Importance Of Playing Baseball

Ever since I can remember I have been playing baseball. I have spent more time playing baseball or traveling to baseball games than I have spent asleep. Baseball has occupied every single weekend since I was 6 years old. Baseball will occupy every single weekend for the rest of my life, and I am completely fine with that. When I was 5 years old I was the batboy for my brother’s team that was coached by my father. I could not play for another year but that didn't mean I could not be an important player on the team. I went to every practice that was held and I was at every game. During practice I was the designated catcher for my dad. While he would hit grounders or pop flies I would be right by his side studying every movement of the players. I was 5 years old but I had watched enough baseball that I knew the game like I had been playing for years.

This team was a branch off of my brother’s team also coached by my father. Most of the players had never played before, so I took on the role as the captain of the team. I had been watching how practices were constructed for more than a year and I had to help my dad get all of my teammates into order and try to instruct them how to properly do all of the drills. We were only 6 years old so expectations were pretty low, but this was the beginning of a team that would spend years together.

From ages 6-12 we all continued to play on the same team. We spent every weekend together for 6 years. Our bond had become so strong as a team that we no longer played as individuals but we played as a whole. I know that sounds like a cliché, but it was something special when all of us were on the field.

By my eighth grade summer we had been playing together for almost 8 years. I thought of them as my family and not just teammates. I thought I was going to play with them until I went to college. My parents had other plans. I ended up moving to Atwood Kansas that