glecharles’ blog

Mission Accomplished, Coach!

nobody@vox.com(Guy LeCharles Gonzalez) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:30:54 -0400

The only thing cooler than handing out obligatory trophies to a group of kids who actually earned them, is having your son be one of those kids! (That's the trophy in the brown paper bag there, not the heirloom Gonzalez 40, thank you!)

The Pee Wee Marlins' Tee Ball season came to a fantastic end this past weekend and they played their best game yet, hands down, on offense and defense. Even better, they did it against the Pee Wee Mets, the only other team I felt was as organized and, if I may say so myself, well-coached as we were. The last two weeks we had them playing set positions for the entire game, with an eye towards focusing on their individual strengths, and it paid off with some tight defense and a lineup that got stronger with each batter. Nothing gets the parents cheering loudly like a great put-out, or a legitimate bases-clearing hit, and by the last week, we had several kids who were capable of one or the other, or in a few cases, both.

I was particularly proud of Isaac, one of a handful of undersized kids on the team, for his focus and determination, improving each week, especially with his fielding. Right now, I'd say he's a 2B in the making, with the potential for plenty of singles and stolen bases, but considering this was his first season, his ceiling could be a lot higher than that. There were a few other kids I took personal pride in, too, including the two I "scouted" in the 15-minute practice session before we picked teams at the beginning of the season, as well as a couple of others who I was able to work the kinks out of their batting stance and/or swings. In some cases, simply getting them to face home plate and not kick dirt at each other was progress, but overall, I can honestly say that all 16 of them are better ballplayers today than they were at the beginning of the season, and several of them made at least one new friend, so yeah, mission accomplished!

India @ Team Picnic

The trophy ceremony was especially fun as one of my assistant coaches, Carlos, suggested we gather them together in a circle, with their parents surrounding them, and give them individual props. I did, and though I was worried that I might not have something positive to say about everyone without sounding a little canned at times, it turned out they had each made a stronger impression on me than I realized and I was able to sincerely praise them all. Plus, we got it all on video, so I'll be able to make the DVD I was planning to and have a proper conclusion.

The following day, we had our team picnic, and about half of the kids made it and had a blast running around in the park and the brand new playground (with sprinkler); playing wiffle ball, frisbee and making bubbles; plus completely coloring the large rock we'd made camp next to with sidewalk chalk one of them had brought. Notably, not counting Dan and I, it was almost all moms except for one other dad who stayed for the whole time, manning the grill and taking a shift in the playground. A couple of other dads came for parts of the day, but it was definitely the kind of stereotypical imbalance that always makes me shake my head a little sadly.

All in all, the Tee Ball experience was a lot more fulfilling than I expected, and despite all of the self-deprecating jokes about becoming a soccer dad and my hesitance to commit to doing it again, I'm pretty sure that I'd enhtusiastically do it again next season, especially if Isaac decides he wants to play again.

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Mets, Tee Ball and Autism Updates

nobody@vox.com(Guy LeCharles Gonzalez) — Thu, 24 May 2007 10:26:14 -0400

Jordin Sparks

** It's becoming clear to me that no matter how much I enjoy going to Shea Stadium to watch the Mets, I am apparently bad luck for them as they've lost the majority of times I've been in the stands. Sunday's Subway Series finale was particularly painful to watch, not just for the loss, but because I was literally surrounded by Yankees fans. Most of them weren't terribly obnoxious -- if anything, Mets fans were worse, especially with the unnecessarily crude "Yankees suck!" chant. It's long past time to get over the inferiority complex and act like we believe we belong on the same field, you know? -- but I now understand what the handful of loyal Marlins fans must feel like whenever the Mets go down to Miami and are greeted with healthy cheers of "Let's Go Mets!"

