It was bound to happen eventually. I’m having one of those weeks where I don’t want to exercise. I don’t care what I eat. It all started last Saturday.

I took my son for breakfast in the morning before baseball practice and did decent at Eat’n Park’s breakfast buffet. Could have been better but I kind of carb loaded. I went to the Pirate game with friends that night. I did good at dinner. I had a grilled chicken wrap and a salad. But then I got to the ballpark and decided I was having cotton candy. It was all downhill from there.

Eating gets difficult when you’re not at home a lot. The past week I had a lot going on. Went to a ballgame, went out to dinner and to a concert with friends, had a potluck at work, and had a party at my son’s school for his pre-school graduation. To say that I exercised self-control would be a total lie. There have been brownies, cupcakes, pizza, french fries, beer, and buffalo chicken dip. And I knew I shouldn’t do it. I maintained over a month of self control and it felt great. But with the way I am, I need to go longer than that. I need at least two to three months of turning down the junk before I get into a place where I have total control of myself around food.

Exercise this week has also been a struggle. It’s been a really busy week and it didn’t always happen. Last night I forced myself into it when what I really wanted to do was lie in bed and read. (I just started The Maze Runner. It’s a page turner!)

Today I just have to suck it up and get back at it. I was at the doctor yesterday and the scale was down almost 8 pounds from where it was at an appointment last month. I have 60 more to go and cotton candy isn’t going to get me there if I’m not willing to put in the work to burn it off. It was so freaking good though!!

I don’t know what my deal is. I’ve just hit a wall of lazy this week I guess. I have felt real lethargic and it’s just one of those weeks where getting in a workout feels like actual work. I know what I really need to do is start stepping them up and I did last week. I need to keep at that. It’s been two months. I have to notch it up.

This weekend is going to test me. It will be full of picnic food. As long as I watch my portioning, stay away from desserts, and lay off the beer I should be okay.

On Saturday, we ran mock games with the kids. We split them into four “teams.” One team would be out on the field while the other batted. There were two fields set up for them. The kids got three hits off the tee, and on the third hit they were supposed to run.

The whole point of this exercise was for the kids to start learning the structure of the game, get some practice hitting off of the tee, and practice fielding the ball. The head coach didn’t worry about positional playing this time and learning what they are. You’re building up here each week. Myself and  a few of the dads were helping the kids work on their batting stance and swing while other parents kept tabs on the kids in the field and tried their best to direct traffic.

One kid needed a little help with his batting stance. He was standing diagonal…kind of like a reverse Jason Kendall stance. Instead of open to the field he was open to looking behind the plate. I tried helping him align himself with the plate and then stood next to him and told him to watch as I took a mock swing and demonstrated “squashing the bug” with his back leg as he would turn and follow through.

My first mistake was standing next to him and to the front. I should have stood on the other side facing him.

Mysecond mistake was not being more  explicit in my instructions to ONLY WATCH what I was doing. Because he swung. And he got me in the thigh. Hard.

I’m only thankful it wasn’t my knee.

I shook it off and told him NOT to swing and helped him out. I knew it would happen eventually. I’ve been hit with bats, hockey sticks, pucks, baseballs,  softballs, frisbees, and any other sports equipment you could imagine over the course of my life. It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the  last. But I do need to be much more aware of what I am doing with the kids or I’m going to get myself taken out.

So lesson learned. Do not assume that when you tell a child to watch you that they will not also mimick at the same time. Also, be explicit when setting up a ball on the tee for them not to swing until you say. My own sun almost took my head off when I was setting him up for his next turn.

Hopefully next week will not result in mom rocking a nice bruise on her leg.

It finally happened. After almost a year of dek hockey, Jordan scored his first goal. He had a few scoring opportunities in the game, and with just a few seconds left in regulation, he shot from the left side and was rewarded for his hard work with a game winning goal!

The ball is in! Jordan is in the red vest and grey shirt.

I was so proud of him. He was stoked and immediately ran to me. I wanted to hug him but I told him to go high five his teammates. His friend Jacob was running behind him toward me with his hand out, looking for a high five. There was more time for hugs when he came off the dek.

This season I have seen an unreal amount of maturity come to him in the game. He is focusing more and using the skills he learns in practice. He is communicating with his teammates. He is joining rushes when he plays wing and protecting the goal and hanging back at the blue line (well, yellow on this dek) when he is on defense. His passing is getting better and more accurate. The basic tennents of the game are starting to come together for him and it is wondeful to watch him develop.

