Kids and sports

Last night both boys had baseball games. Jake's game was a practice game,so it did not count for their record. Therefore, I spent most of my time at Josh's game.

Hitting has never been Josh's strong point, though this season has gone much better than last season. But, as you know, defense is as important as offense, and Josh excells in defense. His two regular positions are second base and pitcher. Josh has this sixth sense about sports. It is almost like he knows where the ball will go before it makes contact. Then, there is his deep understanding of the stratgey of the game. Most kids who catch a pop up have stop and think where they should throw it for the double play. Not Josh. He seems to automatically know what to do to make the best play. Last night, he caught a ball for the first out, then winged it to home for the double play, preventing the runner from scoring. I think if you could see inside his thought process, you'd see a diagram of the field, the placement of players, etc. Several years ago, his coach described him as the most analytical player he has ever coached. Hits the nail right on the head.

Last night, Josh also caught a great line drive at second for the out. Then, at the end of the game, when we needed one more out to win, the pitcher was struggling, big time. He couldn't get anything near the strike zone. The coach put Josh in, and the hitter stuck out. The game was over, and we won.

I love to watch my kids play sports. I have never been a true sports fan, in the sense that I would choose to watch a game as my choice leisure time. When it comes to my boys, however, I could watch them play anything. They amaze me. And they are mine.