** Speaking of the Marlins, the Pee Wee version had their first mid-week practice yesterday, and more than half of the team showed up, which was nice to see. The 20-30 minutes of hurried practice we manage to squeeze in before the game every Saturday isn't nearly enough for the individual attention many of them need at this point to progress to the next level. I gave them all progress report cards at last week's game, rating them in the fundamentals along with some specific feedback on areas they need to focus on, and we worked with those who showed up at practice on some of those things. A few of the kids have awkward swings that needed tweaking, and it was great to have 5 minutes to work with each of them individually. Isaac has a weird hitch that comes from his skinny little arms, but we adjusted his stance, pulling his back foot further away from the plate, and it made a big difference. The most confounding was one of the two girls who has trouble putting all of the little steps involved in taking a clean swing together seamlessly, causing her to appear like she's swinging in stop-motion animation, and she has a similar problem with throwing. It's going to take a lot more practice to get her straightened out, but she's a great fielder and has a great attitude about the game so I'm sure she'll be ready for the next level with enough practice.

There's no game this weekend, so we'll have one more practice session next Wednesday, and then our final two games of the season over the next two Saturdays and we'll be done. I had no idea that I'd enjoy coaching them as much as I have, nor so willingly throw myself into the extras like the newsletter and report cards, or the baseball cards after every game, but I've been feeding off of their enthusiasm and the positive feedback I've heard from the parents and it's been a blast. I wish the season were longer so we could keep playing through the summer. :-(

** In about 15 minutes, at 10:30am, India will be visited by someone from the ASD Nest program for observation in consideration of her being admitted for the fall. She cleared the first step, a review of her CSE records, which was probably the trickiest step since they removed the Autism classification, but the evaluations make it clear that she needs a more structured setting than General Ed or even the standard CTT setting can offer. I'm cautiously optimistic about the whole thing because she seems to perfectly fit the profile they're looking for, plus she's a girl, which is a relative rarity for ASD and I got the impression that that could work to her advantage. Cross your fingers!

** The Walk NOW for Autism is next Sunday, and I'm at 91% of my upwards-adjusted fundraising goal of $1300. Another $120 and I'm all set. If you haven't yet, and you're able, help me out. If you have, thank you again!

** Did I nail American Idol or what? Jordin might end up surpassing Kelly as my favorite winner, and Blake just might end up being the most popular runnner-up yet. That duet with Doug E. Fresh was bananas!

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Baseball Mania

nobody@vox.com(Guy LeCharles Gonzalez) — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:50:00 -0400

Mets Banner

The combination of the Mets looking like they have a legitimate shot at winning the World Series this year and Isaac playing (and me coaching) tee ball, has me into baseball like I haven't been since I was a kid. The only difference is the amount of money I've spent on baseball-related stuff this year, including: a 5-ticket nosebleed seat plan for Mets games, plus the Autism Awareness Day Game; new Mets jerseys for Isaac and I, as well as t-shirts for Salomé and India; a new Mets bookbag for Isaac; baseball cards for the tee ball kids, plus all of Isaac's and my accessories...

Yeah, I broke down and bought a Marlins jersey on Ebay -- Delgado, in black -- to go with my Coach's cap on Tee Ball Saturdays! Shut up!

And now, earlier today, I got an email from the Mets that I'd been selected for their Subway Series 2nd Chance Ticket Purchase Opportunity, offering a chance to get up to six tickets to next weekend's dustup with the Yankees! Outside of season ticket holders and certain ticket packages that were too expensive for me, getting Subway Series tickets is difficult, so I clicked through the Friday and Sunday games and found two great Upper Deck Box seats and called Dan to see if he could make the game, which of course he could, because any real Met or Yankee fan is required by law to drop everything when a chance to go to one of these games pops up! You get your fan card pulled otherwise.

Throw my fantasy baseball team into the mix and it's going to be an exciting spring and summer of baseball, hopefully capped off by the Mets nailing down October with a six-game World Series victory over...whomever! I'm not predicting a sweep simply because I want the Championship celebrated on our home turf.

In tee ball tomorrow, we take on the Pee Wee Yankees for the first time -- the Mets were last weekend, and, coincidentally, were probably the best overall team we've faced so far -- and we bought a digital video camera last week so we can tape it for posterity. The kids are starting to separate a little bit, with the clearly talented ones standing out more and more each week, so the next few games should be a lot of fun. I'm hoping to be able to edit together footage from the next three games to give them each a copy as a gift at the last game, when they'll also receive their trophies. They've loved the baseball cards I've given them the past few weeks, and I've got a bunch of comics Midtown donated that I'll give out this weekend, but the DVD should be something both they and their parents will really appreciate.