There were other lessons to learn though on Saturday. Prior to getting his goal, he had a moment that I never want to see again. The other team scored and his threw his stick and a glove. Not to be “that parent” but the coach didn’t say anything and I called him over to me. He knew. He trudged and I told him sternly to hustle.

The message here was you do not ever under any circumstances throw your equipment. I told him it is okay if the other team scores. It isn’t a big deal but he is to never throw his equipment and that he needed to apologize to his coach and his team.

One thing I will not tolerate from my child is unsportsmanlike conduct. After the game, I reinforced this. First I talked about all of the things he did well and congratulated him on his goal and told him how all of his hard work was paying off and how proud of him I was. But after the happy talk, I explained to him about his actions and why they were wrong.

It is disrespectful to his coach, his teammates, and the other team to act like that. You won’t win every game, but that is never an excuse to throw a tantrum. The goal happened, so you try again and this time he did try again and he earned his first goal ever.  Also, I am paying for your equipment, you will respect your belongings. You don’t throw toys at home, well you don’t throw a hockey stick or a baseball glove either.

He needs to learn to be a good winner and a good loser.

I remember this guy I had a huge crush on on middle school or high school. *Sigh* He was beautiful.

The crush didn’t last long. The kid was a raging lunatic. Wanna know how big of a turn off being a sore loser is? This kid could put on a clinic in what it looks like being the biggest asshole to your teammates and your parents because your team lost. And I never once saw his parents correct him. That shit didn’t fly in my house. No way.

Jordy playing wing (green tape on this helmet)

The other thing I taught him and will continue to reinforce is that when he or his teammates score a goal to make sure he is engaging his team. High five them. Tell them good job, because even if he is the one who puts the puck in the net, his team helped and it is just as much their victory as his. It’s a team sport.

I am also reinforcing that you do not brag and rub in your accomplishments. There are plenty of other kids out there still looking for their first goal and it is his job as their teammate to help them get it. I want him to be excited and proud of himself. He should be proud of himself. He is busting his butt to be good at something that he loves. You can see on his face and hear in his voice how in love with playing the sport he is. But he also needs to learn to be humble.

Saturday was an amazing day for Jordan and for me to be able to watch him reach a milestone that he has wanted so very badly for a long time. But there are always lessons to be learned aside from how to play. He needs to learn how to have a positive attitude and a team spirit.

I can’t wait to see what else he does this season! Congratulations, baby! You did it!

For the longest time, my excuse for not exercising was “I don’t have time.” That’s just what it was- an excuse. When I think back, I have plenty of free minutes in my day to do something active, even on my busiest day.

For a time, I was waking up at 5:00 am and going to the gym for an hour. Sleepwise, that wasn’t working for me. Jordan was only about a year old and it was just daunting and I was bored with it. Get up. Go to the gym. Hope on an eliptical or treadmill for an hour and then go home. I think I didn’t really know how to exercise, if that makes sense. When I lost all the weight doing LA Weightloss before I got pregnant, I was just walking my dog a few miles a day twice a day.  So I usually walked 4-6 miles almost every day depending on the weather.

At the gym, I felt like I was stuck in a ditch, slamming on the accelorator but not moving. Just wheels spinning. The biggest issue I have with exercise is that I get bored really really easily. When I signed up for the gym affiliated with my employer, I started getting brave and going to classes. I started yoga, strength and flexibility, and BOSU classes. I wasn’t really losing weight, but I was more toned and I was at least maintaining. I wasn’t gaining. My flexibility and balance improved greatly and that in itself was rewarding.

Now, I am back at the gym on my lunch and being more adventurous. I’m more open to trying different things. I haven’t gone back to yoga classes yet, but I will soon. Right now I am working with the resistence training machines and some other equipment. I’m also going to try the Body Pump class  when it recycles for a new 8 week session.

A lot of the things I want to try I’m just too intimidated to do. Body Pump is something I’ve wanted to try forever but I’d look in on the class and turn away. There are a few things I am self conscious about, and not being able to perform is one of them. I get really bad anxiety about it. I mean, there are machines at the gym that I stay away from because I’m like “If I get on that thing and can’t use it right, I’m gonna look like a moron.”

