T-Ball on a Saturday

It was a beautiful weekend here in Alabama which was perfect for my very busy Saturday. I got up early Saturday morning and started on some laundry and cleaning and then headed out to the ball fields at Central School to watch Sydney play in her first t-ball game of the season. 

She is playing on a team called the Grasshoppers and their uniforms are grey pants with orange shirts and a grasshopper on the front. The little players have their name and numbers on the back of their jerseys. The team is composed of both boys and girls. I'm not sure of the age range on the team, but I would venture to guess four and five year olds. There are a couple of kids on her team that are super tiny and they all look adorable in their uniforms. 

The game started at 8:30 a.m. (first game of the day) which is perfect in my opinion - it's not too warm out and you can get the game out of the way and then get on with your day. I got to the ball park about 8:20 and found the field and my aunt, her boyfriend and my cousin. They all had Grasshopper shirts on as did a lot of the other parents and grandparents. I guess this is the thing to do these days because that certainly wasn't the case when Justin and I played. The Grasshoppers were playing the Lemonaders. Some of the names of these t-ball teams are quite funny, but also very fitting for preschoolers. 

Sydney was playing catcher and her team took the field first. Apparently in t-ball the catcher stands in a circle over to the side and behind home plate and then can move when the ball is in play or when home needs to be covered. Justin and I never played t-ball so I don't know if this is a newer rule or has always been the case. Sydney also wore a helmet while standing in her circle which is a good idea - even major league catchers wear a helmet. As she took the field she saw me in the stands and yelled out and waved, it was cute. 

The Lemonaders scored one run in the first inning and then it was time for the Grasshoppers to bat. The Grasshoppers scored five runs (there is a five-run rule) and then it was back to the field. Apparently Sydney's coach told her not to move out of the circle (we found out later) because when the ball was in play or she should have covered home, she didn't move a muscle. My aunt and I were yelling at her to move and get the ball but she wouldn't move a muscle and then got embarrassed because we were yelling at her and hung her head down. This brought me back to a conversation I had with my friend Ryan when I was in college. He said, "Please promise me you won't be one of those crazy moms that yell at their kids all the time during games." Well, I don't have any kids, but something tells me if I did I would be breaking that promise. I have a tendency to get a little crazy at times. I even wanted to yell at the kids I didn't know to hustle on down the first base line; some of those kids were just taking their sweet time. 

In the end, the Grasshoppers won about 15-11 or something along those lines and they got seven outs during the game which I think is pretty impressive for a group of kids that young. They all looked like they were having fun and that's what's most important. I loved it when the kids would see a parent or grandparent in the stands and wave at them. Sydney had a great time and looked adorable in her uniform. I'm looking forward to seeing her play again before the season is out. It's sure to provide an hour of good clean fun!