There were just too many of them and far too few of us. We couldn’t stop them.
No matter how often, or how recently, we four coaches told the dozen 5- and 6-year-olds who make up the Self Creek Veterinary Clinic girls’ T-ball team to play their own positions, they couldn’t help but dogpile at the ball’s destination every time it managed its way into play.
Even my 6-year-old daughter Zayley forgot herself on one occasion and found her hand stepped on by another player as she took part in an outfield scrum.
In the team’s first game of the season Monday at the Starkville Sportsplex, there was chaos, misguided base running and the occasional near-miss when a child threw the ball in the general direction of other children who weren’t looking. But more importantly, there was learning and as the old society page chestnut goes, “A good time was had by all.”
That, I figure, is as it should be.
Success comes only partially from talent and mostly through repetition. In many cases, children on both teams Monday were playing their first ever organized (although I might be playing a little fast and loose with that term) softball game. They were excited, a little nervous and they wanted to get out there, run around and play in the dirt.
With each time the kids batted and took the field, though, it got a little more organized. They began to remember their batting stances, where the bases were and toward the end of the game, there was a collective pause of at least two seconds after the ball was hit before the fielding dogpile ensued. So, there’s that.
Before I had kids, I scarcely understood the point of things like T-ball, where abject chaos slowly dwindled to some semblance of order by the end of the season. Now, I see the point much more clearly.
Kindergarten-age kids need as many opportunities as possible to learn how to contribute to something larger than themselves, and while there are plenty of viable ways to do that, not the least of which is learning how to function properly in a classroom environment, T-ball has become one of my favorites.
Think about it. Children who start out so aggressive that they race for the ball wherever it’s hit must learn to channel all that energy into playing their own position and allowing their teammates to do the same. A timid child who would otherwise play in the dirt and let everyone else do all the catching and throwing, has an opportunity to learn to step up and take part with growing confidence. Then there’s the oft-articulated and very viable lesson of sportsmanship that they begin to learn at this level.
These are lessons that, if cultivated, will serve these children well in the future, regardless of whether they continue to play a sport. They start now learning how to work hard, how to treat people and the importance of improving at the rate they are capable.
Unfortunately, in a society increasingly concerned with finding the path of least resistance, many of these lessons are getting lost. That’s why things like T-ball might not look like much on the surface, but if done right, can wind up being pretty important.
There are no winners and losers at this stage, and in the process of all this learning, they get to get dirty without getting in trouble. From my observation, the kids really enjoy that aspect. In fact, Zayley doesn’t think she’s done enough at practice unless she’s wearing dirt from head-to-toe by the time it’s over. After Monday’s game, she looked at her clothes on the way to the car and proclaimed, “I’m dirty enough.”
Indeed she was. And I was proud that she was happy.
Zack Plair covers city government for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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