In addition to the gym, I’ve been working out at home, using routines I’ve clipped from fitness magazines, websites, or mobile  apps. And they are working. Why do I need to workout at home if I worked out at the gym? Well, because I’m pushing myself and because honestly, it feels good. My energy level is increasing and I can feel my strength improving.

Today I tried an arms (which is really a full body) routine from the Beach Body Made Easy issue of Self magazine. I could do 4 out of 6 of the moves. It feels awful when you can’t do something. It’s discouraging. I’ve been working so hard and I’ve lost 6 pounds in the last two weeks. But it goes back to that feeling of wheels just spinning out.

So, I’ll try again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after. And I’ll keep trying until my strength in that area is so that I can master the exercise.

Now how do I make time to work out sometimes not once, but twice a day? By getting creative.

Home gym. Cheap and easy and you can do a lot with it.

Not everyone has the luxury of going to the gym. I’m fortunate that I can go on my lunch, even though I don’t always feel like it was enough time. I almost feel like the two-a-days are necessary for me to feel accomplished. I’m a hopeless overachiever with an  addictive personality. It’s just how it’s going.

Here are some of the ways I am finding to fit everything in:

1. Taking it Outside
I’m working out doing kettlebells, dumb bells, and jump roping on the patio while my son plays in the yard. Not only am I getting outside and able to keep an eye on him, but it’s a good way to get a nice tan for the summer.

70 degrees out and a kettlebell.

2. In Front of the TV
Do I typically watch The Five? Yep. Today the weather is kinda chilly, so I did a routine right in the living room while my son played with his toys and watched my show.

3. Wii Active
Have you  ever tried Wii Active or Wii Sports? So much fun. And my son likes to do this with me. Not only am I exercising, but he is exercising with me. (I dropped a full jeans size in two months playing Wii Active 4 times a week and barely changed my eating habits a few years ago. And then I tore up my foot and was out of commission for 3 months. Cause that’s how life goes! lol) The program is great. It’s a fun way to do circuit training in your living room and it seriously is extremely effective. Plus it is customizable. You get what you want out of it and I never got bored with it.

If you don’t have a Wii and have an X-Box, get the Kinect. It’s a one time investment and it is cheaper than the gym in the long term. There are so many fun dance and work-out games for your videogame systems it is unreal and they really do work if you stick with them.

4. Playing Outside
Have a kid or a dog? (Or both?) Take them outside to run around. Jordan and I play sports in the yard. Walk your dog. Hell, chase your dog.  The quality time is great for your mental health and the physical aspect is rewarding as well!

5. Walk It Out with a Friend
Grab a friend and take a long walk. Gives you a chance to catch up and I’ve found if I walk or run with someone, I go a lot further because I’m not thinking about the task.

6. YouTube
Can’t afford a personal trainer? Get on YouTube. My brother has been doing kettlebell routines along with some guy’s YouTube channel. You can do ANYTHING via YouTube. It’s not just for videos of cats. Who knew? Too intimidated to try a yoga class in person? Try a class on YouTube first. To make the screen bigger, get cables to hook your laptop up to the television. Instant personal trainer for free!

My excuse list for why I can’t exercise has worn down and expired. For every reason I can’t workout, I’ve found 5 ways that I can make it happen and involve my son in the process. Time is no longer my enemy.

One of the hardest things to accept about weight gain is not fitting into your favorite clothes any longer. That perfect pair of jeans (my Calvin Klein dark wash). That sexy dress. When these things don’t fit anymore, it’s the most rude wake up call a woman can experience. We attach ourselves to our clothes emotionally. Because they aren’t just clothes. There are memories we associate with those clothes. That’s why our closets get out of control and extremely dated.

On Sunday, I spent my morning cleaning out my closet. The weather is nice. It was a good day to bring my summer clothes up from the basement and banish my sweaters for the coming months. Some stuff stayed from last summer, but not much made the trip back downstairs. I managed to fill an entire garbage bag with clothes that I can’t stay emotionally hung up on. They don’t fit. And even if and when they do fit again, how long has it been since I wore those things anyway? They’re not even in style.

But then there was this…

Excuse the wrinkles. It’s lived at the bottom of drawer since my son was a year old.

My favorite silk cami ever from Express. I bought it in 2005. Yeah. It’s an oldie but a goodie. I wore it out for a friend’s birthday and it honestly was one of the best nights I’ve ever had out with friends. It was my first official date with a new boyfriend that night. There was a lot going on and when I put it on, the reaction I got was way more than I had ever experienced. I had felt sexy for the first time in my adult life. I didn’t feel like a kid anymore.

