I scribbled this down at the beginning of Alex's ballgame yesterday. Not sure why, other than the fact that sometimes I have to write stuff down.
Before each Saturday game, the kids have some sort of Skills test - one week it's catching ground balls, the next week it's batting straight down the middle (or within 6 feet on either side of the pitcher's mound). This week it was a relay of sorts, where the team would stand behind home plate (Alex's team) or second base (the "visiting" team), and the first kid would hold a ball and race around the bases and then hand the ball off to the next kid on his team. It's an eye/hand coordination thing, not a race. So Alex's team was lined up, and the other team was lined up, and then they were off and running. Some kids have short little legs and run with short strides, and others, like my beanstalk child, are longer and have greater reach. Overall the kids did well in this relay - I think there was only one collision where one kid was faster than the kid on the other team and caught up to him and they both crossed home plate together and crashed into the kid waiting for one of the balls. They're so cute.
Anyway, here are my scribbles, for whatever they're worth.
"...relay - Alex runs, long legged and effortless..."
"1st inning - (Alex is playing) 2nd base - Alex dances on the plate waiting for something to happen, for the ball and a runner to come his way...Glove up, foot on the base, energy held in check - barely - escaping in the tap of a foot, the swing of an arm. Eyes on the ball and the kid at bat...Another kid makes the out at second, but Alex isn't bothered that it wasn't him. He cheers - 3 houts - time to hit."
That's it. Anticlimactic, I know. I think it's just the dancing around on the plate that I love best. He LOVES the game, and is so fidgety at the beginning.
He got to be the catcher for one inning, which he seems to enjoy, although they had to stop briefly so he could shake the sand and dirt out of his helmet. He also played 2nd, left field, and first. He hit well, too - on base both times he was up and his second hit was a double. He was frustrated that he only got to bat twice. "They should have more innings!"
The season ends at the end of the month. He's not going to like that at all.
I liked the "long-legged and effortless" bit, myself-- images of lithe grace. Nice.
Posted by: roo | June 06, 2010 at 12:29 PM