Monday, March 28, 2005

Put me in Coach

Well, tomorrow is the first game of the pre-season for Dixie Baseball. After all of the preparation, we are all ready to finally get started.

Connor, upon some encouragement from his coach, has agreed to pitch again. Last year he had decided not to pitch anymore because I was trying to steer him away from it. My argument was that some coaches would not be sensitive to the longevity of his arm, but would instead try to get as much out of him for a season rather than protect it for a lifetime. I also happen to think that pitching will over time throw off the timing of a batter and Connor is one of the better base runners I have seen in this league. Kendra didn't want him to pitch because of all the pressure and what it does to her nerves. Still, we told him it was his decision and he chose to pitch this year but make no promises about future years.

Preparation for the season has been as involved for Kendra as it has for anyone in the league, if you ask me. She signed up to be one of the people in charge of the concession stand. The truth, however, is that she has basically been the one person in charge of the concession stand. I know this will sound like an exaggeration but it is actually a conservative estimate based on actually trying to add it up. She has spent at least 150 hours getting that thing ready: Getting the place cleaned up, getting it ready for the health inspection, scheduling all of the volunteers to work the stand for the season (and re-scheduling and re-scheduling), buying supplies, establishing procedures for the volunteers to follow, going to countless meeting, looking for equipment that has walked away, and on and on and on. It is certainly a test of my devotion to her, but its one I know I will pass with flying colors.

I am sponsoring a team. One of the coaches is my next door neighbor and a great guy. The other coach is such a jerk I was literally checking my bank to see if the sponsorship check had cleared as I looked for a way out of it. I am afraid this will make for a very long season. Nevertheless, GO SIDEWINDERS!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree on the pitching. I remember the pitcher on Isaac's team last year being used to the limit. By the end of the year he couldn't pitch due to arm soreness. I guess some coaches see the dixie league as a developmental league for major league managers. Except I don't see Buck Showalter looking over his shoulder.