But life got busy and crazy and I gained a bit of weight. Then when I had gone on LA Weightloss, this shirt resurfaced. I still remember the day fresh in my mind. I was having dinner with my ex and his boss. We went to some Mexican restaurant and I managed to make it through an entire meal without eating chips. I had just lost 15 pounds and the shirt looked better this time around than it had the first time. That day was a huge deal for me.

35 pounds down later I found out I was expecting a baby. Surprise! The following summer, I was able to get into this shirt again. I wore it out with my sorority sisters for our annual summer get together. It wasn’t as roomie as it had been, but it still fit comfortably.

Rolling with Phi Sigs

I could never get rid of this shirt. Getting back into it would be the ultimate deal for me. It seems to be my go-to, my security blanket when I need a pick me up. It helps me reward myself for hard work.

I laid it out on my bed and just stared at it. There were empty hangers and piles of clothes litering my bedroom floor at my feet, all ready to be stuffed in a bag and sent to the Good Will. But how do I say goodbye to this shirt? Not just any shirt.  THE shirt. The shirt that tells me I’m at a point where I feel comfortable in my own skin? The shirt that makes me feel confident and unstoppable?

I folded it up and put it in the bag. I gave it one last look before I piled more clothes on top of it.

To everyone reading, it’s just a pink silk cami with orange lace, beading, and sequins. But for me, that shirt is a symbol of everything I was and everything I thought I wanted to be again. Maybe that shirt is holding me back though. Maybe I don’t need it.

It’s important for me to celebrate small victories as I try to get myself healthy and get this weight off. Today I got on the scale and it was 2 pounds less. Oh yeah, the other day I finally stepped on a scale. It was terrifying and I wasn’t at all happy with the number glaring back at me. It was down right freaking depressing. However, seeing a lower number today made it all worth it.

I shouldn’t be celebrating my past as a victory for things to come. When I reach a good milestone, I should be celebrating by doing something for myself or buying myself something new. I’m not that same person. This is me moving forward and becoming a better version of myself and improving my health.

I haven’t had a chance to drop that bag off yet. It is sitting next to me, and as much as I want to untie the knot and drag my beloved shirt out, it’s time for someone else to make a memory with it.

You always hope that your child is perfectly  healthy and able to do anything life throws at them. My son is extremely healthy and active, however he does have asthma and this is something that has been quite a lot to deal with.

The first time he received a breathing treatment, he was only a month old. He was fine and didn’t have another incident until he was a year and a half old. Shortly thereafter, trips to the emergency room and overnight stays (sometimes multiple night stays) became more frequent. He eventually was fully diagnosed as being asthmatic and started seeing a specialist. In the little over a year since he saw a pulmonologist and was given a new treatment regimen, we thankfully have not had one hospital visit *knock on wood*.

Both indoor and outdoor conditions though can severely affect someone with asthma. There are a lot of different triggers for an asthma attack. Jordan’s seem to be breathing in cold air, humid air, and if he is already sick or his allergies are bothering him his symptoms are exacerbated.

This doesn’t necessarily work well with the conditions for playing sports, both summer and winter. During baseball season and 2 dek hockey seasons a year, I have to worry about humidity. With ice skating and ice hockey, it’s the cold air he is breathing in at the rinks coupled with fumes from zamboni machines and the air cooling system.

The key to all of this is managing Jordan’s condition and working with his doctors to make sure we have everything we need for him to remain an active kid. I don’t want his asthma to be something that hinders his ability to do the things he loves to do or wants to try. Prior to seeing a specialist, ice hockey was starting to look like it might not be an option for him. He always showed symptoms after being on the ice.

In addition to managing his health though, it is important for Jordan to know mentally that he can do this and that he can live a normal life, even if it means using an inhaler prior to and following an activity. The great thing about him developing asthma at such a young age is that he is used to it. He understands what his meds are for and what they do and knows when he has to use them and doesn’t resist. He probably doesn’t remember a time in his life when he didn’t need breathing treatments and inhalers because it has been just that long.

For him, there is no embarrassment when he takes a puff of his inhaler in front of the other kids and he is more than happy to explain to them what it is for when he gets looks or questions.

