I rarely talk about my older boys but tonight I must write about Kyle, my child number 2. At 14 he's pretty big & tall and has the biggest heart of them all. I call him Eeyore b/c he's talks like him and sounds like him all the time. Kyle is often "forgotten" and lost in the shuffle of his brothers. But between them, he does the best in school, does the most housework at home and is the most caring and most thoughtful of all. You can never ask too much of him b/c he just comes through for you no matter what; even when he doesn't want to, he will.
Since his father and I divorced, Kyle quit playing baseball. He didn't do it on purpose but it was because we moved to Carson and we used to live in Redondo Beach. I could not afford a house in Redondo Beach but could only afford one in Carson. Redondo Beach is middle to comfortable upper class area. Carson is middle class to lower income class. To Kyle, playing baseball in Carson was too "ghetto" for him. Another reason why he didn't want to play in Carson was because he didn't want to have to make new friends and meet new people. He is shy and very reserved. I felt bad for him because he was an up & coming baseball player. He was beginning to play really well and showed signs of pretty good athleticism in baseball. For 3 years, I asked him if he wanted to play and he would decline. Finally I was advised of an asian league and thought it was a good place for him to play and work on his skills again. I signed him up w/out telling him. When I told him what I had done, he was livid and angry. When Kyle gets mad, he gets MAD. I remember telling him, I was doing what's best for him and later on he'll thank me for it.. He definitely needed to work on his skills and fundamentals. I could tell that my son can hit a ball and I had this feeling that if he continued to play and get some more coaching or skills enhancements, he's gonna knock that ball out of the field.
I put him in Tom Hicks Baseball Camp that following summer. Again, Kyle was not happy about it. Another day of silent treatment but he went to camp and survived it. He had a great time and got a few awards for hitting the ball well. In fact, he hit the ball out of the field 3 times that day. One coach had to move his brand new Toyota Tacoma out of the way for fear that kyle may end up hitting another ball and landing on his new car! The baseball camp paid off and he definitely picked up more skills & experience. Although I could tell he still needed some more coaching, I went ahead and signed him up for Winter baseball camp.
He survived Winter baseball camp and was (again) mad that I "forced" him to go to another baseball camp. He was no longer going to be able to play for Sansei League since the age cut off was 13/14 yrs old so I started to look into another league for him. I had heard about Redondo Sunset and decided to look more into it. It's a Pony league which I was concerned that Kyle would not be able to keep up as it is much more competitive. Being that it was the only baseball league that allowed for us to join w/out having to live in Redondo Beach, I proceeded to sign him up. Again, the argument started between Kyle & I. Joining a new league didn't sit well w/him. He was so adamant about it, he wanted to just quit and be done with baseball. However, I knew he was mad but I just couldn't see him sit out from playing if he plans to play high school baseball. He needed to continue to play so to keep up w/his skills. 2 more baseball camp and another clinic with Redondo sunset, more argument between Kyle & I but he went to all the camps/clinics that I signed him up for. They were all w/a fight and argument each time I "forced' him to go.
Now that's he's on a team w/Redondo Sunset, they have played 2 practice games and 2 official games. I dont know if they won the practice game but they won 2 games so far. Kyle plays first base and pretty good! This past Monday night, he was up at bat with 2 guys on base. He had 2 balls and 1 strike. The pitch came, a fastball; and Kyle took a good swing at it. *KNOCK!* the beautiful sound of the ball making contact w/the bat....That ball went straight out to the field and over the fence. My son hit a HOMERUN! The parents on our team were all screaming and yelling. His teammates all came out of the dugout a single file line and went to give Kyle a high five.
I was so speechless. I was so quiet, I couldn't scream or yell. I was screaming inside of me though. I am so friggen proud of my son. I couldn't believe it!! It was the moment I had been waiting for the last few years. I knew he'd do it but just didn't know when he would. Each time, I could feel that he was getting close to smacking that ball but it wasn't quite there yet. But this last Monday? It was an amazing sight to see and hear. He just followed through and swung...it was the right form and swing. All I could say to myself was, that's it..it's outta here! It's gonna go out of the field and sure enough....it did!
