b"final mattersDaydreaming with aGold GloveContemplating the world one inning at a timeBY SARA COURTNEYThe writer and her sons are happy to welcome another season of baseball.O bat is my favorite. Heretimetrain- throw a solid pitch. Ive learned how f all the sounds to herald the arrival of spring, the crack ofing,growupto dive out of the way of a line drive theandthink,that knocked the hat off my head. Ive we are, shivering off a longIshouldvelearnedjustbecauseakidisclimb-winter with barely any prettystartedear- ing trees when hes supposed to be on snow, and then, CRACK! Alier.Anddeck, that doesnt mean he doesnt care, sound to let you know a newyoudbeand he might just burst into tears if he season is here, and summer is sure to follow, and theright!Thatsswings and misses. Ive learned all kids, pace of life will slow down like the innings of baseball.howtechni- without exception, still see themselves I didnt play sports growing up, but for the secondcallycom- as the hero, and I dont want to be the year in a row, Ill be a Little League coach. My kids grav- plicateditis.one to yell YOURE OUT! when it itate to sports. Football in the living room. Soccer inButbaseballcomes to their dreams.the dining room. Basketball with the laundry basket. Aisnt like that.Ive overheard my kids proudly tell Super Bowl catch on the couch. The World Cup in between dinner bites. MarchIshowthekidshowtoscoopupatheir friends My mom is the coach!. Madness arrives every time I ask them to pick up their clothes. They can throw,grounder, remind them to snap theirIts a little thing, but a kids world is catch, kick, juggle, dive, tackle and proclaim they will be drafted at any moment,glove shut like an alligator, and alwaysmade up of little things. So Ive dusted hopefully soon, because they have broken paintings, a printer, part of a wall, and,throw to first. They learn to keep theiroff my glove once again, because its most recently, our TV, in a spectacular catch reminiscent of David Tyree. In theeye on the ball and follow through onspring, and because Im ready to let go backyard they kick the soccer ball, and the neighbors board up their windows astheirswing.Aftertheymasterthat,of winter. if a hurricane were coming. they master standing around, waitingSpring is for the dreamers. People complain baseball is slow, but thats only part of its charm, a throw- for the pitcher and the batter to battleSara Courtney is a writer living in Maple-back to a time when you could sit and watch a game and have a conversationitout.Theylearntocelebratewhenwood. Shes working on her knuckleball.with your friend andthats it really. Just enjoy the little things. And who cantheycrosshomeplate. enjoy the little things more than little kids? And Little League is somethingWhatelse?Theylearn special. Its almost anti-competitive. A kid builds a sand castle while coveringhowtomakefriends. shortstop. Another pulls up flowers and tosses them in the air, catching themTheylearnhowmuch over her shoulder, Ken Griffey Jr. style. A boy runs after every grounder while hesand is too much when tests first base to see if its placement is permanent or merely a suggestion. Lookthrowing it. They learn at all the ways these kids contemplate the universe while playing baseball. Soc- how to chant and cheer cer and basketball go so fast. But baseballbaseball is the only sport they had toand scream for ice cream make a rule against eating during the game. Its so slow it allows you to considerwhen the game is over. the world around you, and so, I would argue, attracts a certain kind of dreamer. Coachingisagreat When coaching the young kids, we focus on the fundamentals. But in truth,way to learn a few things The writer's sons, Theo and Henry, enjoy the slow pace of there is not much to learn yet. In soccer, you could start at age six, spend all yourtoo.IvelearnedIcanlife, and baseball.46/ matters magazine / spring 2022"