There are different serverities for asthma and many different treatment options. We’ve found options with Jordan’s doctor that are working wonders and making it possible for him to persue his love of hockey. Also, recognizing his limits is of utmost importance. Making sure I can see when he needs an extra puff or just needs to sit down and catch his breath is imperitive. As long as we always put his health first and the sport second (and even further down the list than second), he will be playing for a long time!

I hate dieting. It’s seriously the shittest thing in the universe. It just feels like a long list of stuff I’m not allowed to eat, which of course makes me want to eat it even more. It’s like telling my kid “Don’t touch that” and expecting him not to put his hands all over whatever the item is.

Before I had Jordan, I did the LA Weightloss program. You didn’t count points or have to eat special food. It was just portion control. I had a certain amount of servings of grains, dairy, protein, fruits, vegetables, and fats each day and the serving sizes and amount of servings decreased as I lost more weight. I’ll tell ya what. The weight was flying off combined with exercise and after the first month, cravings for foods that weren’t all natural started to go away. Turning away chips, pop, and candy became the easiest thing in the world because I felt so good about myself and I felt satisfied when it came to hunger.

But but but…ketchup is tomatoes!

I was eating foods I loved, but changing the serving sizes and the way I prepared them. I had a healthy relationship with food, plain and simple.

I’ve tried Weight Watchers twice and I saw results but the process is so cumbersome and I just refuse to make it a part of my lifestyle to count every single thing I eat like that. It gets to the point where it feels like work and I have enough things in my life that feel like work without adding eating to the list.

Right now, in addition to regular and consistent exercise I am just trying to get a healthy relationship with my food. I’m watching my portioning, cutting out the junk, and being aware of what I am putting in my mouth. I haven’t had coffee or pop in a month, I haven’t been eating chips and other fatty snacks. I’ve cut out the fried foods. I’m making sure I’m getting in my 64 oz or more of water each day.

The first month is the hardest. But the first month is over and I survived it and I feel more comfortable now. The second month I have set new goals for myself: cut back on the carbs. Not cut them out, but cut them back and try to only eat them earlier in the day when my metabolism is at its highest rate. That was where I was with the LA Weightloss and it worked out great.

Look, I’m from a big off-the-boat Italian family. We love pasta and bread. And my family makes it from scratch. My mom just got a pasta maker and she has been making her own sauce from bushels of tomatoes. How much temptation can a person take?

The other thing I’m doing is not depriving myself completely, just being aware. I love chocolate. So I keep some dark chocolate around. I have a small piece when I feel the need for something sweet and not an entire candy bar. Today, I had the first non-water thing I’ve drank in weeks. I had a lemonade with dinner. It was my reward to myself. Earlier in the week, I had some ice cream with my kid after his field trip.

I’m learning how to do things in moderation. It’s not going to kill me to eat something less than good for me every now and then. The important thing for me to do is just do better with the next choice I make. So if I want to go to Rita’s for some Italian ice, I’ll get the sugar free flavor (which happens to be pink lemonade and is one of my favorites anyway) and if I get a burger, I won’t have fries. Just because you eat something that is bad for you once in the day, it doesn’t mean you’ve killed it. That was what I was doing wrong in the past.

It was always “well you’ve done it now, just keep going. The day is shot.” No, it’s not shot.  You just make a better choice later.

I’m also not eating big meals. I’m more grazing throughout the day on fruit, veggies, and nuts. (Uh, have you had coconut toasted almonds? To die for.) Also, drinking a lot of water has helped curb hunger because it really is true that we mistake thirst for hunger many times.

I don’t want to spend my days cataloguing my food. It works for a lot of people, but I’m not one of them. You have to find what is going to work for you. I don’t want this to be a diet because diets are supposed to end. What am I to do when I hit my goal? I need to do something sustainable.

In addition to my changing my own eating habits, I’m trying to help Jordan’s along too and help him make good choices with his snacks. He loves his snacks, but he also loves fruits and veggies. With so many great foods coming into season, I want to make sure that he isn’t constantly begging for ice cream and is reaching for apples and strawberries.

Food can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I’m hoping to make it the former.

I touched briefly in my last blog on killing bad habits now before they get really bad later.

In addition to baseball, Jordan is in his third season of dek hockey right now. Baseball in the morning, dek hockey in the evening. It’s a lot, but so far he is coping well and having a great time.

