'll be because of monumentally crappy coaching! :-)”

“Well, so far, my draft picks are looking pretty good. We can't start practices just yet because we're still working on getting the fields in shape, so we went to the batting cages last night. Omigod! Somebody's gonna have to check these 8-9-10-year-olds for steroids! Our team last year was one of the best hitting teams in the league, but these kids make those kids look like a bunch of t-ballers. Holy cow, it was downright scary....

BTW, we had a blast, with lots of yee-haws, etc. from me and the other coach. The kids loved it!”

“Had our first practice yesterday afternoon. We held it on an indoor soccer field because the fields are all pretty soaked after 3 days of rain. It was great to finally get beyond the administrative crap and get out to hit and throw the ball around. Only 7 kids could show up (some conflicts, some sick), but they were awesome. Among other things, I threw them some fly balls, and we went through 4 rounds before any kid dropped one. I couldn't believe it! Batting cages tonight!”

“Is BowlderKid catching again?”

“Oh yeah! And he wants to try pitching this year, too. I'll have to post photos of the pitcher's mound and home plate I've installed in our back yard.”

“Wants to be a pitc,... Bowlder, how could you let him do a fool thing like that?”

“It's genetic: my dad pitched, I pitched, now it's BowlderSon's turn. I'm counting on the pitching skill having skipped a generation rather than having skipped all generations (Dad - bonus baby; me - sucked; BowlderSon - ??)....”

“Photos of our back yard pitching mound and home plate are posted!!! Just finished it today....

http://community.webshots.com/album/278526053CyUdWt”

“Latest photo of our "field of dreams":

http://community.webshots.com/photo/278526053/285695163rwMyKN

It's a composite, so the 1st base line looks a little crooked - I assure you it's straight. At least it was before it rained and washed the flour down into the soil....”

“Getting closer to our first game of the season - 2 weeks from today. The kids are doing great, other than all the stinkin' rain we've been having - grrrrrr. I'm already thinking about the batting order and fielding assignments - it's pretty mind boggling! We have a couple of excellent pitchers, and several other kids who will be decent pitchers at least. BowlderSon has a bit of a sore elbow, so I'm making sure he rests it. It should be fine within a day or two....

The night before our first game, we'll host the kids to a pizza party at our house to celebrate all their hard work in "spring training," and we'll watch The Rookie for some inspiration. Should be fun....
last edited: 3/06/05 9:42:44 PM”

“6 Days 'till our first game!!!

We had a 3-inning practice game yesterday, which went very well. Only a few glitches. BowlderSon pitched for the first time ever and did just fine. He walked one and struck out 3 in his one inning, benefiting from some kids swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. Not overpowering, but solid pitching for this age. Our defense was good - one kid made a diving catch in right field, and the only other fly ball to the outfield was an easy catch, too. Our shortstop made a nifty stop on a hard 1-hopper to his right, although the throw was late - more importantly, he froze the runner on third to keep him from scoring.

The excitement is building!!!”

“Argh! First game of the season postponed due to rain. So now our first game will be on Saturday....”

“Good luck!

My soccer practices (3 and 4 grade girls) starts on teh 29th. Games start April 9.”