
Admittedly, I never played much baseball growing up.
Quite frankly, I sucked at it. I was very much afraid of that ball, which lent itself to my poor fielding. I didn't, at the time, understand the mechanics of a proper baseball swing; I would always hit line drives and never anything that could really carry far.
In high school, I discovered how enjoyable watching a game could be with friends. As an adult (with a few nephews that enjoyed playing) I learned how much fun it could be actually playing. With that came a desire to learn how to properly catch without the fear of being hit (it'll happen either way, so make the damn play!) and proper hitting mechanics.
This is my first year coaching my oldest son in baseball, and I've got to admit: I'm having quite a great time with it. I've really boned up on baseball (special thanks to my brother-in-law) and the team is doing very well. Most importantly, I think the kids are really learning some of the skills needed to play the game well, in addition to the building up of teamwork and support.
Early on, when things would be going south, some would start jeering their team mates over mistakes made; now it's more of a "Let's get it back, let's go!" kind of attitude. A lot better.
We've won more than we've lost, but I'm kind of sad that we've only got two games left. Hopefully, we finish strong.
To those of you that do know me, I'm really not missing golf right now.
Shazam!