First Time On the Mound

I was not ready for this weekend - not at all. You see, we have been told since the beginning of this baseball season that we would play coach pitch tournaments up until the very last one and then we would play in a kid pitch tournament so the boys could see what they would be doing in the Fall. I was fine with that and had no problem with that. We were scheduled to play two tournaments this month, the first being coach pitch and the second kid pitch. Well fast forward to a week or so ago when they tell us we are going to play a kid pitch tournament this weekend. Wait, what???? I am not ready - I didn't realize the last tournament we played in June was our last coach pitch and don't think I absorbed it the way I should have. . . I have heard the horror stories of going from coach pitch to kid pitch . . .  I just wasn't ready!!!!!

But, who asked me, right???? I am just a mom who sits in the stands for every game not only rooting on my kid, but every other kid on the team. My opinion means jack . . . so, I suck it up and I show up yesterday to the field as nervous as can be. Will Casen have to pitch? Does he know what to do or how to act? I mean, I know he has been learning the signals from the paper coach gave them on Wednesday, but does he really know them???? 

The game is about to start and Shane informs me that Casen is pitching the second inning. Wait, what? Really, the second???? OMG. I am panicked. My stomach is nauseated. I take deep breaths . . . Luckily my sister and her family are here so she can video him while I take pictures. Probably not the best game for them to come to (which I fore warned her ahead of time). So we make it through the first inning. Casen hit the ball and got on base - awesome. Hitting off of a kid is different than hitting off his daddy who has been pitching to him during every game for the past several years. 

I am doing everything I can to learn this whole new set of rules. Bless these poor kids, they are trying to pitch for the very first time, deal with kids stealing bags behind their backs and figuring out how to try to pick them off without balking. It is so much all at once. I feel like when they start pitching, there shouldn't be stealing too. I mean, let the kids at least get the whole pitching thing down before you have kids stealing on them. But, again, who asked me???  

Time for the second inning. Casen walks out to the mound. I am a nervous wreck. He throws his warm up pitches, and they look ok. I am thinking he just might do ok. Deep breaths Casen, you got this. Deep breaths Melinda, you got this.

The top of the inning comes and goes and I will have you know, Casen did not let one kid score off of him, he didn't hit anyone (one of my fears) and he picked a kid off trying to steal second base. Woo Hoo!!!! I was one proud momma!!! Despite his great inning, we did end up losing the game. 

Stealing 3rd base

Stealing home

Now, the second game we played yesterday as well as the game we played today were down right painful. Unfortunately, we had to play the same team for both of the games and they are a 9U Elite team. They obviously have played kid pitch for a year and their coach was just a turd. You would think he could show some common courtesy since it is obvious this is all new for our kids, but heck no. He had his kids stealing bases before we could even get a pitch off the mound. I honestly can't remember our score yesterday against them, but today, it was 19-0. Just brutal.

But have no fear. Once our boys get the swing of all the new things that kid pitch entails, they are going to be a great team and I can't wait for Fall Ball.