Today Ella had her second "wee ball" game. Think tee ball for three year olds. It's a hoot. And I have to say it has me and Ronnie pretty excited. We both grew up playing sports. My entire childhood was basically spend playing softball. So getting up on Saturday mornings and piling into the car to go watch our child play ball is pretty fun!
So here is how wee ball works...they play with foam bats and tennis balls. Each child hits off the tee once each inning, and each hit is a homerun. While the kids run around the bases (believe me, it can take awhile: run the wrong direction, turn around, pause to walk awhile, run again, can I have a snack, woops wrong direction, turn around, stop to sniff some flowers, run some more, hey there's a bird, homerun!) the coach of the other teams rolls more balls into the field so each child has a ball to throw in. There are three innings, so the games are short, pefect for three year old attention spans.
Ella actually missed her first game because it was the day of Tara's wedding. The next Saturday we woke up to a monsoon, so that game was cancelled. So last week was the actual first game she was able to play in. We weren't sure how it would go. She seemed excited about wee ball, but you never know how she will react in the moment. She did great! They practice 20 minutes before each game. This gave her a chance to swing the bat a few times and figure out how to run around the bases (sort of). Before each game the kids repeat a pledge. I can't remember how it goes, but it's all about good sportsmanship. You get the idea. Then it was game time. Ella did really well! She hit the ball well and made huge progress running the bases from her first hit to her last. The first hit we basically had to guide her the entire way. By her last hit she ran fast around the bases by herself, and actually skipped over 2nd base but went back to touch it when she realized what she had done! Way to go! The funniest part was her fielding. When she would get a ball she would throw it back to the coach with this crazy wind up, underhand, fast pitch throw. We had never seen her do anything like that before, she had always thrown a ball the normal way, but for some reason she did this every single time. It was hilarious. When I tell people they usually say something about her being like Aunt Jamie...but Ella has never seen Jamie play softball or pitch! She was a baby Jamie's last softball season. I have no idea where this came from!
Today was her second game. She had the early game this morning and we actually had to wake her up to go. We literally put her in her clothes and put her in the car with a cup of water and a bag of cheerios. She did really well today. You could tell she hadn't been up long. Her patience in the field was definitely tried today, but she was tough and stayed out there. The team they played had more players than normal, so they spent more time in the field than they usually do. She did a good job throwing today, and after a little practice before the game she was back to throwing over handed again.
For the kids the best part of the games are the post-game snacks. We have a parent snack rotation for the games and the kids look forward to it throughout the game. It's what I use to keep Ella going, "Bat two more times and then you can have your snack!" I should also mention that I really like Ella's coach. She does a great job with the kids. She tries to show them the right way to do things but keeps it at a three year old level. Here are some pictures and a video!
So here is how wee ball works...they play with foam bats and tennis balls. Each child hits off the tee once each inning, and each hit is a homerun. While the kids run around the bases (believe me, it can take awhile: run the wrong direction, turn around, pause to walk awhile, run again, can I have a snack, woops wrong direction, turn around, stop to sniff some flowers, run some more, hey there's a bird, homerun!) the coach of the other teams rolls more balls into the field so each child has a ball to throw in. There are three innings, so the games are short, pefect for three year old attention spans.
Ella actually missed her first game because it was the day of Tara's wedding. The next Saturday we woke up to a monsoon, so that game was cancelled. So last week was the actual first game she was able to play in. We weren't sure how it would go. She seemed excited about wee ball, but you never know how she will react in the moment. She did great! They practice 20 minutes before each game. This gave her a chance to swing the bat a few times and figure out how to run around the bases (sort of). Before each game the kids repeat a pledge. I can't remember how it goes, but it's all about good sportsmanship. You get the idea. Then it was game time. Ella did really well! She hit the ball well and made huge progress running the bases from her first hit to her last. The first hit we basically had to guide her the entire way. By her last hit she ran fast around the bases by herself, and actually skipped over 2nd base but went back to touch it when she realized what she had done! Way to go! The funniest part was her fielding. When she would get a ball she would throw it back to the coach with this crazy wind up, underhand, fast pitch throw. We had never seen her do anything like that before, she had always thrown a ball the normal way, but for some reason she did this every single time. It was hilarious. When I tell people they usually say something about her being like Aunt Jamie...but Ella has never seen Jamie play softball or pitch! She was a baby Jamie's last softball season. I have no idea where this came from!
Today was her second game. She had the early game this morning and we actually had to wake her up to go. We literally put her in her clothes and put her in the car with a cup of water and a bag of cheerios. She did really well today. You could tell she hadn't been up long. Her patience in the field was definitely tried today, but she was tough and stayed out there. The team they played had more players than normal, so they spent more time in the field than they usually do. She did a good job throwing today, and after a little practice before the game she was back to throwing over handed again.
For the kids the best part of the games are the post-game snacks. We have a parent snack rotation for the games and the kids look forward to it throughout the game. It's what I use to keep Ella going, "Bat two more times and then you can have your snack!" I should also mention that I really like Ella's coach. She does a great job with the kids. She tries to show them the right way to do things but keeps it at a three year old level. Here are some pictures and a video!
About to play in her first wee ball game!
Run Ella Run!
Ella up to bat!
Fielding
Here is a video of Ella's last at-bat today! Check out the practice swing before the real swing!
No comments:
Post a Comment