SDLL is no joke. There are 6 different levels, and with the exception of T-ball, you have to go to a skills assessment day and then get drafted. The different levels are:
- Tee Ball: modified coach pitch and tee for beginning baseball players ages 4-6
- Rookie: beginning machine pitch for ages 6-8
- A: advance machine pitch for ages 7-9
- AA: beginning player pitch for ages 8-10
- AAA: advance player pitch for ages 9-11
- Majors: top level player pitch for ages 10-12
And after that you move to the summer league. Since Chad is in Tee ball age, we didn't have to worry about assessment day, which they kept rescheduling because of cold weather. One random day we got an e-mail from his coach saying, "Hey team! Here's our practice schedule. The first practice is tomorrow." Apparently they don't believe in advance notice for these things.
Practices are different days, different times and at different fields each week. I feel like they're trying to weed out the stupid people by keeping us on our toes. It's kind of annoying.
Nevertheless, Chad and I showed up for his very first practice:
The idea to bring a glove was a very last minute, "Oh, maybe we should do that" decision. It was a good thing we thought to bring it, because every one else had gloves, balls, bats and some even had their own batting helmets. Hey, we're new at this.
Here they are at their first practice. This was baseball 101, as in, "Guys, this is a ball." Our first practice was a bit football-esque. Everyone wants to field the ball, so they tackle it and steal it from each other and we have to keep shouting, "Same team, guys!"
I was kind of worried at first because a lot of the other kids were better throwers. But you wouldn't believe how much Chad has improved in a few weeks, just by having coaches who teach him the proper way to throw. There is one main coach and two assistant coaches. I think the main coach used to play baseball for UNC- at least he shows up to practice in a UNC baseball jersey. Maybe he's just a fanboy. One of the assistant coaches is a former pitcher who threw too many curve balls and needed shoulder surgery. (His kid will remind us of this every week, and tell everyone to never throw a curve ball, never ever.)
The first few practices were hysterical, with kids being distracted by bugs, the Astroturf, planes and random shouts of "I see a tornado!" (<-- there was no tornado.) Sometimes they would do base running practice and the whole team would intentionally fall down at every base. Chad got a reputation for running straight past first base and into the out field, while the coaches yelled at him to come back. One day he decided to just walk off the field and sit down by first base. Another day he put his glove on his head and tried to catch the ball with his hat. And if this sounds frustrating, pretty much every other kid out there is doing things like that too.
And here's his first batting practice!
The tee is there, but they only use it if they have to. It's kind of sad because some of the kids know who only get the tee if you can't hit the ball when it is pitched to you, and I'm trying to remind Chad that it really doesn't matter if they bring out the tee for you some days.
So far, it is a very friendly environment, and the coaches are not too hard on anyone, even when they make rookie mistakes. They get lots of high fives for everything.
Apparently there was some sort of hang-up with the uniforms, and it took forever for them to get the team names straightened out. We went from the Reds to the Cubs to the Angels to finally the Cardinals. The uniforms are pretty legit! We had to buy the pants and belts ourselves, and they supplied the jerseys, hats and socks. There was an SDLL Day at Dick's where everyone in the league got 20% off baseball equipment and uniform parts. When we registered, we got to submit our top three jersey numbers. Chad picked 5, 6 and 8. Someone else wanted 5, so he got 6.
After a month of practicing, we were ready for Opening Day!
SDLL doesn't mess around with Opening Day. Every single team from all the divisions shows up at the high school near us, first for pictures, and then for the Opening ceremonies.
Here is our team! Go Cardinals!
You may think that a coaches to kids ratio of 3:7 is unnecessary. Trust me, it is very necessary.
After pictures we all went over to the dugouts and they got ready to be announced. There are 4-5 teams in each division, and they introduce every team/player/coach and everyone runs out onto the field. It. took. forever. Worse than a graduation ceremony, because at least then you get to judge people by their footwear fashions. Plus it was fuh-reezing, with temperatures in the 40s and a wind advisory. They went from oldest players down to tell-ball, so we had a good hour to wait. The families hung around the third base line to get the best pictures, while Chad and his team played soccer with a large rock one of them found.
The MC was the guy from the Durham Bulls who does the mid-inning entertainments, and Wool E. Bull made an appearance. He gave all the players high fives as they ran past him, which was really fun.
The tee-ball Cardinals were the third to last team. Finally, they got to line-up
I love this picture! Theo ready to cheer on his big brother!
All the teams on the field together
And then they had to take a pledge! They all raised their hands and repeated after the MC a few lines about following the rules and having fun. And then they made the PARENTS take a pledge too! We had to repeat some poppycock that included, "I will respect the umpires decisions" and "I will praise good effort, win or lose."
Someone sang the National anthem, and they had a ceremonial first pitch thrown out. By then, we were sufficiently frozen, and the twins had eaten their weights in goldfish crackers, and we headed home just long enough to throw some peanut butter sandwiches in baggies and change diapers before heading back out to the very first game! We played the Cubs.
Getting ready for his first at bat!
Tee ball games last 4 innings, or 90 minutes, whichever comes first. I think maybe we hit the 90 minute warning today, because it seemed like they may have only played three innings. Or maybe I just lost track. Each inning goes for either 3 outs, or if 5 runs are scored. The coaches pitch to their own team (but one player from the defense stands near the coach to field the balls). When they're on the field, all the coaches are out there too, to remind them where to throw the balls. All hits are singles, but I don't know if that's a tee ball rule or just the way they played today. It's a good rule because there are a lot of fielding errors. I don't know if double plays are allowed or not- they tried one today but didn't get the second player out. Their batting order was determined by their uniform number.
That's Chad way out on second base.
Chad singled in every at bat he had (I think he batted 4 times.) He missed a chance for an out at second base, BUT he had a great play at home plate where he fielded the ball and raced towards home and got him out by half a second.
And here is his very first run!
(I hope that video works. YouTube wouldn't let me link it properly. If it doesn't work, try going here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw6QDDljSw8)
The Cardinals won the game, but I have no idea what the score was.
Their post-game meeting. CHad says his favorite part is batting, but his second favorite is when they all put their hands in and shout (1, 2, 3, CARDINALS!)
For all his reluctance back in January, Chad has LOVED tee ball. After his very first practice he was sad that he didn't get to go every day. He is already asking us if he can keep playing until he is on one of the big kid teams. I hope it stays fun and low pressure.
My only regret is that Noah's mom had the foresight to buy a Cardinal's shirt to wear to the games, and I didn't. Rest assured, I have one on the way so I can be a better fan. I figure I can wear it to the games and then after that use it for running so it's not like I'm cheating on the Red Sox by buying it. Who by the way, are not doing completely miserable yet this season.
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