I Signed My Kid Up For T-Ball Against His Will
In early January, our local Little League sign ups were announced. My four year old son, Chip, just made the age cut-off for T-ball in the 4-6 year old division. In general observation of Chip, he seems to be something of a natural athlete and has been playing catch and batting at balls for…Several months? A year? I don’t know, I haven’t particularly kept track. Interestingly, other parents seem to comment on Chip’s athleticism to his father and myself. But, I guess parents comparing their kids to other kids is a cultural epidemic and probably best handled in a separate post.
Chip’s father played in our Little League as a child and said he didn’t start until he was about eight. I was very involved in sports myself and didn’t play team soccer until about that age too. Speaking of soccer, Chip qualified for AYSO this past fall but was adamant after being asked on several occasions that he did not want to play. Fine, I figured being barely four still left him many, many seasons to play soccer if he ever wanted to. As the deadline for Little League approached, both my husband and I asked Chip if he wanted to play T-ball. He made it abundantly clear that he “DID NOT” want to play. When pressed as to why, he always said, “I don’t want to wear the uniform.” Ok, that’s a bit unusual. Normally that’s the kid’s favorite part, right?
So, what was I to do? He is only four years old, I’m fairly certain his MLB career chances don’t hinge on his toddler season. I don’t *think* I follow any particular parenting principles and try to use logic and maybe a bit of my “gut feeling”. Thus, there I was the night before the deadline, signing Chip up online for T-ball. I figured that if it really was something he refused to do, we’d just be out the cash. My husband played semi-pro ball and he and Chip LOVE watching games on TV. I LOVE the Boston Red Sox and any team that beats the New York Yankees. As a family, I felt we were on board with the sport. I went ahead and clicked the box on the form that said “parents willing to assist coach” (why, remains a mystery, really), entered my credit card number and clicked “confirm”. Just like that, Chip was signed up for T-ball--against my better judgment.
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