DJ has been playing T-ball 2 weeks now (4 hour-long sessions). The coaches have a ton of patience, and they give individual attention to each child, trying to teach them each the fundamental skill of baseball.
For example, when learning to throw a baseball overhand, they have each child put the knee on the ground on the side that they throw, and throw with that hand. It's not just.... here, throw it. They are trying to really teach the correct form.
He's been working on ground balls and being in the "ready position" (glove on the ground). He's also been working on catching pop-ups, as well.
Games are not traditional; they really can't be considering the level of skill of 4 and 5 year olds. What they do is they line up one team just on the infield line, and then each member of the opposing team bats. Each player runs to the next base, and then the last team player will hit a "homerun" which has that last player run all the bases, not just stop at the first one he reaches. Thus, the bases are cleared, and that team's batting session is over. The kids do try to field the ball and if they know how, throw it to first base. If by some miracle the field player gets the ball to first base before the runner, it doesn't matter as the runner is awarded first base regardless. The goal here is teach the kids how to run the bases (base order matters!), and let the kids field a ball and try to send it to first base appropriately.
Regardless, it's HILARIOUS to watch. The video shows various stages of DJ's playing. The first few segments are from when DJ was practicing (throwing, ground balls, and hitting), and the last segment is from his "game" this past Saturday vs. the Carroll Manor Reds. The Carroll Manor T-ball leagues all play each other. There are 5 teams this year, and DJ is playing for the Carroll Manor Orioles. If you can't see the video, it is here: http://youtu.be/K8jQT7TNp3Q
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