What Do You Do When Your Shortstop Is Thinking About 'Hello Kitty'?
After running my first two practices as coach of my daughter's t-ball team, I'm trying to figure out with whom I can empathize more: her kindergarten teacher or Charlie Manuel.
Would it clarify matters to point out that we're talking about 10 5- and 6-year-old girls here? No, I didn't think so.
I played six years of organized baseball as a kid, and watched every practice and game of last year's t-ball and soccer seasons, but nothing prepared me for being the guy standing at first base and leading everyone in stretching. I thought holding one kindergartener's attention for more than two minutes was tough; a whole team's worth is damn near impossible. And while our girls did great hitting off the tee and catching grounders, and you can't stop them from running around the bases, by far the most enthusiastic reaction came when I unveiled our purple tie-dyed uniforms. Sadly, no one asked me to explain the infield fly rule.
That said, I'm having a blast with it. The girls are sweet and very interested in learning and trying, and as a coach, can you ask for anything more? Hell, I don't even mind that they leave runners on base. S|C
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