Why This Baseball Player Really Likes Soccer!

 

Growing up in South Georgia, if you were an athlete you played three sports.  Football, baseball and basketball.  Sometimes you ventured out into track, wrestling, tennis or golf, but for the most part you stuck with one of these three.  If you did happen to come across a soccer ball, you found three bases to use and a mean game of kickball just might break out!  Soccer just wasn't our thing.  For me, my first and only true love was my baseball glove and bat, but I will tell you today that I am really glad that my son loves soccer along with being an All-star baseball player.

Reid just finished his 4th year of soccer camp with Challenger Sports.  It is a week long camp that teaches soccer skills and teamwork.  The camp is taught by instructors from across the pond who really know how the game is played.  We have had coaches from England, Scotland, Whales, and Spain to name a few.  They will spend their summer in the United States going from camp to camp making kids from 4 to 16 years old better soccer players.  I think it is great for the game and the kids love it!

So why does this baseball nut of a father love the fact that my kid plays soccer?  Because here in the South, the game is still pure for these kids.  Us as parents for the most part are uneducated about the game of soccer, therefore we don't feel the need to constantly try and "coach" from the sidelines.  Kids are encouraged to just go out and have fun playing the game.  We are excited when our child kicks the ball no matter what little effect it may have in the outcome of the game.  We encourage the "team" to play as a team.  The defense is just as important as the offense.  It is a game in constant motion where if a mistake is made, there is very little time to dwell on it.  A tie games is considered a great contest!

No take a look at little league baseball.  Every parent thinks they know how to play baseball.  Never mind the fact that they have never stepped foot on the diamond.  They have been watching the Braves for years, therefore they know all there is to know.  They have also never spent any time with their son playing catch in the yard, but they expect the coach to recognize the natural ability flowing out of their child's pores and ask why he isn't starting at shortstop!  Parents are constantly putting pressure on their kids to do better, hit it further, make the catch, run faster, do it the way I taught you (even though it is wrong), don't listen to the umpire, he is an idiot, and on and on and on.

My son has been playing soccer for 5 years.  I coached him for the first 4.  I know enough about the game to try and teach kids to have fun, get in open space for good passes and good shots, play hard defense, etc, but I really don't consider myself to know how to coach soccer.  I have also coached baseball for 6 years.  I know the game of baseball.  I know how to coach kids to play this game the right way.  I think I am a good coach.  I can tell you that my fondest coaching memories come from the soccer field.  I have never had a conflict with a soccer parent.  I have never had a soccer parent complain to me about where their child was playing or why I chose that strategy.  Again, parents for the most part don't know any more about the game than I do.  It is still pure!

Soccer kids are great kids!  You don't have to be the biggest kid.  You don't have to be the fastest kid.  You don't have to be the most gifted athlete to play the game.  In fact, I know a kid that struggles pretty bad at baseball, but he is a good runner that has a lot of hustle, so he makes for a pretty good soccer defender!  Any kid has an opportunity to contribute to their soccer team. I think that's awesome!

So play on Son!  Even though your father was and still is a baseball nut, I have to admit that I really enjoy watching you play soccer and it might just be my new favorite sport!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's to a great week!  Can't wait until next year! 

So, What Have I Been Up Too??

Baseball, baseball, baseball!!!  It really is a way of life.  Pictured above is the 2013 9-10 year old Fitzgerald All-Star baseball team.  We have had a busy month!  Reid (middle front)was the starting pitcher and played some games at second base.  We competed in 3 different tournaments and several practice games with neighboring counties.  We practiced everyday we were not playing.  It was a lot of baseball for a great group of kids and I hope that they have learned something!

Our season ended last week and that has allowed our family to try and get back to a normal life.  No longer am I running home early to get to the ball park.  No longer will I be living off of sunflower seeds and Gatorade.  No longer will we have to wash a uniform every other night!  It will be a much needed break!  It is back to fresh cooked vegetables and lean meat on the grill!  It is back to evening walks to provide exercise and weight loss due to ball park hot dogs and french fries.  It is back to reading good books and watching the Braves.  It is back to actually spending some quality time with my wife and daughter!

So is the life of having active kids!  I wouldn't have it any other way!  In fact, it has been less than a week and I already kind of miss it.  Won't be long now...............it's almost time for......

Camp starts next week!  Bring it on!!

Have a great 4th everybody!!

It's Been a Great Season!

The 2013 9-10 year old Giants finished the season as league runner-up.  After making our way through the season ending tournament in the winners bracket, we had to face the mighty Phillies in the championship game, and what a game it was!  After spectacular defensive play by both teams, the score was tied after 6 innings at 1-1 and everyone was treated to free baseball!  4 more innings to be exact!  The final score was 2-1 in favor of the Phillies in 10!

We fought hard in the second game but came up a little short in a 13-9 effort.  Our kids never gave up against a team that was clearly the best team in the league.  The Giants finished the season with a 10-5 record.  Our record against the Phillies???.........1-4.  They sort of had our number along with every one else.  They finished the season with a record of 13-2!  Congrats to the Phillies!

