Living Orange: Fall Sports

Carter and Rylan both played baseball and soccer this fall. Baseball ended a couple of weeks ago and soccer ends the second weekend of November. Brian head coached both soccer teams and Rylan's baseball team. Carter's baseball coach's son is also on our soccer team. So that meant we were able to arrange schedules this season so there was absolutely no overlap in games. Which was a good and bad thing. Both Brian and I got to see Carter and Rylan play every game, but it made our Saturdays VERY long. And our weeks. And we were sick a lot. And it was VERY hot this fall season. The boys struggled more than normal with being tired and we'll be rethinking how we organize things in the spring. But they still seemed to have a lot of fun which is all that really matters.

The fall baseball season is developmental. That means it's a little shorter, we don't keep score, and there is no tournament at the end of season. The big change in Carter's age division this year is that they now play with a catcher. Also, instead of 5 pitches, the boys strikeout after 3 strikes (with a maximum of 5 pitches). This is supposed to help them become selective on pitches as next year, the kids start pitching instead of the coaches (eeekk!!). Carter did a great job this season. He is a smart player and knows how to get outs. He really liked playing catcher and played at least one inning each game. He went through a period when he was a little scared of the ball and wasn't as aggressive with his fielding, but he improved on that by the end of the season. Carter had some amazing hits this season too. He's learning to transfer his weight when he hits to get some more power. His throwing and catching have come a long way too.

I took photos again for all our teams this season.

Front Row: Fisher, Drew, Christopher, Gavin, Riggins

Middle Row: Ford, Jack Henry, Jacob, Hayden, Hunter, Carter

Missing: Max

Coaches: Andy, Jeff P., Jeff T., Gavin

The major change for Rylan's age group was that they no longer get to use a tee if they can't hit a pitched ball. They get 5 pitches and then strikeout. Rylan did a great job this season too. He pays attention and always knows what to do with the ball when it's hit to him. He fields well and is aggressive. He makes contact with the ball, and we're going to work on him getting more power in his swing. This season we switched him from hitting right-handed to left-handed. We're still trying to figure out which is better for him!

Rylan's team was also the Mudcats. This was convenient for Brian since he assists on Carter's team and could wear the same jersey.

Front Row: Jude, Rylan, Parker, Eli

Middle Row: Nolan, Abiy, Blake, Mac

Missing: Bennett, Matthew

Coaches: Brian, Chris

While we enjoy baseball, I think the boys (and Brian and I) have more fun with soccer. We have the best group of boys and parents and we've been together for a few years (or more) now. We had to get both boys' teams down to just seven players this season with the changes in the league. It was hard to tell some kids that we didn't have room for them on the team this season but I think it's worked out for everyone. Rylan is now also playing on the Crockett Park fields. The games are 4 v 4 plus goalies. Rylan's team has done really well switching to these larger fields and some are doing amazing in the goal.