We’re slowly but surely creating a little training center in our postage stamp of a backyard (excuse the crazy tall weeds, we haven’t been home on the weekends to mow it!).  Sporty has been begging for a net for our backyard to help her practice pitching but I was hesitant to invest (those suckers get pricey) not knowing her commitment to softball, she is 8 after all.  But after seeing her passion for pitching and clearly she’s committed to softball, I broke and invested in a pop-up net.  Hubs convinced me to get a 7 ft net versus a 5 ft net so my 5’4″ self pretty much needs a step stool to get it set up but since we’ve already lost a few balls over the fence that Sporty has pitched, it was probably a wise choice.  And yes, Sporty pitched a ball over a 7′ net, fully grown cab vine (don’t worry, no wine grapes were harmed in the incident), and a fence to lose the ball.  Thinking we should skip pitching this tournament, but that’s just me.  (Plus I don’t need any more grey hairs!).

Well then, I came across a coupon to Big 5 AND a a reasonably priced tee that they happened to have in the store close by.  So viola, we can now take some batting practice.  Now we’re just missing a bucket of balls (who knew a bucket of softballs would run upwards of $100!?!) and a pitching rubber.  The kids love it so far and it gives me almost an hour of them outside practicing while I clean or make dinner without having to fully watch them.

Even Young Jedi, who likes ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, is excited to practice his throwing and hitting skills.  Actually, this travel team has also benefited Young Jedi.  I’ve mentioned some of the struggles we’ve had with Young Jedi, the struggle is seriously REAL with this kid.  We’re schedule to meet with a developmental pediatrician next month to crack the code on this kid but seeing Sporty into softball and competing has sparked an interest in Young Jedi that we’ve never seen (other than his obsession with Star Wars and Power Rangers).  He wants to play catch, practice batting and he even asked for us to sign him up to play fall baseball.  Usually he rejects activities because he feels like he’s not any good or he’s embarrassed he won’t be good, or someone has teased him once and he gives up on the activity but watching Sporty with her teammates, he’s been more and more into baseball and even brings his glove with him to practices and games. When we told him he had to move up to coach pitch and he couldn’t play tee-ball anymore he was super excited to take the next step.  So I am thrilled to see him take interest in something.

So I’ve got my eyes peeled for a pitching rubber and a bucket of balls to complete our training facility.  Unfortunately, no Prime Day deals on those items this week!