Reid had a very solid year, especially in the field!  He is shown here holding his "Golden Glove" trophy that he earned by having the best defensive stats on our team.  We decided early in the season that we wanted to honor some of the kids that excelled on the team and we kept stats on everything from fielding to base running.  We gave a trophy for best defense, best offensive numbers, Team MVP (which was a combination of the two), and a coaches award for the kid that showed the best attitude towards his coaches and his team.  This was a great team to coach because it was full of some really great kids!  In fact, at the recent school honors night, 8 out of our 12 boys were honored in some way, with 6 of them being recognized for having all A's for every quarter for this school term.  Makes us coaches proud!

Reid is also shown holding a sports devotional book titled "Have Fun, Try Hard, and Play Fair".  We wanted to give the kids something that they could use to help them become better young men.  A trophy will eventually loose it's shine, but lessons about how to live a Christian life will last a lifetime!  The book has 365 daily devotions related to sports and how that relates to living your everyday life for God.  Several of the boys got emotional after the game and I have had several parents call me and say that they couldn't believe a group of coaches would care that much for their kid.  I'll be the first to admit that I did not want to coach a team this year, but this team was worth it in every way!

To Coach Hal and Coach Stan-  I'll coach with you guys anytime!  It's been a great ride!  We were lucky to get such a great group!!

The season has not ended for Reid just yet!  It's on to All-Stars to see how our kids stack up against the best in the State!  Reid has made his first All-Star team and I am one proud father and Coach!  Let's go get 'em Son!!  Your Daddy is very proud of you and your hard work!!

Middle of Ball Season 5K!

We have been playing a lot of baseball lately.  In fact, for the past 10 weeks, all we have done is play baseball.  We did however take a Saturday morning off and participated in The Fitzgerald Rotary Club's annual Colony City Chase 5K.

I'll keep it brief-  Reid won first place for his age group (11 and under) in just his second 5K.  He shaved 4 minutes off of his first 5K time.  My friends that ran in the race told me afterwards that Reid could have had a faster time, but that he stopped to wait on some of his friends during the race.  He told me he didn't want them to have to run by themselves.  We had a good talk about how noble it was to want to help a friend, but I did remind him that this was a RACE! :)

I look forward to the next challenge as he really seems to have fun running in these races.  Run Reid Run!!

A Birthday Trip to Remember!

A very special little lady celebrated her 7th Birthday this past weekend!  Little Miss Mia is more than a little crazy about her American Girl Dolls, so we decided to give her the ultimate gift.  We took her to the American Girl Store in Atlanta on Saturday.  We gave her a gift card to spend and her Cheri gave her some money as well.  She also took her money that she has earned over the past year doing chores and picking up pecans.  She came home with no money left what-so-ever, but plenty of goodies and a new doll for her collection.  She will tell you that the day was a success!

Two dolls made the trip with us.  McKenna and Mia (the doll's name) both had scheduled appointments to have their ears pierced and their hair done.  My Mia watched them while they were at the spa.  She had the biggest smile on her face as they took each doll and placed them in a beauty shop chair and gave them the full spa treatment.  Let me just say that the appointment book was rather large and booked!  Depending on what treatment the doll was receiving that day, the bill could run from as low as $15 to as high as $50.  Based on what I saw on Saturday, we all need to go buy stock in this place!

We finished our shopping and stopped to have a picture made with Saige in her hot air balloon.  Saige is this year's "Girl of the Year" and also the newest member of Mia's collection.  Saige is a cowgirl who likes horses, but she also likes to do art.  Sounds a lot like my Mia and a certain first cousin of mine!  I'm sure she will feel right at home in Mia's room!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  As always, you are MY American Girl of the year!!



The Brave Eagles Sings "The Hump Day Song"

I'm a very lucky person in the fact that I live in a small town with some great friends.  I wrote a little blog a few years ago about The Hump Day Gang that you may want to use to refresh your memory.  Hump Day here in Fitzgerald, GA means seeing the boys, having a few cocktails, and cooking some fine southern meals.  It is a time for all of us "men" to get together and solve the world's problems as we see them.  I am a regular attender and I would like to take this time to thank my lovely wife for allowing me to be a part of this group every Wednesday night!

My good friend, fellow Hump Day-er and guitar player, Hal Wiley and I were sitting around his pool watching the kids swim the other day when we came up with the idea to write a Hump Day song.  It needed to be witty, but also describe what Hump Day is all about.  He picked the tune and I got busy on the words.  We sang it for the gang two weeks ago and did an encore performance this past Wednesday that somehow made its way to video.

Now before you watch this, I need to add a few disclaimers!  This group in no way disrespects the women in our lives.  This song is made to be funny and pick on the fact that every once in a while one of our wives may fuss about their husband being at Hump Day, or they may plan an event on a Wednesday night causing a member to be unable to attend the weekly Hump Day gathering.  Of course all of us make fun of the buddy whose is catching a little devil from his woman at home, and we even set up a little prize for the wife who so dares inter fear with a Hump Day activity.  It's called "The Pink Shirt"

Again, it's all in fun and the girls get a big kick out of it!  No harm done as the attitudes are generally all good!  The Pink Shirt is mentioned in the song several times.  I didn't want you to be lost!

