If your grandfather runs Little League, your father is a college baseball player and little league coach, does that mean the son will be a little league star? Still too early to say!
Following the Rodriguez legacy of die-hard baseball family, tee ball at 4 years old was set for Emanuel once the opportunity arise. Our little Eman was going to play tee ball for the first time. We signed up for the North Torrance Little League right away as we found that season starts Feb 1st 2012. Excitedly, we went out and bought new tee balls, baseball bats and baseball gear to get ready for the season. Our Team, THE CUBS.
Learning how to play Tee ball was not easy task for a 4-6 year olds with short attention spans. The first few practices were kids running in wrong directions, staring into space and kicking the grass, but as the team had 2 practices a week and 1 game day on Saturday, the kids all began to grasp the sport. They all know “Play at First”. When a batter hits, they need to catch and throw the ball to 1st. They also know how to line up in their batting order. Lastly, they know where 1st, 2nd, 3rd, pitcher, short stop and outfielders stand. In tee-ball you don’t keep score, but the kids are definitely learning the fundamentals of the game. In my opinion we have a good looking team.
One thing I can tell, the boys that want to be there, they learn more and play better. So parents beware, if your child is not ready to pay attention and learn the game, it’s better to wait until they are ready. Although these kids are not hitting hard yet, it’s still dangerous for them to be on the field if they are not ready to pay attention to the ball.
Thank goodness we had fantastic coaches that are patient and really teaching our kids fundamentals. We know as team sports get competitive, you will get stacked teams. My husband would always say, “It’s better to find a team with a good coach to teach fundamentals, then it is to be on a good team and not learn new skills.”
Each geographical region has their own Little League, so you will need to find your own region. For those in North Torrance, CA you can go tohttp://www.northtorrancelittleleague.com/about/ntll_history.asp
GET READY, being involved in sports with your kids means being involved with team fundraisers, volunteering and becoming a part of a new family of people. We’ve had a wonderful experience at NTLL and have met so many great parents and children as a result.
