Baseball

Just one cartoon from my grandsons baseball practice. I had more in mind but got sidetracked.

The coach was holding this ball on the stick and the kids would practice thier swings at it. Sometimes he would run at them with the stick held out so it was more like a pitch. Some of them were taking pretty good slices at it, ought to be some home runs this season.

The team is for eight and up and you can tell some of them have been playing a year or two, pretty sure of what they are doing. They have at least one girl on the team, something different from when I was a kid, no girls allowed then in boys sports, organized or otherwise. Most of the teams have girls playing though now and most of the girls that play are as good as most of the boys. It's not for every girl but then sports aren't for every boy either. When I was a kid up through high school I played at everything I could but I can let the secret out now, I was never much good at any of them.

Again I have to say "good work" to the coaches. They really give it thier all, working with all the kids, not just thier own and everyone I've seen is good at it, giving the kids encouragement and getting on them a little when it's needed. This team even has a lady coach, wife of one of the men coaches. Sometimes they put up with a lot from the parents too, funny but the kids all seem to get the sportsmanship deal but not always the same with the parents.

Play Ball

Just a sketch, cartoon of two fellas who like myself are eager for spring. My grandson will start his third year of ball with the local park district this year, first year of non t ball although they have not hit off the "T" hardly at all even before. I think the ball is harder when they are out of the t ball phase also. I'm proud of him for playing and doing fairly well. I was always kind of worried about him when he was smaller as I thought he was a little overly "sensitive" and not a kid to get involved in sports. He has though, doing the baseball and also basketball and pretty much seems to be growing out of the mamas boy thing or maybe grandpa just worries too much.

I'm glad for anything that gets his hands off the video games and outside, he's always had a real thing for those games, something he might have gotten from my wife who also plays them. ( I don't worry about that, her ball playing days are over as are mine) He takes those games so seriously though in my nightmares I have images of him growing up to being a geek who in his teens takes a rifle to school or something. On the other hand if he has enough interest and enough smarts he may grow up designing the games and support his dear old grandpa.