Let's Play Ball!

It is that time of year once again. Daylight savings has sprung forward, cherry trees have blossomed and thousands of little leaguers hit the field. This year three of my boys are in Little League. This makes for a rather nightmarish scheduling problem. Forget about simulating a nuclear explosion. Try scheduling and arranging 3 practices and 6 games/week, drop offs, snacks, uniforms, batting gloves, baseball mitts, athletic cups (yes, the passage from T-ball to hardball) and pick ups. And that only includes the baseball activities. The boys still need to eat, go to school, practice piano, do homework, take baths, and hopefully get some sleep.

In our city of Palo Alto, we have a program called "Positive Coaching Alliance." It was initiated many years ago, after parents started becoming a danger to each other and the umpires. I think it is a really good thing, since it teaches parents and kids to respect the game of baseball and basically to "chill out." Most parents get it, but a handful long for the days of yelling and swearing from the stands. So far after two games, everyone is still enjoying the season.

I try as best as I can to get off of work early enough to catch some portion of their games. This year our oldest got to be the starting pitcher for the first game. He did a good job and, yes, made dad very proud. If any dad ever tells you that he just wants his kids to have fun playing sports - he's lying.