“Baseball is such a huge part of American tradition, and Little League Baseball is the sport at its purest.”
~Wayne Wielgus
***Warning…I am going to brag on my son a little!!!***
Brendan started playing Single A “coach pitch” Little League baseball in the fall of 2008. At this time, he struck out more than he hit the ball. Defensively, I would say that he dropped the ball or missed it all together more than he actually caught it. However, it was during this season which we call “Fall Ball” that he truly learned to LOVE the sport of baseball.
This spring, Brendan was anxious to get back out to our Little League fields for tryouts. We had heard from other parents that playing in the spring was much more intense than Fall Ball, and we were not disappointed. Brendan advanced to Double A this year, and he made such strides from his first practice to his last game. Every afternoon Brendan was outside in the backyard throwing against his bounceback or throwing with JC. He even wore a place down in the grass from where he was playing.
We missed two of his regular season tournament games, but he played so well that we got a call from one of his coaches in the Atlanta airport on the way home from Russia .
Brendan was nominated for our League’s first ever 7 year old All Stars team (cut off was age 7 on 4/30/09). HE MADE THE TEAM!!! I could not be any prouder of him.
We thought regular season was intense, but it was NOTHING compared to All Stars. These boys have been practicing 2 hours everyday (Saturday and Sunday included) even in the rain for the past two weeks. No one knew what to expect from this team since our League has never had a team this age. Our first game was this past Saturday. The boys had hitting practice for one hour pregame. It was 95 degrees and sunny!!! These little guys played their hearts out! The game went to two extra innings (an extra hour of play), and they ended up winning 22-18. Brendan tagged a player out at 3rd base to make the 3rd out to end the game!!! Can you say PROUD MAMA???
We then played again on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. This team was from my hometown so I really wanted our team to win! ;) Again, it was very hot, but the boys did not let that slow them down. In the top of the 4th inning, the score was tied at 2-2. We had bases loaded with Brendan at 2nd base with 2 outs. One of our players hit a grounder to the shortstop, and the ball, Brendan and the shortstop all came together at the same time. Brendan hopped out of the way of the ball and missed the shortstop, but the umpire (supplied by opposing team) called Brendan out for player interference. Our boys had NO IDEA what this meant, but we took it with pride, and they took away our runs to keep the score tied 2-2 going in to the bottom of the 4th. Well…we fell apart. The other team scored five runs that inning to make it 7-2. It stayed that way until the 6th inning. At this age, there is a 6 inning limit so in the top of the 6th, if the opposing team had scored just one run, the game would have been over! Our boys held them off and in the bottom of the 6th inning our boys scored 6 runs to WIN the game!!! Brendan batted last and sent our guy on 3rd base home to score the winning run!!! Again…my heart was racing!!!! These guys truly are ALL STARS even at this young age!!! I am so proud of the ENTIRE TEAM!!!
This is an excerpt from an email our coach sent out yesterday…
“What a weekend! I never dreamed that a game could have more drama than Saturdays’ slugfest but the boys found a way to make another as exciting as the first. They have been dubbed the “Cardiac Kids” and for good reason – they have shown a TON of heart and have nearly given us all trips to the emergency room in the process. I am so proud of this group - in a very short time they have come together as a TEAM and have grown to love playing together. We as coaches and parents can’t ask for any more than that – and the memories of this weekend will stay with them forever!”
We play again on Thursday night…we are playing one of the best teams in the tournament, and we are hopeful for yet another victory from our “CARDIAC KIDS”!!!
~Wayne Wielgus
***Warning…I am going to brag on my son a little!!!***
Brendan started playing Single A “coach pitch” Little League baseball in the fall of 2008. At this time, he struck out more than he hit the ball. Defensively, I would say that he dropped the ball or missed it all together more than he actually caught it. However, it was during this season which we call “Fall Ball” that he truly learned to LOVE the sport of baseball.
This spring, Brendan was anxious to get back out to our Little League fields for tryouts. We had heard from other parents that playing in the spring was much more intense than Fall Ball, and we were not disappointed. Brendan advanced to Double A this year, and he made such strides from his first practice to his last game. Every afternoon Brendan was outside in the backyard throwing against his bounceback or throwing with JC. He even wore a place down in the grass from where he was playing.
