Take me out to the Ball Game

This spring has been a rite of passage of sorts as Jackson "graduated" from rec baseball to pony league baseball. This is kind of a big deal as the team went from coach pitch to kid pitch, from never stealing to always stealing, from everyone hits to 3 outs and you're done, from 1 or 2 games/practices to 3 or 4 games/practices in a week, from not really keeping score to keeping score, from playing after school is out to playing before school is out, from parents cheering for everyone to parents yelling at everyone including their own kids and the coach, from letting the coach be the coach to the parents thinking they are the coach, from playing at the neighborhood park to playing all over mid-michigan.


Not only is he on a pony league but a pony league that travels. Not sure exactly how that happened. We had no idea until we got the schedule 4 days before the game saying our first game was in a town that I didn't even know existed and had to look up on a map. Only to discover that it was an hour away.

It has been a stretch for Jackson and if I am being honest for me too. His dad isn't his coach (for the first time), he doesn't know anyone on the team and practices are pretty intense. This is for-real baseball.

I discovered how for-real baseball this was at the first game as I sat their by myself (Jeff was coaching the girls soccer team back in Lansing and logistically couldn't get there) and listened to the dads scream and yell at the kids, the coach and the umpires. They (being the wanna-be dads living vicariously through their kids) decided that since the coaches weren't yelling at the kids they were going too. Seriously, this is a U12 team playing their very first game. For some of them it was the first time they had ever played this kind of baseball. Let's cut them some slack. Evidently I missed the memo that said this was for-real baseball with for-real consequences for not being perfect and not winning. Silly me, I thought it was for learning, for training and for fun.

I felt sorry for the coach's wife as she sat near me and had to listen the the "fans" insult her husband. At one point I even apologized to her for them. She said it wasn't a big deal because she knew her hubby was a big boy and could give as good as was given but if they messed with her kid- watch out. Not 2 minutes later they messed with my boy as he missed a ball. It took every ounce of strength in me to stay seated in my chair and not to rise up in righteous mom anger and help those dads know that the kid they just picked on was someone's son and not just an anonymous player.

All that aside it was kind of fun to watch for-real baseball. They steal, they slide and they actually hit the ball. There is a real winner and for this game it was us. The kids were delighted and Jackson was thrilled. Not only did he get on base, he stole a base AND he got to score too. I was glad I had been paying attention so I could at least re-hash the game with him on our hour ride home.


The jury is still out on how this rite of passage will affect Jackson (and me) but I think it is going to be good- stretching- but good.