Today Ella (our 6 year old) had T-ball this morning. She does rather well compared to most of the rest of the kids there but she is at the top of the age group that is out on the field at the time so it figures she would do a little better. She does OK batting but she needs a better stance and needs to remember to keep that back elbow up. It's always pointing at the ground. This week she did better hitting than in the past. It seemed her form was better. Where I am most impressed is her fielding. She is still a little afraid of the ball when she tries to catch it out of the air but when it is a ground ball she knows to get down in front of if and get rid of it as quick as she can. When she is in too big of a hurry she will not throw it as far but when she slows down just a bit shes got a good arm on her. I was surprised. She also runs well but just a little lazy. It's funny but I can see a better running form from Ella than I do from our flat-footed 9 year old, Kaitlyn. I wonder if Ella could beat Kaitlyn in a foot race?
Kaitlyn had volleyball afterwards. Again, we always thought she might not be quite the sporty one but more the dramatic one. She did OK in volleyball but she flailed around a little bit trying to go after the ball. There is definitely a disconnect from her and the other players who seem to have a little more athletice ability to them. One girl unfortunately kept running all over the place and jumping in front of Kaitlyn. She comes from a family of know-it-alls that we have to deal with in dance already. I wasn't positive of it at first if it was this lady's child but then sure enough after volleyball was done, in she went into the same vehicle and I'm thinking, go frickin figure. Have some courtesy or teach your kids some cause I know the mom doesn't have any. But I digress, I am getting off topic. Kaitlyn does need to have more rigid arms when she plays volleyball. It seems the ball dominates her hand instead of the other way around. Afterwards practice she shot a basketball and made it....Hmmmmmm, dad is thinking. I just wonder.....
In the end I know it is not all about how good they are, as long as they enjoy the game. So I encourage them the best I can. Give them tips after the game/practice is over on what to do differently. Above it all I tell them good job no matter what they did out there because a little girls psychy is fragile. I don't agree on everyone getting a ribbon or that everyone is a winner. In my book there will be winners and there will be losers but I will always praise my kids for trying, especially if I know they tried their hardest. For that, you win the mental game. You win the self esteem game and when you have daughters, that is the most important game to win in the end. You want a daughter who is sure of herself and knows that sometimes you will fail in things and other times you won't and that through it all, remain gracious, humble and remain confident and hopefully satisfied that they did something they enjoy doing.
Oh, Pioneer Woman, last night I made frozen pizza and this afternoon it was ham sandwiches. Beat that! Sign me up for my own show!
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