I know I wish I had mementos like that from my childhood, so I definitely want to have them for Isaac and India as they get older. That commercial with the parents bathing the teenager in the kitchen sink is hilarious and on-point...though maybe not terribly effective since I can't remember what it was promoting!

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The Joy of Baseball

nobody@vox.com(Guy LeCharles Gonzalez) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 07:59:27 -0400

Isaac on the Run

4 Tickets to Mets vs. Braves @ Shea Stadium: $40

Parking & Tolls: $23

Chicken Tenders & French Fries: $7.75

Isaac looking through the Mets calendar to find the next Mets vs. Marlins game: Priceless!

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I like the sound of it: "Coach"

nobody@vox.com(Guy LeCharles Gonzalez) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 13:44:42 -0400

Isaac at the Bat

Yesterday was the Pee Wee Marlins' first game -- Isaac's first experience with organized sports, and my first time coaching an organized team in something non-poetry related. 15 kids (one didn't show up), all 5 and 6-year olds, most of whom were playing tee ball for the first time.

It was a little bit herding cats, a little bit America's Funniest Home Videos, and a whole lot of fun.

We had the first slot in the morning schedule, an 8:30am game on a brisk morning that had a few of the kids keeping their coats on while playing. Most of them got there on time, and I was there before the other team's coach, so we started practice with batting and running to first base, a concept not nearly as simple as it might seem. They all got the hang of it pretty quickly, though, and it's the one aspect of the game everyone gets to partake in as each inning involves the full lineup getting a turn at bat, with the last kid running the bases all the way around to clear the way for changing sides. It's a pretty ingenious way to teach the offensive mechanics without an emphasis on the competition, especially in the first inning or two where the fielding isn't up to par, so many of the kids move from base to base and ultimately score.

You don't realize how complex a game baseball can be, though, until you try to explain the fundamentals of a fielding a ground ball to a 5-year old.

A batted ball is like candy falling from a pinata, as they would all instinctively run towards it -- all 14 of them, not counting the first baseman, as in Tee Ball, everybody plays the field at once! -- scrambling to be the first one to get it, and if not that, than to be the one to snatch it away so they could be the one to throw it to first base. If, of course, in all the excitement, they remembered which direction first base was in...

And sometimes the excitement of simply fielding it successfully would be enough that they'd forget to throw it to first base at all. :-)

By the third (last) inning, we were gouging lines into the dirt to indicate their set positions and instructing them not to move unless the ball came near them. "You're a team. Let your teammate get the ball if it comes to him or her." Once that set in, it became a little less comical and you could see which kids had some natural talent for the game, among them, one of the ones I'd "scouted" on the first day when teams were being drafted, a 6-year old girl who scooped up everything that came her way and by the third inning had properly gauged the distance to first base and threw 3 or 4 kids out.

Probably no coincidence that her aunt volunteered to be one of my assistant coaches, all three of whom (including Dan, who Salomé volunteered!) were invaluable in keeping things flowing smoothly throughout the game.

Isaac had a great time playing, and while he didn't get any action on the field -- we shuffle the kids around every inning, but most of the hits are dribblers to the first line of defense -- he enjoyed batting and running the bases. He's hit before, but never with an aluminum bat nor as heavy a ball, but he's got the basic swing mechanics down pretty well. I explained to him that fielding is an important part of playing baseball, DH be damned, and that he has to practice that, too, if he wants to be a baseball player, which became appealing to him when he realized last week that it wasn't just a game:

Isaac: "But where do they [baseball players] work when they're not playing?"

Me: "Baseball is their work. That's what they do."

Isaac: "Oh! I want to be a baseball player then!"

