Greensboro Grasshopper Camp and Ethan's Love for Baseball !

Many of you already know that my youngest child is a little obsessed with baseball. The funny thing is that only 18 months ago I had to try to convince him to give baseball a try. I just wanted him to try a team sport. When we went to sign up and he saw others playing and turned to a former parent of mine and said, "Well, this sure looks different from the wii". Up until this point the wii was my son's only experience with baseball. So, at the age of 4, Ethan started playing coach's pitch baseball. It would be a far stretch to say that he was the star or even a good player that season. The way coach's pitch works in his league is that they get 5 pitches to hit the ball and if they do not hit the ball by the 5th pitch then they have a choice. They can have a 6th pitch or use a tee. By the end of his first season he had learned how to hit the ball and did not use the tee, pretty good for a 4 year old. Ethan played for the Yankees. His dad and his friend, Ired, were Red Sox fans, so that is where the love for Red Sox came from.

This past season he played for the Cardinals. although, the Cardinals is not his dad's favorite team it was sponsored by his dad's company, so it became the SAI cardinals, and that was acceptable. This past season his team did not win a lot of games, but Ethan learned more than words could ever express. His coach, Coach Hampton, was passionate about the sport just like he was and encouraged Ethan in new ways. Ethan's dad umpired the game, which made a special bond between Ethan and his dad much stronger. As the baseball season was ending and the boys were talking about sports and what they wanted to try in the fall. Almost of all of his team has decided to try out for flag football near by. When I asked Ethan what sport he wanted to try in the fall he turned his face and gave me the most puzzled look as if I asked him what color was the sky and he stated, "Uh.. fall ball of course". Which would mean all year baseball, not just the spring season like most kids play.

Ethan has attended two baseball camps this year. One was with the Greensboro Grasshoppers and the other was at the Baseball Academy with former major league players. Ethan was not the smallest or the largest at either camp. He was not the very best or the very worse at either camp, but Ethan was someone that all of the coaches will remember. He was even nicknamed E-rod, which he loves. What makes Ethan so different is his passion and his true love for the game. He watches games on TV, he plays baseball on the wii, in my house (much to my dismay), and outside in the yard. He has learned a lot of facts and rules about the different players and the game itself. He was correcting former major league players on facts about a recent Red Sox game. He will explain various calls and plays to adults in the stands at the Grasshopper Games.

So, when we went to our seats last night at the Greensboro Grasshopper Game, it should not have surprised me like it did, when a few players from the Bullpen called out Ethan's name. You see when they were at camp last week he met a lot of the players and received a poster that he had signed by about half the team. During lunch on the last day of camp Ethan asked one of the players, Pete Andrelczyk , if he would have lunch with him. Of course the player agreed. While other kids were running up to Pete to get his autograph Ethan and Pete were carrying a long discussion about baseball, being a pitcher, and the Boston Red Soxs. Pete was amazed that a 6 year old knew so much about baseball, and told him to come visit him at a game. Now we know, he meant it. Ethan went on and talked with a few other players during the course of his lunch. He grabbed his baseball bag, his new signed poster and his certificate and left the stadium beaming from ear to ear.

So, the next night when we went to the Grasshopper Game Ethan convinced us to sit by the bull pen, instead of next to 1st base where we normally sit. Ethan was a hit. He spent the whole night right over the Bullpen and talked to all of the players. They gave him gum and sunflower seeds and taught him even more about the sport. They even tried to fix Ethan's worn out glove. Ethan had a chance to watch Peter close the game as the pitcher and win in the 11th inning. Seeing the passion and love for the game that comes when Ethan watches or plays baseball is proof that this is his calling, at least for now. If you would have asked me 6 years ago if my little son was going to be a baseball player, I would have thought you were crazy. As parents we have decided to let our kids passions lead them, instead of our passions controlling them.

As for Katherine, she is very busy following her passion as a competitive cheerleader. Look for a post soon with pictures and more details about her cheerleading.