On Saturday, April 20, Joshua played his first t-ball game. We got him dressed in his cleats and uniform. And since it was FREEZING cold that day (extremely windy), I insisted on him wearing a long-sleeve shirt underneath (black to go with his uniform). I was surprised at the amount of children with actual uniform pants on!
I looked on eBay for some pants with no success (for the price we wanted to pay) and at Walmart, which didn't sell the right color. So this past Saturday we went to yard sales. I found a pair of gray ones in a size small for .50 cents! I found another pair that were highly stained for another .50 cents (and why not for practice?). While gray is the correct color, I also bought a pair of black and white for .50 cents each (can't beat the price!). We also found a small bat for him (woohoo!) and a hard batting hat. It was a great successful trip! In fact, we also found some clothes for Joshua, too, and a couple other fun finds. :) :) :)
Here's a picture of Joshua listening to his coach's intructions. The kid who is in the middle next to Joshua (facing outward - the only real face you see) is the coach's older son, who helps with little brother's games. The coach's youngest son is Nick, who is in the other AM kindergarten class with Joshua. They get along well. There's also Abe, who really can swing hard at the ball, in the same class. And Masson joined Joshua's team late - he is in Joshua's class. The other kids are either from other schools or in preschool (you have to be 5-6 years old but not necessarily in kindergarten at Township).
Joshua's first position was third base. Daddy was proud and snapping away at pictures!
When the ball came to him, he 'alligator snapped' it into his glove and threw it to first base. He understood the concept of the game. (Many kids didn't know where to throw the ball once they got it, even with the coach's instructions).
Each 'inning' included every member batting once off the 'T' and taking one base. You couldn't steal bases or move further ahead. You could get out if you didn't reach first base before the first baseman got the ball. But, that happened very rarely as kids struggled to stop the ball and throw it and then catch it when it was thrown to them. It was adorable to watch!
But, Joshua did a really great job! You can tell he's one of the older ones on the team. He truly understood what was going on, which I think is half the battle of the game.
Then they got back to the bench for their turn to swing.
They waited to be called for their line up.
Coach Mike worked with Joshua on his swing. He's definitely a lefty!
Each time he hit the ball, he got to first base. The first one was close as his hit wasn't the greatest (but the kids in the outfield also struggled). The next two hits were solid, though!
He said he thinks it's harder to hit off a 't' than being pitched to. Shawn said he needs to stand back a little from the 't' to get a better swing. But, that will come with practice. We may go buy a 't' to give him some practice. We didn't find one of those at a yard sale (yet!).
Once he hits, he likes to twirl his bat (like he's a major leaguer) before throwing it to the ground. Shawn said he'd work with him on that, too (just getting rid of it rather than making a show!). Haaa!!!
He's running to first base...
There he goes...
He's on first waiting to advance to second. Some of the kids had no idea where to go after getting on first. They've been practicing but it doesn't always sink in for everyone. There's lots of confusion as they're learning, but this is a great spot for everyone to be learning. Joshua definitely understands bases. We've been playing a ton of kickball at home so he truly gets it. He was more anxious to keep running when he had the opportunity (but obeyed the instruction to stay at each base).
He's on second, waiting to go to third...
There he goes!
He's running to the next base...
He made it safely to third. The guy that helps the coaches on third base is always super nice to Joshua. He patted him on the head and told him what a great job he's doing. I believe he's one of the Dads of the other kids playing. But, Coach Chad and Coach Mike and this guy are all really great with the little guys.
He's on third base, eyeing up home plate.
And he heads home to score his first run! Shawn took video of him running home, so I'll have to upload that at some point. But, you get the idea!
Here's a picture of Mommy freezing as we watched the game. The boys are in their little baseball sweaters that Mamaw had sewn them (Ryan got his own too, now).
Then Caleb asked to take a picture:
And a couple more:
We took a picture of us, and Daddy sneaked in:
Joshua also got to play first base and then he got to play "pitcher." He saw some real action then, and he continually did a great job!!! Here are some shots of him getting the ball and throwing it to first, which is where it was to go:
In the picture below, he's behind the kid running as he's throwing it:
He batted a few more innings and played in the outfield a few more innings, etc. Nonie & Poppy came to the end of the game to see him bat once and then took the boys for the afternoon to their house. Shawn & I went out to lunch, ran some errands, ate dinner in Berks County and had a fun time without the boys (as much as we love them). We picked them up later that night, saw Jordon too, and the kids fell asleep in the minivan on the way home from sheer exhaustion. :) They all had a fun day!
Here's Caleb ready to go!
Here's Joshua on the bench, getting his glove and hat back on after he scored his run:
Here's our lucky number 13. He seems to enjoy the sport and his friends on the team. :) Do you see the one little boy on the right in this picture has the Giants orange shirt underneath and he also had the orange socks to go along with the uniform pants. He's tiny and cute as a button! :)
Here's Joshua excited in the outfield! He cheered for his team (and even cheered for his fellow team members when they were getting up to bat after the coach encouraged them to do so).
After the game, they all said "good game" to each other and gave high fives. Then we ran to get some warmth.
This past Saturday were team photos. I can't wait to get them back! This coming Saturday is the raffle drawing for those of you who purchased tickets. Hopefully we win something!
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