More Coaching

I signed Patrick and Thomas up for baseball this year with Ogden Rec. After some weeks, I called in to find out if they were playing, and was told that Thomas's coach had not picked up his roster, and Patrick's team didn't have a coach yet. I found out from Thomas's den leader that the coach they had on the roster had his kids on another team coached by the father of one of Thomas's friends from school. After some more calls, we got Thomas (and all the other kids from school) on the team. They have played two games so far, and done pretty well. It's machine pitch again, and again, Thomas hit well in practice but not during games. He came off the last at-bat of the first game and broke into tears because he was the only one who did not hit the ball. The coach let me borrow his machine to help out, and the second game he managed to hit a few fouls, so he is improving.

I kept calling on Patrick's team, and kept being told he has no coach. At a week before the first game, I gave in and volunteered. I go down to Ogden Rec to pick up the equipment, roster, etc, and the guy tells me this is an established team, but the coach passed away from cancer. Oh, boy. At the first practice, though, they seem like a good group. The previous coach did a good job. Patrick and his friend Trey haven't played in a few years. With Trey you would have a hard time telling. Patrick can field pretty well, but had a lot of trouble batting. We worked with it all weekend, and in the game he hit a pop fly for a run to first (the opposing infield missed the catch). He's still not happy with his batting, so we are still working on it. Trey hit a home run with the bases loaded, so I think Patrick is trying to keep up with that. There are other kids on the team who have trouble batting, so he's not alone.

Soccer goes well for Patrick, as his team pretty much stomps on everyone else. The second game this spring season came with a surprise as my boss showed up. His son is was on the other team, with the same jersey number as Patrick. Interesting coincidence. The kid did well considering he has not played before.

Thomas's team, on the other hand, is struggling. Last game I had four players show up. I need seven to play. Try-outs are in a few weeks, so I am HOPING to get a viable team. Several of Thomas's friends have expressed interest, but only a few have played before.

End of Entry