I feel like I kind of dragged James to his first t-ball practice. We pumped him up about baseball and he was enthusiastic but when he saw the other kids and adults, he became a bit shy. I was glad that he was willing to toss the ball back and forth with this little girl. I crept away slowly and tried to separate myself from him. I think I lasted three minutes before he needed me back with him. (He wasn't the only child not willing to separate from his parent. There were a few.)
The coaches gathered the kids in a huddle and divided them into groups to work on different skills.
First, the kids were encouraged to run a base and shout out their names when they arrived at first base. Kind of an icebreaker. (I despise icebreakers in my own life!)
James was one of the last kids to do this (gathering up his courage?) but did it well!
He kind of refused to participate in the groups. He pouted. I tagged along and it went a bit better.
The last skill was batting. James did well!
So it wasn't a complete success but we got through it. We've missed the next two practices, including the team pictures (darn!) but James told me that "next time" he'll do better. He spied a playground on the way home and said next time we should play there. I told him that if we have a good practice next time we'll stop for some playground time. He has mentioned it a few times since so I think it will be a good bribe.
I am willing to give up t-ball if it feels like I'm forcing him. I'm hoping to give it two more tries?
No comments:
Post a Comment