Finding flow in the chaos of Tee Ball

My son started the Tee ball season with lots of questions, and concerns about how the game is supposed to be played verses how it happens on the field. If you have ever been to a kids Tee ball game, you know that everyone runs to the ball, kids pick flowers, play in the dirt, and find that they can play tackle football between hitters. But if you haven’t had the pleasure of ever seeing a Tee ball game, just look it up in You Tube , and I guarantee you will have some belly laughs at the chaos that is Tee ball.  

As the season is coming to a close, I recognize  some big moments happening in my little guy’s world. He is a great listener. His coach, and other parents are always trying their best to keep these 4-5 years olds engaged with the game when there really is a lot of time standing around. I realized today that he was watching his coach intently and adjusted where he was standing after consciously taking some feedback. At first, I could see in his body language that he didn’t want to do it, but after a few minutes he seemed to understand the logic of moving up closer to field the ball. I also noticed that he’s a great teammate. With 4-5 year olds everyone wants to run for the ball, and it kind of looks like a rugby match once the ball goes rolling. One kid went down on the ground hard, and my son walked over to give him a hand to stand up.  

Another thing that stood out is that even though these kids disagreed on who had the right to get the ball, they could all agree that they were teammates and could respect each other. It’s hard to have so many big feelings and want an outcome a certain way. But I have high praise for his coach’s very easy-going nature regarding participation. It’s made my son excited for Tee ball, passionate to follow a baseball team with his dad. The pride swelling in my chest for how this little guy carried himself on the baseball field bubbled over so much I couldn’t hold it in. I ran over to the center of the field where he was standing patiently watching another player take feedback from their coach on how to hit. His puzzled expression said it all, ‘Mom what are you doing here?’ I ran over patted him on the head, and gave him a high five. I remember saying to him, “Buddy, awesome job listening. You are doing so great. I’m so proud of you.” He said thanks, and got right back to business. Jogging back to the dugout area with the other parents I could feel my cheeks burning hot with a little embarrassment. I was just so moved by what my 4 year old son taught me about finding the flow in the chaos that is not just Tee ball, but also in life.