Youth Sports Post: Spring Sports

With Spring comes spring sports.

My son, Jeremiah, will play baseball. These photos are from practice. We've had one game but Jeremiah didn't play because of grades, alas. We lost. I think he's got those grades up now, so maybe he can help us to our first win this weekend.

Soccer has kicked off as well.

That's Isaiah's sport. Last month he made the FC Spokane U18 team, and will play for them this summer.

As for the high school season, he, too, hasn't played yet because of grades, more's the pity. But he's busted his butt to be eligible, and should be playing this weekend. So far we have a record of 2 and 1, and Isaiah's return, I believe, will help us get firmly on the winning track.

Isaiah did play in a pre-season jamboree, and our team dominated. Isaiah looked very good.

I was surprised to see that last photo of mine on the front page of the Sports section in the local paper.

Actually, it's not mine. It was taken by Al Camp, one of the local sports reporters. I was out there taking photos, and so was he. He came over to talk to me, and give me pointers, so we were standing right next to each other when we shot the same play just a split second apart.

Youth Sports Post: A Busy Spring Continues

Spring Sports: Orientation

Baseball--to the left.

Soccer--to the right.

Spring sky--everywhere you look.

Youth Sports Post: Doubles

There was more baseball today--a doubleheader. Speaking of double, here's an unusual double play. A double rundown. I worked this video up so members of the team could look it up online. It was a definite highlight of their double victory day.

Youth Sports Post: Baseball Season Opener

The latest sign of Spring appeared Thursday: High School baseball.

It was a chilly day, and there was still a little snow left along the backstop.

But there were more signs of Spring: midges from the nearby river swarming in the sun...

And Violet-Green swallows--my first sighting--swarming on the midges.

Jeremiah and the team were visitors at the same nearby town that suffered a loss from our soccer team this week. And they suffered another loss from our baseballers, a shutout that shut down early because of the ten-run rule.

Jeremiah played well. I was proud as could be.

If you want me in the next few weeks, I'll be driving back and forth to baseball and soccer games.

Family Post: Soccer Season Opener

Spring sports have begun. The first soccer game was Tuesday in a nearby town, and I lost track of how many goals we scored. They scored nil. But the season will get a lot tougher very soon.

Isaiah did well. He loves this game. The good news is he has worked hard and made great improvement, and is a starter on the varsity squad. The bad news is he has worked hard and made great improvement and now finds the high school game, with all that interference from the coaches, frustrating. If only he could go straight to the Premiere League, or, if necessary, the Sounders!

Kids today. They want it all on a platter.

But I'm proud of the kid. And I'm glad he can dream big. And I'm confident he will work it out and achieve his dream, one step at a time.

So here's to Isaiah and the Tigers, a good season, and a great first step.

Youth Sports Post: When You're Glad To Have a Son Who Steals

Youth Sports Post: A Celebration of a Great Season

I wasn't the only one to notice that we finally had good weather for baseball on the last day of the season.

It was a glorious day to go out on, sunny and 84 degrees.

It was a double header against a very good team. Jeremiah played center field both games.

We have a young team. We had only one senior to recognize today, and most of the rest, like Jeremiah, are Freshmen. So score-wise we didn't have too much to cheer about. They beat us both games, by lopsided margins. The first game was a shutout, but in the second game we rallied to score 3 runs. We all cheered like crazy for that moral victory.

Between games some of the parents of our team supplied a lunch--for both teams. Nice.

Isaiah was there, sort of, hanging out and wandering around with some of his soccer cronies.

Jeremiah didn't get that home run, nor did he get on base, but he got the bat on the ball a couple of times--also a moral victory against the excellent pitching of the other team.

And he covered center field pretty well, making some good catches. There were plenty of opportunities what with the big bats of the opponents. He almost made a circus catch, running full-tilt for a sky high fly and just getting his glove on the ball before rolling on the ground and coming up empty.

I think everybody had a great day, even the team that "lost." It was more than a game. It was a celebration of a great season of disappointments and triumphs, of working hard and making steady improvement, of going against the odds and never giving up, of overcoming obstacles and doing better than you thought you could, of coming to the end and feeling good, knowing that through it all you had done your best.

Way to go, guys.

Youth Sports Post: Spring Sports Winding Down

Spring sports are winding down. Soccer is over and a double header today will close out the baseball season.

Jeremiah has had his moments on the baseball team. This was his first triple, rounding out a handful of singles and a couple of doubles.

Maybe today he'll get a home run for the cycle. I'll keep my video camera handy just in case.

Youth Sports Post: Dream, Dedication, and Reality

In the post Dream and Dedication Isaiah was working hard on his shot, and dreaming of the chance to use it in a game.

On Saturday it happened.

He's still not 100% after his ACL surgery, but he gave it all he had. His knee is stronger, but the brace restricts his movements.

But his shot was strong and true. He scored two of the team's three goals in a losing effort. One goal came so fast I missed it with the camera, an opposing goal kick that went awry, and that Isaiah gathered up and kicked in from outside the box.

The other came when our team was awarded a penalty kick. The coach called out, "Isaiah! That's you!" And it was.

Take a dream, add dedication, and it becomes reality.

Youth Sports Post: Dream and Dedication

There was a double header on Saturday.

We were there, watching Jeremiah and his teammates sweep their opponents.

Meanwhile, behind us, there was a soccer game going on. Isaiah was there but didn't play. He still doesn't have enough practices in to be eligible. And, as I've pointed out before, his role will be limited because he's still rehabbing from ACL surgery in September.

Every time I glanced behind me the other team was scoring a goal. Knowing Isaiah, I can imagine how excruciating it is for him to have to just sit there on the bench and do nothing to help the team.

The soccer game was long over and the second baseball game was winding down when we started to wonder why Isaiah hadn't joined us yet. I looked over and saw why.

Over and over and over.

Take a dream, add dedication, and there will be no stopping it.

Click for Update: It all pays off.