Play Ball!

Sam has started playing softball this year.  She is playing machine pitch, something that I don’t even remember at that age.  Machine pitch is a wonderful thing because the kids actually have a  chance of hitting the ball when it is pitched.  I remember trying to hit the ball, when half the time it didn’t even make it across the plate.  Sam is one of the older kids on her team, and is also one of the smallest.  Of course what do you expect when her mother has always been the shortest, always!  I have sat and watched every game, rain or;  well it is Kodiak.  It is usually rain or rain.  But in all fairness they do call off the games when it is really raining.  I think they would still try to hold the games half the time if it was not for the fear of the kids sinking up to their eyeballs in the mud.  Yes, they play on a dirt, sand, and gravel field.  What happened to grass?  They do not call the game just for weather conditions, but more for field conditions.  Even with the ever changing Kodiak weather we have had a few beautiful days for games, but those days are rare.  

This past week Sam had four games on the schedule.   Friday’s game was canceled due to pouring rain all day long.   She and i both breathed a sigh of relief when the coach called to break the news.  She was looking forward to having her lifelong friend Dara spend the night and all the things they would do.  I was thankful to spend the night at home instead of  sitting on wet, cold, metal bleachers for an hour and a half.  For all her other games during the week, they went ahead as planned.   

  

Twice this week Coach Uriel had her play catcher.  He commented that she is the best catcher because she stays in position and stops the ball.  She looks pretty cute all garbed in the catchers mask, and padding.  She doesn’t like playing catcher because the ball hits her.  She doesn’t really complain to anyone but me, and I just point how well she stopped the ball with some part of her body, so I am sure she will continue to play catcher for a while to come.