..was a resounding success!!!!!
Unfortunately a practice we had scheduled for last Monday had to be called off because it was pouring rain. So we went into our first game with absolutely no idea what was going to happen.
I got everyone to show up a half hour early for today's game just so that we (me and my assistant coach) could get an idea of strengths and weaknesses and where to place the kids in the field.
We batted first and basically we "mercied" the other team. Our kids hit like champs. On the game balls there was a green logo. So, when I placed the ball on the T I got each kid in the proper stance and had the logo placed where they needed to hit it. I told them to keep their eye on the green "thing"...and not to look anywhere else through their whole swing. I told them that I wasn't worried how hard they hit it...just hit the green thing. Boy did that work well. Even the two girls on the team were hitting the ball into the outfield...not every time but almost. The coach on the other team eventually figured out what I was doing and he started to do it as well, which made it quite a bit tougher for our team in subsequent innings.
I don't know what the final score was...we really didn't bother with it, but I do know that all the kids got to hit, they all played in different positions in the field so everyone got a chance to be involved, and they all had a blast!! If we had kept score I'm fairly certain we would have won because we scored so many runs in the first two innings.
We had one injury, on the other team....he took a ground ball in the lip after one of my kids hit a hard grounder. The poor guy got up and ran straight over to his mother wailing. I checked him out after the game and he had a bit of a fat lip...but nothing serious. I told him he was tough and should be proud of his injury. He smiled at that one, so he was fine.
As far as the parents were concerned...they were great. They helped out when needed and obviously realised that we were going to give every kid a chance to play, so they were ALL very supportive. I got them all to come over after the game and join in on a cheer for the other team and then we all shook hands with the other players.
It was a whole lot of fun, I must admit.
We have a practice set for Monday evening and my assistant and I know exactly what we need to work on. These kids are going to be champs by the season end.
Here endeth the first report.
