Play Ball!

“Catch this.” “Roll it back to me.” “Good girl.” “Do it again.” “Yeah, Sweetie.” “Good job.” “Roll it to me again.” “Oops!” “Go get it.” “Try again.”

Playing ball, in its simplest form. Parents, older siblings, older others encouraging the basic give and take needed to develop basic social skills. And, prepares future ball players to cooperate with each other to achieve a common goal. Winning.

“Watch the ball.” “Figure out which foot.” “Kick at it.” “That’s okay. Let’s try again.” “Here it comes.” “Keep your eye on the ball.” “Good try.” “You’ll get it next time.” “Here we go. Watch the ball.” “Yeah!” “Look what you did!” “You kicked it!” “Run!” “Run this way!” “Run to first base before they get you out!”

New skills and new rules as players grow. Developing eye/hand (or in this case, foot) coordination is part of the game. It is about playing as a team and learning to run the bases. Learning to run as fast as you can and cheering on teammates are now a part of the game.

“Hold it this way.” “Okay, but put your hands like this.” “Put your feet like this.” “Hold the bat up here so you can swing it.” “Good. Let’s try one.” “It won’t hurt you to get hit by it.” “Alright. Keep your eye on the ball.” “Swing!” “I know it can be tricky when the wind blows the plastic, holey ball.” “Let’s try again.” “Okay. Watch the ball. Here it comes.” “Swing!” “ALRIGHT!” “Let’s try it again.”

Developing a good bat swing takes practice, a lot of practice. Now the game is looking more familiar. Three bases, a plastic bat, a ball (even though it is plastic and has holes in it), running bases, throwing people out are all involved now. The good thing about plastic balls: they rarely break anything when a wayward ball flies off the bat.

“Be careful of the cars.” “Let’s play.” “I pick you.” “Rules: Must land in the street. Pitcher is out for first base. Only two outs.” “I’ll pitch first.” “Batter up!” “You can hit it off a bounce.” “Okay. Here it comes.” “Hey, batter, batter, batter. SWING.” “Good hit!” “Catch it on the bounce!” “Chase the ball down.” “Throw it in!” “Hurry. HURRY!”

The ball is a little heavier now even if the bat is still plastic. The green tennis ball plays tricks on the fielder as it bounces and skids along the concrete street. Better eye/hand coordination is needed to catch the ball. Determination is a requirement for chasing down the “long ball” and those that get by a player and roll, swiftly, down the street.

What comes next in the development of a ball player? More next week.