We missed two of his regular season tournament games, but he played so well that we got a call from one of his coaches in the Atlanta airport on the way home from Russia .
Brendan was nominated for our League’s first ever 7 year old All Stars team (cut off was age 7 on 4/30/09). HE MADE THE TEAM!!! I could not be any prouder of him.
We thought regular season was intense, but it was NOTHING compared to All Stars. These boys have been practicing 2 hours everyday (Saturday and Sunday included) even in the rain for the past two weeks. No one knew what to expect from this team since our League has never had a team this age. Our first game was this past Saturday. The boys had hitting practice for one hour pregame. It was 95 degrees and sunny!!! These little guys played their hearts out! The game went to two extra innings (an extra hour of play), and they ended up winning 22-18. Brendan tagged a player out at 3rd base to make the 3rd out to end the game!!! Can you say PROUD MAMA???
We then played again on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. This team was from my hometown so I really wanted our team to win! ;) Again, it was very hot, but the boys did not let that slow them down. In the top of the 4th inning, the score was tied at 2-2. We had bases loaded with Brendan at 2nd base with 2 outs. One of our players hit a grounder to the shortstop, and the ball, Brendan and the shortstop all came together at the same time. Brendan hopped out of the way of the ball and missed the shortstop, but the umpire (supplied by opposing team) called Brendan out for player interference. Our boys had NO IDEA what this meant, but we took it with pride, and they took away our runs to keep the score tied 2-2 going in to the bottom of the 4th. Well…we fell apart. The other team scored five runs that inning to make it 7-2. It stayed that way until the 6th inning. At this age, there is a 6 inning limit so in the top of the 6th, if the opposing team had scored just one run, the game would have been over! Our boys held them off and in the bottom of the 6th inning our boys scored 6 runs to WIN the game!!! Brendan batted last and sent our guy on 3rd base home to score the winning run!!! Again…my heart was racing!!!! These guys truly are ALL STARS even at this young age!!! I am so proud of the ENTIRE TEAM!!!
This is an excerpt from an email our coach sent out yesterday…
“What a weekend! I never dreamed that a game could have more drama than Saturdays’ slugfest but the boys found a way to make another as exciting as the first. They have been dubbed the “Cardiac Kids” and for good reason – they have shown a TON of heart and have nearly given us all trips to the emergency room in the process. I am so proud of this group - in a very short time they have come together as a TEAM and have grown to love playing together. We as coaches and parents can’t ask for any more than that – and the memories of this weekend will stay with them forever!”
We play again on Thursday night…we are playing one of the best teams in the tournament, and we are hopeful for yet another victory from our “CARDIAC KIDS”!!!
"Baseball, to me, is still the national pastime because it is a summer game. I feel that almost all Americans are summer people, that summer is what they think of when they think of their childhood. I think it stirs up an incredible emotion within people."
~Steve Busby, in Washington Post, 8 July 1974
9 comments:
Wow, good for him! That is great.
No need for the warning...brag all you want! What a great way to win the games and good luck Thursday night!
Tell Brendan I said good luck on Thursday! :)
How cool! Congratulations to Brendon and his team. My boys really enjoyed t-ball this spring adn I'm hoping to find a fall ball league for them to play in.
Good luck this week!
I agree....brag all you want!! Way to go Brendon!!! You must be so proud:)
Hey, the pics are great...did you get a new camera or get the old one fixed?
Good luck!!
Lisa
We play a lot of baseball here at our house too and it is a lot of fun...and nail-biting at the same time. Our oldest played in a tournament last week and they lost their first game but came from the loser's bracket to win the entire tournament. They played 5 games! It was crazy and then my oldest daughter had 3 games so we were at the ballpark a lot last week.
I am thrilled for you...I know it is so exciting when our kids do well at anything. I know you were very proud and good luck with the game this week!
Kristine
Congratulation ~ you have every reason to be proud! Brag away.
Jo
Awww! Congratulations to the All Stars!
That is the cutest picture ever! I love it! Way to go guys~!
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