We are done with the baseball season this year. We had our last day party and it had to be moved to a school cafeteria because the final game was a washout. We had major storms pass through on two consecutive days, leaving behind a soggy mess in the fields. The party was good, the pizza, cupcakes and soda were devoured by the young team, and trophies were handed out. The team gifted the coaches autographed bats and balls and pictures were taken. End of season!
Half our team knows a little of what baseball is all about. They know that fielding is about going after the ball and getting a batter out. They know that pitching is an important part of the game and that a 'home run' is a big deal. The other half of the team just knows that you hit the ball with the bat, run to first base, then second, then third and then you romp home.
We have a pitcher for at least the past two years who is an incredible young man from a nearby High School. He has a sibling who has special needs. He comes out there for every game and changes his pitching according to the need of the player. We have a player who has very poor vision, but loves to play. The pitch to him is with loud verbal cues and ones that go close to his bat, another player is a hard hitter, to him the pitch is more like a regular pitch. He calls out to the batter by name and pitches, so the batter feels special and takes an interest in hitting the ball. I truly appreciate the spirit of young people like this who have their head on straight even in their teens.
The coaches do a wonderful job too. They are usually dads who have taken the job of coaching the team and make every effort to get each player to practice catching, throwing and batting well. We have been on the same team for four years now, and have seen the kids grow year after year and watch how far along they have come. It is just amazing to see how some dedicated individuals go out of their way to make these special kids have a good baseball season year after year. Their spirit is truly appreciated!
Half our team knows a little of what baseball is all about. They know that fielding is about going after the ball and getting a batter out. They know that pitching is an important part of the game and that a 'home run' is a big deal. The other half of the team just knows that you hit the ball with the bat, run to first base, then second, then third and then you romp home.
We have a pitcher for at least the past two years who is an incredible young man from a nearby High School. He has a sibling who has special needs. He comes out there for every game and changes his pitching according to the need of the player. We have a player who has very poor vision, but loves to play. The pitch to him is with loud verbal cues and ones that go close to his bat, another player is a hard hitter, to him the pitch is more like a regular pitch. He calls out to the batter by name and pitches, so the batter feels special and takes an interest in hitting the ball. I truly appreciate the spirit of young people like this who have their head on straight even in their teens.
The coaches do a wonderful job too. They are usually dads who have taken the job of coaching the team and make every effort to get each player to practice catching, throwing and batting well. We have been on the same team for four years now, and have seen the kids grow year after year and watch how far along they have come. It is just amazing to see how some dedicated individuals go out of their way to make these special kids have a good baseball season year after year. Their spirit is truly appreciated!
Hats off to those dedicated coaches as well as participants who come there to cheer the children who need them most. Ys society is stable obly with such people.
ReplyDeleteIts a great effort by all of the them...hats off!!!
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