TBall

Here in Salt Lake, you can play TBall if you are three.  In Montpelier, you had to wait until you were 5.  Upon hearing this news- little Ryan's screams of delight were heard for miles.  He was so excited for it.  He plays ball constantly- and if he doesn't actually have a ball- he pretends he does and he pretends to play ball.  It's really quite funny!

Last week, we went to the first team meeting.  Upon arrival, Ryan melted into my leg and became an extension of my own body.  He was terrified of the other kids and wouldn't even look at the coach.  If you don't already know- Ryan is painfully shy around people he doesn't know.  He makes the Cowardly Lion look like the Terminator.  

The coach was pretty sweet though and took it in stride.  He tried to get on Ryan's good side by giving him first pick of uniforms- and I ended up with a permanent indentation of Ryan's face on my thigh.  I grabbed the uniform and towed Ryan off the field for a little one on one.  

You have to know for this little one on one to make sense that Ryan absolutely idolizes the University of Utah men's basketball team.  He went to most of the games and has a big poster of all the players taped up next to his bed.  His favorite player was Josh "Jiggy" Watkins.  Jiggy is small, but super fast- I think Ryan identified with him because Ryan is small too and likes to think he's very fast.  Despite his speed and skill, Jiggy was suspended from the team because he broke the coaches rules too many times.  Keep all of this in mind as you read on.

I bent down and made Ryan look at me and I asked him, "Ryan- what do the Utes wear when they play basketball?"

"What?"

"What kind of shirts do the Utes wear when they play basketball?"

"Red or white jerseys"

"Right.  Red or white jerseys.  And why do they wear them?"

"So they know who's on their team."  

"Exactly.  If they wore whatever color they wanted- they wouldn't know who was on their team would they?"

"No."

"What color is the jersey your coach gave you?"

"Blue."

"What color is everybody else's jersey?"

At this point, Ryan paused to look around, then turned back to me and replied, "Blue."

"Is that because you guys are on the same team?"

"Yeah..."

"Will you put it on?"

Ryan nodded and allowed me to put his shirt on.  We went back to the field.  Where the coached was asking the kids to line up so he could start tossing the ball back and forth.  Ryan (shocker) wasn't having it.  So back off the field we went.  I squatted down next to my little Lambert and asked him who his favorite Ute player was.  

"Jiggy"

"Does Jiggy still play for the Utes?"

"Nope.  He got kicked off for not following the coaches rules."

"Do you want to get kicked off your Tball team?"

"NO!!"

"Well- Ryan, this team is just like the Utes.  If you can't follow the rules- then you can't play the game with the team."

"But mommy!!  I want to play baseball!!  Coach can't kick me off the team!"

"I don't want you kicked off either!  I want to watch you play- you are so good at it.  But the coach has made some rules for your team.  And right now, he wants you to go and line up with the other kids.  If you can't listen- then we'll have to go."

"I'll listen.  I don't want to get kicked off!'  

And off he ran.  Harsh?  Maybe.  Effective?  Definitely.  It's not that I want to be mean or anything- but what better forum for learning?  We drilled into the boys the importance of following your coaches rules when Jiggy was kicked off the Utes team, because of how much they looked up to Jiggy.  They didn't understand why he wasn't playing anymore- it was a good lesson because it showed that it didn't matter how good you are- you still have to play by the rules.  

Anyway- Ryan went to practice wearing his jersey and Tuesday he had his first game.  Which he showed up to wearing his jersey. 

 And he did fantastic.  He waited on the bench for his turn at bat, he hit the ball well each time he got up to bat and he sped around the bases.  It was amazing to watch.  He talked with the other players and listened attentively when his coach spoke- I was really proud of my little guy!  And he did pretty well in the outfield too- he made some good stops.  I'm excited for the rest of his games- mostly because of how happy he is out there on the field.  

Kate and Ty had a good time too- there was a huge swing/play set next to the field that kept them occupied for the entire time.  Woohoo!!