About a year ago, I wrote a blog about an incident at my son’s first ice hockey clinic. There was a kid high sticking and shoving other kids around. These kids were young. My son had just barely turned 4 and was the smallest and least experienced on the ice. To see a kid acting like that, my dad and I were appalled. You don’t learn how to be a goon at a hockey school for preschool and kindergarten children. You learn to be a goon from some place else, and the biggest influence on a kid at that age are the people they live with.

That’s you, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, whomever is reading this. There is no way on Earth a coach is teaching a 6 year old to play dirty- and I mean play dirty consitently. Unless the coach is Jack Reilly. “I want Banks out of this game!”

I want my son to play clean and by the rules. I don’t want him to injury someone else or himself because he wasn’t paying attention or was blatantly disregarding safety. We reinforce every single week: “Blade on the ground, no swinging the stick, no shoving the other kids, no tripping anyone.”

But, Jordan has a different problem: diving.

Little Danny Briere over here just loves to slide around the dek and the ice. And he takes his good old time about getting up. I’ve told him over and over again to stay on his feet. He doesn’t listen.

Jordan with Coach Al last week (didn’t take any pics this week)

Today, on our way to dek hockey, I had a talk with him. I told him to stay on his feet so that he didn’t get stepped on or trip one of his teammates. I also told him that once he leaves instructional league next year for a real team that the coaches and refs aren’t going to put up with it and that he’ll be in the penalty box. Well if that didn’t put the fear in him. “I don’t want to go to the penalty box.”

Well I don’t want you in the penalty box either, Bub.

I have to say, today was the absolute best game my son has ever played in two years. Not only did he stay on his feet all but one time when he legitimately got tangled with another kid and fell, but he played his position the way he was supposed to and paid very close attention to where the ball was at all times. He spent most of the scrimmage playing defense and played goalie for a shift.

He covered his goalie, was clearing the puck, and I heard him calling out to his teammates strategizing. Color mom impressed. He also made a new friend today, and that worked out very well because new friend’s mom and I hit it off and got super chatty.

The best part of today though was when Jordan got off the dek he was glowing. I told him what a great job he did today and that I was so proud of him. He said something surprising. He told me that he was proud of himself for listening to me and not diving on the dek today because he had a fun time with his team and he loved playing defense and that it was important for him to help his goalie.

The other really awesome thing he told me today was that hockey is for everyone, even girls and that girls should play hockey too. That probably made me feel more  proud than anything. He got two neighbor girls to play hockey with him in the street the other day and he actually helped them and showed them how to hold their sticks right and what to do.

It took a few weeks, but keeping on him worked and the result was more than I could have hoped for. He found out how much more fun hockey is when he plays it the right way and not acting like  goof and class clown.  Keep on your kid about doing things the right way. Eventually, they will get it.

Today was Day 2 of playing “base running coach” at Jordan’s baseball clinic. I helped four rotations of children learn to run bases. Last week they basically just ran. This week myself and one of the dads added onto it. This week we taught the kids how to hit the inside corner when rounding the bases and how to run through first base. We also got any other parents involved (and even two sisters and someone’s brother were helping) by having them each stand at a base to help the kids hit the inside corners and make sure that they went back and touched the base if the missed it.

One would think that this is a fairly simple skill to teach children. I mean, they’re just running, right?

Not really. Something myself and the head coach and my brother spoke about today was noticing the difference in maturity levels of the children, which is quite broad even though they are all roughly the same age (5-6 years old). You can tell which kids are used to taking instruction from a coach. They likely have played soccer or some other sport previous to baseball this spring or are involved in other sorts of activities. You can also tell which kids have been practicing at home.

But when it comes down to it, they are all there to learn and what they know or don’t know isn’t that big of a deal. You just watch and take note of which children are going to need some additional instruction and which ones pretty much have it down.

The thing about dealing with children at this age level though is no matter what their maturity level, they are still kids and kids are going to act like kids and this takes a great amount of patience to deal with.

Of my four groups today, I’d say that only one paid actual close attention as a whole group. While this level of baseball isn’t “serious,” this is their first experience with the game and breaking bad habits for the future begins with starting good habits and practices now. One of the most important that is being reinforced is that if you want to be a baseball player you are going to look like one. You tuck in your shirt and you wear your hat facing forward. Any kids that came through my station were reminded of this.

The other is to reinforce paying attention, not just for instruction, but to ensure safety. While running the bases, kids were knocking into one another and falling all over the place. We stopped and reinforced that they were to stay on their feet and not to touch their group mates. Their attention spans are miniscule. I’m not a dictator but I was firm in keeping everyone focused on the directions for the drills.

