Where to start...well Coach Joel planned on coaching and with the draft we weren't sure if we'd be on his team. Other parents have their kids "throw" tryouts but we couldn't ask Matt to do poorly and even if we would have, it's not in his nature. So when Coach Joel told us he got Matt we were excited. He was also able to get the boy's friend Cole too. So we were off to a great start with Joel, Doug and Dan coaching together again.
The first practice was...interesting. Some of our kids had never even played t-ball and here they were playing coach pitch! I would have bet that 3-4 of the 11 kids might not have hit the ball all year. The coaches worked hard! We lost the first game but never lost again! We were the league champions and even won the end-of-the-season tournament with Coach Joel and Caden out on vacation. These boys were amazing. Every one of them.
Our infield was unbelievable. Matt played first base and did an excellent job. Boy did that make me nervous all season! Just check out this picture...he's in the dirt, with his foot on the bag and throwing the ball!
This season I have so many wonderful moments to remember. First one is this...Matt barely catches the ball at first. He's reaching and grabs it and just as it hits his glove he takes off to make the play at home. He gets the runner out at home and the team goes crazy. This video is not great as I got too excited but you can see most of the play...
The other moment...big game against the Giants who were undefeated at the time. Our boys played almost perfect the entire game. It ends with Caden catching a pop fly and then tagging the runner who had already left the base. Matt runs to him and lifts him in the air. They knew this was a big game and they celebrated like they won the world series.
Towards the end of the season the boys were exhausted. Not to mention the stress of keeping up their winning streak. No stress by the coaches but by the boys themselves. They were determined. Our pitcher (he doesn't actually pitch - just plays the position) struggled a bit at the end of the season. At one point during the game Matt goes out to the mound. No one knows what he's saying but he talks to Julian for about 30 seconds. His arms are moving and he's dead serious. After the game I asked him what he was saying and he said, "I was just telling him that he has to pick the ball up with his hand, not his glove and get it to first." I have to say that I'm impressed that he knew that was the problem and took the initiative to do some coaching on his own!
And lastly, the last 2 games of the tournament we were behind going into the last inning. Matt was the winning run in both games. What are the odds? He was not afraid or nervous. He wanted to be up to bat, he wanted to whack that ball and he wanted to haul...bum around the bases to score. He knew his Dad was going to send him around no matter what and he loved it. He went crazy in both games when he slid home. That was pretty awesome to witness.
A few other cool things about this season...Matt hit lefty for the first time in a game. He actually went 4 for 5 from the left side. Once he hit it right to the first baseman and got out. The first few tries were just little dribblers to the shortstop but he got on base. By the last time he hit a decent ball in the outfield and got a double. Very exciting for him. Here's his first hit...
And here's his 5th try...
