I am unabashedly a proud father of two sons. They are both active with multiple activities and very smart. More importantly, they are healthy. Grayson is our youngest and for most of his early life he spent it watching big brother (Sam) play hockey and baseball up and down the East Coast. He was a trooper through it all. Hot dusty baseball fields and cold hockey arenas never bothered him and as we learned later, he was taking mental notes on how big brother played.
Grayson, or G-Man as we call him, is built differently than Sam and had no interest in sports until he was almost five years old. Sam, was playing hockey out of the womb and wiffle ball at six months. The contrast between the two is easy to see, yet they are very much alike. Once G-Man showed some interest in playing T-ball, it was game on, literally.
I've never really asked him, but I would have to assume that G-Man has to feel he is in a long shadow being cast by big brother when it comes to baseball, but he's only nine so who knows. Sam is talented and has had a lot of success even though he is only fourteen. I have always tried to coach Sam when I could and I've been very careful to turn him over to coaches who have to be held to a high standard when it comes to baseball.
When I realized Grayson was really interested in playing and getting better, I knew that I would want to coach him too. Having him learn the right way, knowing that we were not having anymore kids and knowing that the opportunities to coach him were going to go away sooner than I cared to think, were all driving factors, but at the end of the day I love teaching kids the sport that I love so much. Especially our two sons.
G-man is pretty gifted athletically and soccer is the sport he has a chance to really excel at, but he is pretty good at baseball too. He is usually one of the top 3-4 kids on his team and no one can catch him when it comes to running. No one!
Through t-ball and coach/kid pitch, the first four years he played, he always ended the season a better player than when he begin and he was a good teammate. That's all you can ask for. Our little league team last year finished their season undefeated and he was a huge factor in that success. It earned him a spot on the 8u All-Star team (that I was asked to coach) that would play in a local tourney and that honor produced a smile that was pure and honest joy. For the parents out there, you know the smile I am talking about. The "I did it, big brother didn't do it for me, I'm an All-Star too!" smile that I hope all little brothers and sisters get many times in their life. It reappeared a few days later when the all-star uniforms came in.
Soccer provides those same smiles but it's just different. The soccer field is his happy place where he knows he can play with anyone and the confidence level is much higher. Although he is still good at baseball, his confidence level doesn't compare, so when there is a level of achievement reached, it seems to mean just a little bit more in baseball.
This past winter, he has been working out with a 9u travel team. I have my own thoughts about travel sports, but that's for another day. He is not on the roster, but he does practice with them each weekend just to get time with kids that are pretty good players too. G-man isn't ready for a full travel team yet, but this has been good for his skill development and honestly, he could play on this team without question.
Since he has not ever played with these kids nor does he go to school with them, he has felt like an outsider when it comes to practice and he is often nervous and hasn't really shown his true skill set to the coaches running the practice. It's been a fine line for me having him do this and see him tense up, but in the end, I think he will be better for it. At the end of the day, it still has to be fun for him.
Each Saturday morning since the holidays, I have taken both boys to a local indoor facility, mostly with the intention of getting Grayson some swings with his new bat. Tee work, soft toss then hitting off Sam with some live pitches. We also do some infield work. Sam has been a big help with this part of Grayson's learning curve. It's a fun hour each Saturday and they love doing it.
This past Sunday, G-Man was only going to be able to attend sixty of the ninety minute practice, which was simply just a hitting and fielding day. G hit well from the time he stepped into the cages. Great tee work and then he hit live pitches like he was hitting off Sam during our Saturday sessions. Hitting went long and I was afraid the he would not get to do some of the infield drills that the other half of the kids were doing. These were the same drills he had been doing the previous two weeks with Sam and I. About half the kids were not doing them well, but I knew Grayson would do them well if they switched stations before we needed to leave.
As Dan was telling the new group of kids what the drill was, the clock was ticking. The first two kids did the drill poorly which caused Dan to explain and show them the proper way again. We had to get going. G-man looked disappointed that he didn't get a chance. I said "Go take one before we leave".
The ball was hit to him. A medium speed grounder. He didn't sit back but charged up on it and fielded it like he had done it a thousand times. Made a perfect on the run throw and there it was...that "I just did what I was supposed to do, when others weren't doing it and showed them I could play" smile. He left the the cage like Joe Namath leaving Super Bowl III but not quite as obvious or arrogant. The smile stayed on his face until we got to soccer practice. He couldn't wait to tell big brother about it and I couldn't wait for him to share it with my wife.
The little boy in him, brought out the little boy in me. I will never forget that ten second span of perfection that gave him more than he probably realizes right now but an experience that I know he will build off of for the rest of his live. What did I get? I got the smile and it was the best.