The last issue you run into with a group this is a group of kids who are all from the same community so many know one another from school or other activities. And they LOVE LOVE LOVE to pick at each other. One group in particular I had to keep separating two kids because they kept hitting one another and had to keep apart another two kids out of the eight total because they kept taking one another’s hats and then screaming that the other kid had his hat.

Deep breath.

You pick your battles and do what you can. Like I said, this level of sport isn’t serious, but reinforcing good behavior and good habits now is going to help these children as they move along.

The last and most important lesson of the day was to praise everyone for doing a good job and for trying. Just because a kid isn’t the fastest, the hardest thrower, or the best batter doesn’t mean that they didn’t give it their all. And you want to praise kids for doing something correctly because it will reinforce that skill the next time they do it. If they didn’t do it right the first time, show them again and remind them they are doing a  great job and to keep on working on it. I won’t chastise a kid for not being able to do something. They just need the encouragement to keep trying and a “good job” for trying. (Like I said in one of my last blogs, when it comes to my kid, it’s okay to get it wrong, but it’s not okay to not try at all!)

I don’t believe in the “everybody gets a trophy” philsophy that a lot of schools and sports leagues get into these days. However, making sure the kids are having a good time while learning and giving them their kudos for doing a good job and for trying their best is extremely important. Not everyone is a natural athlete and a lot of these kids are there not because they want to be a major leaguer, but because this is a way to get them around other kids, get some exercise, try something new, and get out into the fresh air!

When I was in high school I acted as an assistant coach for a powder puff softball team. The girls were 5-6 years old. I helped run practices, kept score, and stood in the outfield making sure that the girls were watching for the ball and not chasing butterflies. It was a lot of fun. The kids were hilarious. There was no real rhyme or reason to how the games went because when one kid went for the ball, they all went.

Of all the sports my son can play, baseball is the only one where I can be of actual help with teaching kids technique in addition to rules. If you need to know the proper way to throw a ball, hold a bat, work on your batting stance, and catch a ball- I’m your mom. Anything else…eh.

Saturday was an early start. Practice runs from 9:30-11:00. My brother and I will be helping however we can with the team though, so we arrived at 9:00 to help the coach set up stations. I was recruited to distribute uniforms as the kids arrived. The children were able to pick what team they would like to be on: The Angels, Braves, Marlins, or Blue Jays. Jordan is playing for the Angels.

How stinkin cute are kids in baseball uniforms?!?!

The kids will have practice for a few weeks going through stations and learning different baseball skills and then move into games.

The coach (who is actually a close friend of the family) set up four stations for the day: baserunning, throwing and catching,  hitting your cutoff guy, and batting. My brother ran batting. I started there with Jordan and helped catch the balls as the kids were throwing them back then moved over to base running. A dad was already there doing base running. Once they moved to throwing and catching, I realized that somewhere along the way some people skipped a station. No one to run this one. So I got the kids lined up and throwing the ball. Things apparently were super mixed up (first day, it’s going to happen). No one out of the four groups of kids were at the base running station. Another parent took over and I was asked to take any kids who had not yet done base running back.

This was actually a lot of fun. I first took the kids as a group from base to base and taught them which base was which, with one parent standing on each base. Then, I had them line up and start running. Once the person in front of you reached first, the next kid went. After they went around a few times, I called a water break and then started over, running around with them a few times.

The best part of working with kids this age is that they are all about the fun. Competitive nature hasn’t set in for all of them yet. They’re more concerned with laughing and having a good time with the other kids than how many homeruns they can hit. That’s the beauty of it. Right now the game is very pure for them. They’re out there learning it for the first time and parent/coach/league politics haven’t soured anyone’s experience. And I hope that never happens for any of these kids.

I don’t know how involved I will be as the weeks go on. As much as the coach may need me and I certainly want to help once Jordan starts games with base coaching or helping in the outfield. I feel good about being a mom in the stands for other sports, but this is my only chance to do what my mom and dad did and be effective at it. If hockey boosters needs a mom to run a fundraiser, I’m all over it. Baseball though is where I can be right in it with my kid at least for a few years until he reaches a more competitive level. Then, back to fundraising and organizing!

Although, next week I may try my hand at helping with dek hockey. Not to teach skills, but to be one of the extra parents on the dek making sure kids aren’t killing one another and are paying attention while standing in line for drills. We shall see!