Cruz wrapped up his baseball season a couple weeks ago, playing on the Bad News Bears from Aldrich Elementary. He loved getting to be on a team with his school buddies and grew so much from last year! Beau coached his team and loved spending time with this group of boys. Highlights for Cruz included getting two out of three outs in one inning, including a perfect pop fly catch, hitting two triples in the outfield, and every time he got to hit home plate and score for his team. His interest in baseball increased throughout the season, but my favorite thing about him was the way he cheered for his teammates. He could always be heard from the dugout when one of his friends was up to bat!
Cruz and his first best friend, Liam, who played for Hansen's team this year. Liam just hopped on a moving truck today and is headed to a new city and a new school next year almost two hours away. We are bummed to say the least, but thankful for the sweet connection they've shared the past eight years.
The Bad News Bears won a lot of games and had a lot of sluggers on their team, but my favorite part of this season was the way they rallied around their friend, Isaiah. Isaiah's parents weren't sure they were doing the right thing signing him up, but at one game, his mom was helping him in the outfield and he looked up at her and said, "Mom, I'm on a real baseball team. This is my dream come true." I hope as these boys soon encounter pressures to compete and travel and keep up with the accelerated speed of youth sports, they don't forget standing on those dugout benches and cheering their hearts out for their friend. And the joy that comes after a good hit or an ice cold post-game popsicle. Because let's be honest, these eight year olds cared more about that they they did anything else. ;)
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