While we were on offense, I felt like I was back on stage at 13, announcing each batter and imploring the team and assembled parents to applaud. At least twice I had to do the old, "You parents are starting to slip a little bit. Where's the noise? Give it up for the Marlins!" It was a little surreal -- particularly rooting on the Marlins as opposed to the Mets! -- but very, very fun. I hadn't noticed, but Salomé said the other team wasn't doing anything similar to hype their kids or parents up.

My Coach Hat

Speaking of the parents, there doesn't seem to be a stereotypical "Little League Mom" or "Dad" in the bunch; just a group of parents really excited about their kids playing Tee Ball who are willing to get up early on a Saturday morning for them to have the opportunity. For all the years I've lived in the Bronx and proclaimed it as my own, I've never felt quite as connected to the borough as I do right now.

It's rewarding in a special way that only working with kids can be, and honestly, as willing as I am to move to New Jersey next year when we're ready to buy a house, there's a part of me that would rather figure out a way to make it work here in the Bronx because I could see myself doing this for a long time. Doing it in Jersey would be fun, too, I'm sure, but it wouldn't compare. Not even close.

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Play Ball!

nobody@vox.com(Guy LeCharles Gonzalez) — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:56:13 -0400

Retirement Plan

Baseball season starts tonight, and it promises to be an exciting season as the Mets march to their third World Series title, defeating the Yankees in 6 games.

That's right; I'm calling it in writing!

I bought one of the cheapo Value Packs this year, 2 nosebleed seats for 5 random games, and a huge group of us are also going to the Autism Awareness Day Game on April 22nd, which should be a lot of fun. It will be the most games I've ever been to in one season.

Yesterday morning, I gave out uniforms to my Pee Wee Marlins Tee Ball players, meeting them and their parents in person for the first time, and Isaac ended up getting #2 as #13 was snagged before I realized it was in the mix and I didn't notice whether or not #9 was available. I might have to find the inevitable Jeter fan on the team to see if I can make a trade.

Afterwards we hit Modell's and got Isaac a bat, batting gloves (his choice), cleats and some eye black! (We also went a little crazy and got him a new Mets bookbag and bookcover!) So far, he's genuinuely excited about playing -- though he's not convinced about the eye black just yet -- and I think India is going to have a blast practicing with him and watching him play. She was helping him practice catching earlier, rolling the ball to him in the bedroom, and they're taking turns swinging the bat right now, much to Salomé's chagrin as they occasionally test the sturdiness of their batting helmets.

I particularly like that Isaac's alternating between practicing and watching the game -- the Mets just took a 2-0 lead on a 2-run Delgado double -- paying attention to how the players stand and hold the bat.

Next Saturday is the annual parade where all the teams march from the Community Center to the ballfield over by Lehman, an event we've watched from our living room window the past couple of years and will be fun (and a bit surreal) to be participating in ourselves.

Of course, the start of the season also means fantasy baseball finally gets underway. For the first time ever, my Slam This! league held a live draft so I'm actually very happy with my team, the Comic Geeks, going into the season and, barring injuries, am expecting to make a strong run for my first championship.

My opening day roster:

Brian McCann (Atl - C)
Adrian Gonzalez (SD - 1B)
Adam LaRoche (Pit - 1B)
Orlando Hudson (Ari - 2B)
Hanley Ramirez (Fla - SS)
Khalil Greene (SD - SS)
David Wright (NYM - 3B)
Rocco Baldelli (TB - OF)
Willy Taveras (Col - OF)
Jeff Francoeur (Atl - OF)
Brad Hawpe (Col - OF)
Chris Duffy (Pit - OF)
Ty Wigginton (TB - 1B,2B,3B,OF)

Jake Peavy (SD - SP)
C.C. Sabathia (Cle - SP)
Jeremy Bonderman (Det - SP)
Erik Bedard (Bal - SP)
Oliver Perez (NYM - SP)
Anibal Sanchez (Fla - SP)
Takashi Saito (LAD - RP)
Fernando Rodney (Det - RP)
Pat Neshek (Min - RP)
Salomon Torres (Pit - RP)
Scott Cassidy (SD - RP) -- DL

Go Mets! Go Pee Wee Marlins! Go Comic Geeks!

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