Down on the Farm

Friends, I'm coaching Fall Ball this year. It's the one thing that I didn't totally want to do. I was warned by one of the more experienced T-ball coaches last season that it wasn't a great idea. However, I got a call from the guy running it asking why I hadn't signed up my son yet and if I was going to coach. Of course, this technically isn't T-ball as we've moved up a division to Farm League. Which means that the Tee is no more. They have to hit the live pitching. That's gonna be different. I had four families request me as their coach, which I guess won the pool. So about a week ago, I signed up my little guy for Fall Ball and at the same time got my team and our name. The Muckdogs. It's a pretty neat-o hat as evidenced by the logo.

So with that starting next week, we're playing 2 games a week for six weeks, but there's only one other team. So that's 12 games (for those of you who aren't math inclined) against the same opponent. This probably will be interesting. And to make it more interesting I've got 17 kids on the team. Ranging in age from 5 to 7. It isn't a great thrill for me to try to figure out how to get all those kids involved and keep them entertained at the same time. The other team, from the next city over, also has an enormous team. So these games that start at 5:30 are supposed to get three innings in, but I'm not sure if we'll be making it through 1.

I also heard from one my parents from last season that her nephew is going to be on the team this year. Her son was the one who had a High School Musical themed birthday party last year when turned 6, and she tells me that her nephew is mildly autistic. Now I'm not sure what mildly autistic means, as I have no real experience with this. Honestly the only exposure to autism I have is Rainman. I know that it's not that severe, but mildly autistic is kind of a general term for me. Hopefully one of this boys parents will be able to inform me as to what I need to look out for or if I need to be cautious of anything. Because honestly right now, I'm mildly tired, and mildly curious, and mildly looking forward to this Fall Ball season.

Let's hope that mildly autistic simply means that he isn't that great of a hitter. Because I don't think it would be any worse than the rest of the team.