In the Running

Micah's baseball team finished the season in 1st place in our league. This past weekend they began playing in the city tournament and tonight is

THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.

Whoa.

I am constantly shocked by how seriously some people take t-ball. I mean, yeah, it's fun that he's in the tournament and it's pretty cool that they're in the championship game...BUT IT'S T-BALL, FOLKS. At these tournament games, there has been name calling, yelling insults AT THE KIDS, cursing, and to top it all off, the cops have been called out to the fields TWICE (that I know of). I mean, am I so off base (haha--no pun intended) by thinking that these people are taking this too seriously?

When I signed the boys up it was with the hope and expectation that they would learn about the game, how to play different positions, more about teamwork, how to run the bases, how to play their best at all times and to meet some new people. But above ALL of that, I wanted them to have fun. After the season started I realized I also want them to learn to have fun even when they aren't winning. I want them to learn that playing the game is fun, even if they lose sometimes. I want them to learn to be a good sport even when they lose.

While I realize that baseball is a competitive sport, I'm thinking that t-ball is not the place to put such an emphasis on winning. These are 5 and 6 year old boys who don't even understand all the parts of the game, do not have the mental capabilities for the analyzing and quick decision making that is necessary during play and have much shorter attention spans than the 2+ hours that they are out there. The entire game is filled with coaches, parents, other players shouting, yelling and screaming directions at the kids on the field to tell them what to do. And they get yelled at even more if they can't distinguish the right voice to listen to.

Personally, I'd much rather see them learning the game at this point and saving most of the competition for a level when they are able to really PLAY the game, not just follow directions from the loudest screamer.

But anyway. Tonight's the night...as long as it doesn't rain!