the outlaws

Firs season of baseball and this kid is pumped!! Such a fun way to spend our Friday evening!

They received their jerseys at the first practice and Colby felt very official as an Outlaw :)  He was also thrilled to be #6 since he is six years old. They started out practicing on Friday evenings and Saturday morning, but then we missed a few weeks due to Covid. By the time we started back, games were starting and it was all getting very real!

His leg was bothering him at the first game, then he got hit in the hip by his coach during his second at-bat, so he was a hot mess running around those bases.  We were not impressed with his coach, not only due to her personality, but also because her pitching was terrible!  The whole point of coach pitch is to get it right where the kids can hit it, but the majority of her pitches go over their head, hit the kid, or hit the dirt before the plate. It's really a joke.  But doesn't he look ready??

He seemed to be having a great time, which is all that matters, but we started noticing that his swing was becoming less and less natural due to her instructions and the fact that he was hit several times.  He began stepping out of the box when the pitch came close, then she would yell to him to stay in the box. It was as if she didn't see the correlation between her pitching and the way his swing was changing. 

This really frustrated Kevin, so he offered to pitch to Colby a few times during practice. She commented this his pitches were coming from too high, but at least they were going over the plate, so the whole thing was pretty comical.  I know Kevin would love to coach, but since he doesn't get to the fields until 6:30ish, it really isn't a possibility and I know that's extremely frustrating for him. 

Entertaining herself during Colby's Friday night practice :)

Saturday morning baseball with the best fan club :) Thanks for coming to support him, Peacock family! Colby was thrilled to have his cousins there...

The girls were slightly bored when Colby's team was in the field...

We went for lunch after the game, and the kids thought they were big stuff sitting by themselves away from the grown-ups.  I made the mistake of letting my kids get a small fountain drink, which they refilled many times.  Colby definitely had a tummy ache that afternoon. 

The Outlaws played either Tuesday or Thursday each week, and again on Saturday.  He really enjoyed playing, but again, we were disappointed in his coach. She was pretty negative and hard on the kids, as were some of the parents.  It was hard to sit back and watch, so we will definitely not be playing on her team again. 

Showing off his newly-missing tooth :)

His leg improved throughout the season, but I was pretty worried at worst.  I'm guessing it was just related to his rapid growth?

We had some beautiful weather this season, and loved having Papa at this game with us as well. 

Colby was at the bottom of the batting order and only batted once that day, but he had a solid hit off the tee and ran hard to first. It would honestly be a miracle if he could hit anything his coach throws to him :/  Towards the end of the game, Colby stopped a ball at second and somehow missed what his coach told him to do.  She then yelled at him to listen and I about lost my mind. How dare she yell at my kid!  She had cancelled practice the last two weeks and these kids need more practice fielding.  Kevin hopped right up and walked over to be near the fence line while I sat fuming.  Our Mama/Papa Bear instincts were on high alert!

As soon as the game was over, Kevin went and had a good chat with Colby in the dugout about the situation.  He's such a good dad and I love the way he handled the situation. 

We went to In-N-Out with Papa after the game, which was a fun way to end a frustrating game.

Last game of the season and he gave me his "baseball ready" pose :)  Love this little slugger!!

Brooke kept herself (and another little girl) entertained during the warm-ups.

It was a beautiful evening for baseball and Colby had a great game!  He turned his first hit into a triple, and had a solid hit off the tee on his second at-bat.  We were laughing when he ran home because he just stood on the plate and was nearly run over by the kid running behind him. 

Such a dreamy night!  The air was crisp, and I loved sitting there under the lights watching Colby do his thing.  We played the #1 team in the league and actually tied!  That's huge, considering we're at the bottom of the ranks.  Their coaches were a bit crazy when they made us redo our last out because our outfielder was "crowding the infield" which allowed him to tag the runner.  Seriously, the coaches took like 10 minutes hashing it all out and then we ended up getting the out again with the next batter!

The Texas Outlaws...

You better believe that trophy was sitting right next to Colby's bed that night, haha.  Way to go,  Buddy!!

It was an interesting first season, but Colby seemed to enjoy himself.  We are just hoping for a better coach next season!!