T-ball 2013 The good, the bad and the weird

Alvin's first t-ball season is officially now over and its such a relief.

Over all I would consider the season a success for him. It started out in April which in Washington means the cold weather is still hanging around and the first few practices were quite cold. Alvin was normally the only kid in shorts (because we couldn't manage to get him to wear anything else!) and never complained about the cold.

Making sure he is in the right place

Alvin started off as awkward as ever. He was in a group of kids he didn't know and tended to not try to engage them. During warm ups instead of throwing the ball with other kids he preferred to go out to the outfield and pretend to pitch like a pro. 

The first few rounds of batting were also rough. The combination of hydrocephalus and autism make hand eye coordination really tough, so swinging a bat to hit a small ball was quite a challenge. There was one practice that I remember specifically that he missed the ball 6 or 7 times. The kids on the team started talking and snickering a little but he was determined as ever to do it.

Overtime he gradually started catching on. He started to throw, not like a major league pitcher every time but more like a normal player. When he couldn't figure out how to stop a ground ball with his glove he made up his own way with his foot.

Batting though was always fun for him during games. Every single time he walked up to the plate and did a routine to get ready just like the pros. The funny thing is when he did it all the way through he was more able to hit the ball. When the coaches stopped him from doing it then he had issues making contact.

Playing first base

The highlight of the season though was the last game. As I said due to the combination of hydro and autism hand eye coordination is rough. Well the kids had been working on hitting coach pitch balls for a couple of weeks and Alvin hadn't had much success. The last game of the season Alvin did the unexpected. On his second pitch from his coach he acts like he is going to bunt then hits it! The coach was shocked and all the kids were cheering. The next at bat the same thing happened and he was able to make contact and run to first base again. The coach later told me that once the other kids saw Alvin hit the ball every single one got a hit when they went up.

So the question now is, will we do it again? Right now, I am saying maybe. There is a lot he can learn by being around other kids his age. He is thrown into it and with very little adult help is slowly pushed to interact with other kids his age. He is still very shy and anxious but every little bit of social interaction lessons are worth it.

Team picture

End of the year party

Superheroes come in all sizes

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Robyn founder of Tiny Superheroes. Her mission is to send kids capes that are battling all kinds of different issues. The first time i saw her blog i was hooked. Reading about these kids facing so many obsticles was amazing.

She asked us if we would be involved in creating a video about the capes and about Alvin's combination of conditions and we jumped at the chance.

Below is the video profiling Robyn and the amazing influence she is having on so many families as well as telling Alvin's story in a new light.

 Robyn is also running an indiegogo account setup  to continue to help even more kids and families. Please check it out and consider helping her empower more kids through Tiny Superheroes like she did for Alvin and Elliot!