That speed though is all he has on most of his teammates. And I often wonder why. Well I know why for some of it...we didn't start playing baseball until kindergarten, and many of the boys started at age 3 with tee-ball in their neighborhoods. Then yesterday we were at the skating rink for a birthday party. I convinced Tate to do roller blades, and he did so much better with them instead of roller skates. But still my sweet boy was all arms and long skinny legs. And just not terribly coordinated. Oh he got it after a bit, but so many of the other boys seem sturdier and so much more self assured.
Last night I was chatting online with Lindsey about Tate and sports. I said he loves baseball like crazy, but that I think he's much better at soccer or basketball. With soccer he has the speed and the drive to go after the ball. He needs to learn how to better control the ball, but he seems to have much more of an affinity for soccer in my opinion. He's good at basketball, getting so much better, and his agility and speed will enable him to maneuver around the courts easier than some of the bigger boys.
But still I lamented his lack of ability compared to his friends.
Then Lindsey said 'Don't forget, he the youngest in his class and he's small.'
And she's right. He is the youngest and on top of that, small. Small as in thin, not really short. He just hit 52 pounds the other day. And 52 inches!
And we live in the South. And we go to an all boys' school. Red shirting is the norm here. Though I will say that only a couple of the boys will turn 9 before school starts in August, whereas Tate turns 8 in late July.
But half the grade will be 9 by Christmas.
These boys have 9-12 months on Tate with these bodies and skills.
So is it true about going to school young puts you behind in sports? It's holding true for my young boy. In Texas. Where people send their boys to an all boys' school solely for the sports exposure. (which isn't alot in private school...hope they figure that out sooner than later, but not my problem!).
Yet I cannot imagine having held Tate back a year so he'd be older, bigger and sturdier in baseball. The poor child is already bored in math on a daily basis. He was reading very soon after he turned 4, and very well by the time Pre-K 4 ended. I cannot imagine him having to do PreK twice.
So this was certainly the best choice for Tate academically. And as he's much more likely to get a math scholarship than a baseball scholarship, no matter what size or how tall he is, I'm very content with my choice. Because truly how many Jackie Robinsons or Derek Jeter's are there in the world?
However, how do I explain this to my child who wants to be as good a hitter as his 8 1/2 year old buddy Drew? Who wants to dribble the ball like almost 9 year old Titi on the soccer field?
So practice practice practice is what I'll tell him to do. He's always begging to go play catch (ugh) or wants to play basketball outside. We'll continue to do the teams outside of school as well. He LOVES playing sports, so I'm going to let him keep on keeping on. He never gives up; he wants to get better and better, so he practices and practices. So I'll keep supporting him. Such a sweet boy.
But oh...this parenting stuff is so hard, so full of nuances, so full of second-guessing.
So full of love.
Some shots of my boy playing the games he loves!
