Another coach in the family?

Back when the days were still chilly and the skies were grey and there were no leaves on the trees, a certain little fellow signed up to play a little T-Ball.  This grandmother asked his dad whether he was planning to help coach and got this as a response, "I think I'm going to just watch and see how things go. It might not be the same here as it was where I grew up playing and I can learn how things are done here this year."  This grandmother smiled.

Then, ball practice started.  This little fellow had a bit of early coaching at home from dad.  So, he sort of knew a wee bit about what to do on the ball field. 

However, when all of the team gets together, that back-yard coaching sometimes flies out the window and chaos ensues!  Players rolling in the grass, fighting one another for the ball, and other general preschool fun takes over.  So, even though there is a head-coach and an assistant coach, other auxiliary coaches are needed to step up. 

When this grandmother asked the ball player's dad how practice went and called him Coach Dad, I was immediately corrected with, "I'm not coaching, Mom.  I just help out a little bit during practice."  Once again, this grandmother just smiled.

Call it what you may.  But, I think I see Coach Dad out there on that field giving a little instruction and playing catch with the team.

Look at that pair in the background.  I'd bet somewhere in there is a phrase about squaring up your feet and your shoulders as you face the ball.

Now, I know Coach Dad feels a responsibility toward this player as seen in the background but I really had a little suspicion that the coaching didn't stop there.

Somehow, I really believed the coaching went a wee bit beyond this player and improving his fielding and his batting. You know, maybe Coach Dad might be helping some of the other little sluggers as well as our own favorite.

Maybe it was just a gut feeling on my part.  Somehow, in my mind, I kind of thought the other little players might be getting just a wee bit of Coach Dad's coaching as well.  But, this grandmother just smiled as Coach Dad protested.  Then, the first game came along...

I called to find out how things went and talked to Coach Dad.  I was told that our little slugger walloped the ball!  This grandmother just smiled and listened to all the details.

I asked how the ballgame went when the little players were executing defense and who was out in the field with them during that time.  The response went something like this, "Gosh, Mom.  We all were out there.  It was just chaos.  There were three or four of us standing in the field with them and nudging them into positions and telling them to get baseball ready. Then, the batter would hit the ball and we would have to tell some of them to stay near a base or to go cover home plate and nudge them in that direction.  It was sort of like a three-ring-circus.  They would fight over the ball and everybody ran after the runner no matter whether they had the ball or not. Then, it was nudging them back into position to get ready all over again for the next batter and be baseball ready...  It was a lot like herding cats!"  And this grandmother just smiled.

I asked about a couple of our little slugger's friends whose names I could recall.  Coach Dad's response was, "Aw, she did pretty well.  She has a lot to learn but she is just the sweetest little thing!"  And this grandmother just smiled.

So, I said, "Sounds like Coach Dad is doing a pretty good job." And the response I got was, "I'm NOT coaching, Mom.  I'm just helping out a little bit."  And this grandmother just smiled.

Me thinks he doth protest too much. 

We are glad to have another coach in the family!