Fathers and Sons are so alike

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . September 17, 2009 . 12:16PM

AJ is pitching this year. Fall season starts his first time to be eligible for kid-pitch. Last season, he played catcher often, even though he has a bum leg and was scared to death to catch at the beginning of the season. Why would a child who has a bad leg and a strong sense of fear subject himself to catching?

Simply because he wanted to be in the middle of the action.

Last season, AJ was in a team full of people who were excellent players. He rarely got to play infield, if ever, and some of the children on his team rarely spent time on the bench, whereas others spent quite a bit of time on the bench. They won a lot, but at what cost, I wonder?

The fall season is focused on learning. He gets to pitch, he gets to play infield and outfield equally and he sits the bench some, too. The other kids get to do things equally. I feel better about this system, even if kid-pitch is killing me with boredom.

The key that I want you to focus on here, is that AJ feels like he needs to be in the middle of things.

He comes by it honestly.

Early in the season, we had a scrimmage and the umpire needed to leave. Leon jumped up and stepped in. He almost got hit, but he also got to be in charge of the game and talk with authority to the coaches. He likes being in the middle of things, too. It’s one of the things that makes him a great attorney and an active parent.

Just for the record, umps don’t like heckling, even if it’s from their wives.