I kind of mentioned our Little League snafu here. Time for the whole story. We missed the Little League tryouts for Peter, our 2nd born. He's 10. He loves sports! He wanted to play baseball in the worst way. Gerry had jury duty with one of the Board members who told him to call the president because they were short players and he was sure they would love Peter on one of the teams. Great!So, Gerry made the call and got a big, fat "NO!" The person on the phone, who I respect for all of their work in the community and their dedication to Little League, said that even though practice hadn't started yet and they only had 11 kids on each of the 5 teams, (they can have up to 15 kids, so that's 20 spots, right?) they'd had tryouts and he wasn't there, so no way.
Well, Gerry didn't do what a lot of parents (including me) would have done. His son wanted to play baseball and he wanted to help him! So he made a boat load of phone calls. He called coaches, other board members, other parents... really he was amazing. The great thing was that EVERYONE else was supportive of Peter playing ball. After a long 2 week battle and rumors of some not so nice things being said, the board voted 6-2 to open tryouts again for everyone.
Sadly, the notice didn't make it into the paper. I still don't get that.
We did know about the tryouts and, happily, Peter did get to join the A's and he is having a blast. So are we! Who knew how much fun a sunny Saturday morning baseball game could be? Thanks to Gerry and a bunch of other great grown-ups, we do!! Next year, I'm going to make sure that everyone I know, knows when tryouts are!! I'm kind of a loud-mouth! :)
9 comments:
Your husband should be Dad of the Year for doing all that! I'd have given up after hearing "no". I guess it's a good thing neither of my boys want to do team sports (I have a funny...well, now it's funny, not back then...story of ds#1 pitching a total hissy fit when he was about 4 and we put him into a t-ball thing. And in this same story, ds#2 was pitching a total hissy fit (he was 2) because we wouldn't let him join his brother - it wasn't us; Parks & Rec has age limits...kids *eyes rolling*...how do you do it with all yours??!).
Anyway, I'm thrilled that Peter got to play, and please tell your dear hubby we're in awe of his persistence. :)
Aw, that's awesome that he gets to play now. It's definitely a lesson in persistence - after all, every "no" leads you closer to a "yes."
Sounds like it's going to be a very fun summer for your family, watching Peter play baseball! I'm glad everything worked out so he could play.
Now there's a good dad!
I can hardly wait until my kids are old enough for t-ball. I LOVE baseball and am looking forward to those leisurly Saturday games.
My hubby is great, it's true! ;)
Teresa~ I always say that once we had 2 we were way in it! I don't think four is any harder than 2... it's all a (really fun) rat race! :)
It is great that it all worked out! Thanks for the comments! And A-M, you are soooo right!!!
Thanks for sharing this story. I agree with try-outs, because it's important for a child to learn about this, BUT it's wonderful for all children to play a sport that they are able to. So I say--Have try-outs, but get every child on the roster. I didn't like to hear that even with try-outs the team was still not at it's max.
In our community little league sports is BIG~ by the time high school rolls around~ football-state champs, wrestling-state champs-cheerleading-state champs-baseball-state champs...and this is because every child, from a young age is allowed to play and "learn" to be on a team.
Awww...I miss though days. Our children played just about every sport, and we LOVED it all!
Hey C~G! We agree with try-outs, too. They just check a kid's safety for playing. As long as they are safe to play, everyone makes the teams. And we felt terrible that we missed the date.
The bummer was that they don't advertise well or at all, so if you are a first year, you miss it all. That ended up being our mission... to get the Association to make it EASY for kids to go try out.
Anyway, it is so fun! We're lucky to have it here in town!
Good for you, Peter looks like he is having a blast! I can't believe they said no even with the team being under max players. See you at the game!
You guys are great parents! It warms the heart to hear stories like this, truly it does :)
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