My mom signed my niece up for baseball this summer and begged me to let Jase play. Jonathan’s dad had been asked about t-ball all the time too, so we decided to consider an i9 league after hearing several friends rave about it.
I’m sure at some point our life will include LOTS of sporting events- practices, lessons, games, and tournaments. With three boys & some athletic genes, I think that’s pretty inevitable, but we do want to prolong the chaos as long as possible. I know our boys will enjoy the interaction since we plan to homeschool, and I think there are many benefits to organized sports. BUT, we aren’t ready for any huge time commitments yet, and for us it’s something we don’t want to get too serious about until the boys are much older. The i9 league only meets once a week on the weekend for 6 weeks. It’s a 2 hour block where they practice right before the games. That didn’t feel too overwhelming, and we also like that they have pretty strict rules for coaches and parents (#keepitclassy) AND they discuss positive traits each week (respect, enthusiasm, sportsmanship, courage, etc.).
{ #2 is the number I wore in high school & college. }
He put his own hat on, and it was so cute seeing how he wore it.
The only way I was going to let him play was if Jonathan would coach, and thankfully he agreed to help co-coach with another guy. I probably should have helped too since it’s hard to keep a 4 year old entertained & they need someone with LOTS of enthusiasm…definitely more of my gifting. (At this age anyway.) He was so great with them though, and it was precious (although sometimes a little painful for two super competitive parents)to watch. Ha! Repeat to self: “This is just for fun. This is just for fun.”
Cropped this out of the team picture…so cute!
They met EARLY on Saturday mornings, which was nice since it was still cool and we still had the whole day Saturday to get things done. It was a little difficult getting there on time since practices are 20-25 minutes away and start time was before our boys normally even wake up for the day! But, we did it with all 3 littles in tow. We finally figured out a system that worked.
Thankfully it was super laid back and no one minded that Kade wanted Jon to hold him half the time in the field. Ha!
Jase’s Papa and Aunt Jimmy came to every single game too and were his biggest fans besides me & Jon. It became the tradition to eat donuts every Saturday after the game. That was their favorite part!!
Overall I think it was a little too slow paced for Jase since there wasn’t a lot of action, so I think we may try soccer next time? He did like practicing with Jon in the backyard though (for short periods) so I think he’ll like it more when he’s older. I can’t wait to continue to watch him learn and grow.
Kade wants to do everything Jase does, of course. Watching them together was one of my favorite parts! (I liked watching them together much more than I liked the donuts! #diabetes) Kade loves to play ball, so I think he’ll really enjoy it when he’s big enough.
Seriously, is this not the sweetest??
I’m probably checkin’ out the hot coach!! (Big Jon got it goin on.)
It was a great group of kiddos and parents, & such a fun “season.” We are glad we participated and very proud of Jase. We’re taking the Fall off to do music lessons, but are going to think about getting started with something again in the Spring.
If you have littles and are considering organized sports, I highly recommend looking into seeing if there is an i9 league in your area.
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