We have had about 4 weeks off. It has been nice, but very hectic with all the holiday activity. Rabbit picked up a new OF glove for Christmas and a few warm-up jackets. We are having fun getting it all broken in. The addition of the MLB Network on January 5th has our house buzzing with thoughts of baseball.
We had practice on Wednesday night. For the first time we are seeing some of the inherent drama of travel ball. Rabbit plays with the 10U (age 10 and under) group. The 11U group is splitting, and may be forced to play up a division in the 12U brackets to be sure they have enough players. This is not always a bad thing, but the way some players moved, and how and when it happened has left some parents interested in the future of having two separate 11U teams. It is very easy for me to be philosophical about it since I am not directly affected, but I do understand both sides. I try to remind myself that the boys are just 10 and 11. We try to stick with the 2 basic rules. First, are you having fun? Second, are you getting better? However, it is a large commitment, both in time and money and with a scarcity of both right now I want to be sure that we are in the best possible position.
Another thing that we are seeing is that some players are leaving the team for various reasons. Some want to only play Little League or Pony, some want to play other sports, some parents are unable to pay the fees in the current economy. This is making for a dynamic group of players. Not a problem at all, but it is clear that they play their best when they play consistently together.
Rabbit finished 2008 hitting a hair over .400 for Blue Wave (a monumental achievement given his past history) with two home runs and an on base percentage over .500. He is playing excellent defense and has great moments on the mound. And then he scares the heck out of everyone. Wow, he must be 10. We are very pleased with the coaching and the organization. Blue Wave was the right fit for us to get started with.
Looking forward: We have more Blue Wave, Little League, and OC Flyers to keep us busy from now until September. I have truly missed baseball over the past month. I scour the websites for Hot Stove information. I Tivo MLB Network shows for later. I am diseased. But that is not news to anyone who knows me.
Practice tonight and a tourney at the end of January. We will miss LL tryouts because we are out of town. We may miss the make-up date because of the Blue Wave tournament. I am OK with that. Little League will be the "fun stuff" this year. A chance to spend extra time with his friends. This is supposed to be fun after all.
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