Now Coaching for the Carney Park Storms...

...Coach Katie! Or you know Mrs. Katie that one of the boys shouted when I pulled up to get the equipment.

Today was the perfect day to kick off baseball- sun shinning the sky, the grass looking greener, the kick of to March Madness all were signs to get started with baseball!

Although I was a swimmer and water polo player growing up, I had one short season of softball. I don't think we did that well and I'm pretty sure I missed several games and practices on account of orientation for my summer exchange program to Japan. My brother actually still sings a song about my coach! She was...well...let's just say I'm trying to not be like she was because her memory still haunts me when I see a softball.  

With a somewhat limited skill set and lots of help from online tutorials, I'm proud to announce that the first practice of the Storms' 2012 season is in the record books AND everyone survived! Sure I probably have a few parents thinking "crap she's our coach?" but the 3 parents that helped me today rocked and I think we're going to have a great season with plenty of parent support.

So how did all of this happen?

Since soccer season my coworker has teased about coaching baseball, and only 2 weeks back did we commit to coaching the team his son is playing on. Well, through a twist of fate (or ships falling apart) I've been "promoted" to head coach due to his travel schedule. I also think he started to see how I get when talking baseball, and as the orange and black started to sparkle in my eyes he got a little scared... He is still going to be there when he can and our boss has also offered to help run drills so I think I'm in good shape as far as "adult supervision" goes. And that's for both me and the team of 8-year old boys!

We may not have the best team (yet) but like during soccer I'm going to set my competitive nature aside to watch these kids grow in their abilities and confidence in the game. As a baseball nut, I think if they walk away with an appreciation for the game (even in this ridiculous form where outs don't count and runs aren't counted- yeah right) my job is done. Granted, I want to see them win because you better believe that I'll be keeping score just like them.

Stay tuned for updates as our season kicks off on the 24th. I figure that with the time difference I'll be watching even less Giants' games this year so I'm going to give the Storms a seasons worth of effort, energy, and emotion. And with me on the mound, it's going to take just about everything I have!