My Son, Elias

Elias is playing baseball this year. He is quite athletically talented and catches on quickly to anything new. Last summer he had the chance to hit a few wiffle balls with a plastic bat as well as practice throwing a plastic ball. I signed him up for little league figuring he would love it. I gave him a baseball glove and ball for his birthday but we never had a chance for him to practice catching with the glove before the first little league practice due to the ugly weather we have had this spring. On the day of the first practice I realized that not only had he never held a metal bat, never threw a baseball nor caught one in a glove, but he really didn't know any of the rules of the game, like which order you run the bases or what a strike or an out is. Everything was new to him. That first practice when it was his turn to bat he needed help on positioning himself next to home plate. Then with each swing of the bat he took a step forward with his left foot but never repositioned his legs before the next pitch. Pretty soon he was standing with his feet as far apart as they could be. The bat seemed heavy in his arms and he was swinging it like an axe, not following through with his body but rather stopping just after it crossed home plate. He practiced with a smile on his face and claimed he was excited for their next practice and game.
Later that week I told him that my brother or my dad could help him practice his swinging, catching and throwing over the weekend because he wasn't quite "getting it". He began to cry, put his head down on the table and exclaimed "You don't think I'm good at baseball!" I reminded him that he had never played baseball before and I didn't expect him to be good at it the first time he tried and I told him that even those baseball players that we watch on TV didn't know how to play baseball until they started practicing when they were younger. He perked up a little but was still upset that he wasn't perfect.
Elias had a game on Wednesday this week. He has been practicing and playing baseball for about a month now. I noticed that he does a great job getting his right elbow up and out, holding the bat correctly. He has a great swing and gets a hit every time he is up to bat. His throwing arm is amazing and he does pretty well catching as well. As we were walking to the car after game the grandma of another player asked if Elias had been playing baseball since he could walk, she thought he was a great player and looked as if he had been playing a long time. I told her that he had never even held a glove or metal bat until a month ago and didn't even know what baseball was a year ago. She was shocked and stated that he must be really talented to have picked it up so quickly. I just smiled and nodded.
I am excited that my son is talented in athletics. I'm more excited though that he is a nice kid and cheers on his teammates when he is not playing. He knows every boy on his team and cheers when they get a hit and shouts words of encouragement when they don't. He will go further in life as a team player who is nice to everyone than on talent alone. That is my son, Elias.