I know he was angry and hated me each time I signed him up for a clinic or baseball camp but it definitely paid off. Someday, I hope he understands why I felt he had to go to all those baseball camps and why I signed him up to play baseball again. It's only because I always felt I had a baseball player in the making
Since his father and I divorced, Kyle quit playing baseball. He didn't do it on purpose but it was because we moved to Carson and we used to live in Redondo Beach. I could not afford a house in Redondo Beach but could only afford one in Carson. Redondo Beach is middle to comfortable upper class area. Carson is middle class to lower income class. To Kyle, playing baseball in Carson was too "ghetto" for him. Another reason why he didn't want to play in Carson was because he didn't want to have to make new friends and meet new people. He is shy and very reserved. I felt bad for him because he was an up & coming baseball player. He was beginning to play really well and showed signs of pretty good athleticism in baseball. For 3 years, I asked him if he wanted to play and he would decline. Finally I was advised of an asian league and thought it was a good place for him to play and work on his skills again. I signed him up w/out telling him. When I told him what I had done, he was livid and angry. When Kyle gets mad, he gets MAD. I remember telling him, I was doing what's best for him and later on he'll thank me for it.. He definitely needed to work on his skills and fundamentals. I could tell that my son can hit a ball and I had this feeling that if he continued to play and get some more coaching or skills enhancements, he's gonna knock that ball out of the field.
I put him in Tom Hicks Baseball Camp that following summer. Again, Kyle was not happy about it. Another day of silent treatment but he went to camp and survived it. He had a great time and got a few awards for hitting the ball well. In fact, he hit the ball out of the field 3 times that day. One coach had to move his brand new Toyota Tacoma out of the way for fear that kyle may end up hitting another ball and landing on his new car! The baseball camp paid off and he definitely picked up more skills & experience. Although I could tell he still needed some more coaching, I went ahead and signed him up for Winter baseball camp.
He survived Winter baseball camp and was (again) mad that I "forced" him to go to another baseball camp. He was no longer going to be able to play for Sansei League since the age cut off was 13/14 yrs old so I started to look into another league for him. I had heard about Redondo Sunset and decided to look more into it. It's a Pony league which I was concerned that Kyle would not be able to keep up as it is much more competitive. Being that it was the only baseball league that allowed for us to join w/out having to live in Redondo Beach, I proceeded to sign him up. Again, the argument started between Kyle & I. Joining a new league didn't sit well w/him. He was so adamant about it, he wanted to just quit and be done with baseball. However, I knew he was mad but I just couldn't see him sit out from playing if he plans to play high school baseball. He needed to continue to play so to keep up w/his skills. 2 more baseball camp and another clinic with Redondo sunset, more argument between Kyle & I but he went to all the camps/clinics that I signed him up for. They were all w/a fight and argument each time I "forced' him to go.
Now that's he's on a team w/Redondo Sunset, they have played 2 practice games and 2 official games. I dont know if they won the practice game but they won 2 games so far. Kyle plays first base and pretty good! This past Monday night, he was up at bat with 2 guys on base. He had 2 balls and 1 strike. The pitch came, a fastball; and Kyle took a good swing at it. *KNOCK!* the beautiful sound of the ball making contact w/the bat....That ball went straight out to the field and over the fence. My son hit a HOMERUN! The parents on our team were all screaming and yelling. His teammates all came out of the dugout a single file line and went to give Kyle a high five.
I was so speechless. I was so quiet, I couldn't scream or yell. I was screaming inside of me though. I am so friggen proud of my son. I couldn't believe it!! It was the moment I had been waiting for the last few years. I knew he'd do it but just didn't know when he would. Each time, I could feel that he was getting close to smacking that ball but it wasn't quite there yet. But this last Monday? It was an amazing sight to see and hear. He just followed through and swung...it was the right form and swing. All I could say to myself was, that's it..it's outta here! It's gonna go out of the field and sure enough....it did!
I know he was angry and hated me each time I signed him up for a clinic or baseball camp but it definitely paid off. Someday, I hope he understands why I felt he had to go to all those baseball camps and why I signed him up to play baseball again. It's only because I always felt I had a baseball player in the making
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