Other things in the song that may need a little clearing up:

Kyle- He is a gourmet cook.  The kid cooks stuff that is simply awesome, even if we don't know what it is!
Davis-  He eats!  A lot!  Never cooks!
Bon-co- A dice game that the girls get together and play.  For some reason they try and meet on Wednesday nights once a month.
Clay Day-  A popular saying in this group as Clay seems to hunt, fish and play more than the rest of us.
"Playing her cards right"- As in after several cocktails someone says "If my wife plays her cards right, she might get lucky when I get home".  (Never seems to work out for some reason)
Quiet sign-  Bill has a sign from a golf tournament that says "QUIET".  He brings it out when the conversation gets a little too noisy for the neighborhood.
Hump Day Lite-  Some boys that live to the South of us have started their own Hump Day tradition.  We call them "Hump Day Lite"

So enjoy the song for what it is!  FUN!  The video is not very clear because it was dark, but the audio is not bad!

"http://www.youtube.com/embed/Pmyu0_OqOM4?rel=0"

Happy Hump Day to all the boys!!

RA Camp 2013- One State Champion and Two Soggy Bottoms

You see this picture?  This is a picture of a State Champion knot tying master!  Reid is the fastest Royal Ambassador bowline knot tier for the year 2013, an honor that he has worked hard on for the past three years.  He has finished second on two consecutive tries, but this year he brought home the gold!  What is even more remarkable is that he was able to accomplish this just hours after his father totally humiliated him in front of all of his friends and fellow campers.  Let's back up a bit.

The annual First Baptist RA camping trip to Camp Kaleo is always an exciting trip for all the boys.  We have been working on camping skills for weeks and we were prepared to meet all the challenges that would be given to us in all of the competitions.  We were not prepared however for heavy rains and 40 degree temps that the weatherman was calling for on Friday night.  We made the wise decision to leave the tents at home and stay inside one of the cabins offered for large groups.  Friday night was a wet one, but Saturday promised to be clear and cold.

We woke up Saturday morning to temps in the low 40's. The boys were ready to begin the competitions, so we headed out to the competition grounds.  The boys can compete in team knot tying, chariot races, BB gun shooting, archery, first aid, map and compass, wild wood runs, fire building, and a canoe race.  We started with the wild wood run and made our way over to the canoe racing area shortly after.  We have done well in this event in the past, bringing home three state titles thanks to my good friend Dr. Cook.  Reid and I finished 2nd in this event last year, so I only had one thing on my mind!  I wanted the crown!

The race is a timed event in which you paddle the canoe out to a buoy, make a turn around it and head back to shore.  As I watched my buddy Dr. Cook set a blistering pace just two spots in front of me, I knew that Reid and I would have to be fast.  I thought his turn was a little sloppy so I set my goal in making a tight turn and pushing extra hard back to shore to lower our time.  We would never quite get that far.  Reid and I settled into the boat and I gave him instructions to just worry about paddling on the right side.  I would handle the rest.  We kicked off and I gave a mighty two strokes on the left side rocketing the boat forward with enormous thrust!  As I switched to the right side to straighten our line of direction while maintaining our quick pace, I over guessed my own strength and enthusiasm and accidentally slid to the right side of the boat.  This was not good.  My next stroke was my own swimming motion towards my son to make sure that he was safe as we were both now taking a swim in 40 degree weather.

Reid was in a little panic, but I assured him that he was not going to drown because he was wearing a life jacket.  I calmly told him to swim to shore and that I would be right behind him.  I tried to gather the boat but quickly realized that the heavy coat, cargo pants and hunting jacket were starting to weigh me down to the point that this was not going to be an easy swim.  I ditched the boat and headed for dry land.  I reached the shore soon after Reid was being pulled from the water by the others in our group.

In case you are wondering, the water was warmer than the outside air. Being in the water was not bad at all.  Getting out was a B----!  Reid was not happy and he let me know it.  I got him calmed down and we made our way back to the cabins where I was able to put him in a hot shower.  After we were warmed up and had changed into dry clothes, I sat him down and had a life lesson kind of talk.  I told him that sometimes bad things happen, but that it was very important to remain calm in those kind of situations and to think clearly about how best to go about fixing the situation that you are in.  He seemed to understand, but I don't think I will get him back into a canoe anytime soon.

We made our way back to the competition fields to face the music.  His friends were actually very good to him and didn't make fun of the situation at all.  They were generally concerned for him.  My friends on the other hand, let me have it.  I now have a new nick-name... Trey Beauche, The Water Boy.

Reid rebounded well as he helped his knot tying team place second in the team tying event and placing first in the individual event.  He hasn't talked much about our little swim and he seems to almost have forgotten about it.  His Dad however has been reminded about it on a daily basis!

Got to love my friends!!