Wednesday, April 06, 2005

No No Benny...No No No

I wanted to update everyone as to how the kids are doing. Benny is now shaking his head 'No' and he does it with the kind of fervor which shows he means it (it looks almost as if his head is trying to run away and his neck is reigning it back in). He is also waving 'bye-bye' but only very occassionally. We think he is on the verge of crawling if he could only get his legs and arms to work in unison. I personally believe he will walk at 11 months or so (which I contend Christopher did though Emilie thinks otherwise) because he has such strong legs and seemingly good balance. Benny is a sweetheart but his personality differs quite a bit from Christopher's. Benny is more aggressive than Christopher ever was and 'looks for trouble' (and I say that in the most loving way possible - being a child who looked for a lot of trouble myself).

Christopher is playing soccer and has no clue what's happening on the field. He'll catch on soon though and when he does watch out. He loves puzzles, spiderman, sports of any kind, but baseball is his first love - and he's damn good at it. He has great instincts when we practice together, things I haven't even coached him on. For instance, the way he approaches a ball on the outside of the strike zone, he alters his swing, letting go of the bat with his right hand and leaning over the plate. His batting form has always been nearly perfect.

I think both boys together are a great pair.

4 comments:

Dr. Lecho Guave said...

I was looking for some baseball jargon to post here and googled across a post someone made to a Baseball forum, regarding his 8 year old son:



> > > Hi folks,
> > > I've posted many times on eTeamz about my 8-yr old son's swing. Specifically, he seems to hit a brick wall at impact.
> > >
> > > I've received lots of good feedback, albeit sometimes confusing (often due to rotational vs. linear neverending debate).
> > >
> > > However, the latest advice I'm receiving is that my son is starting his swing w/ his shoulders instead of his hips. If this is true, what drills can I have him do to overcome this?
> > >
> > > He makes decent contact for his age/size and has very good hand/eye coordination. But if he can't drive through the ball, he'll miss a lot of opportunity, IMO.


OH MY GOD. Please, let this man relax at some point and not ruin that poor boy's childhood. We're talking about an 8 year old. And sure, he has to start practicing young if he has enough talent, but this man sounds ANGRY and UPSET. I can only imagine bitter shouting matches (one way, of course).

Your reflections on your sons are in complete contradiction to this, and I can tell you enjoy life very much. But please, watch Topher's hips. If he doesn't learn to drive through the ball by age 7, we have to up his drills or our chance at millions is gone.

Farce Withers said...

Topher plants his left leg and lets his hips guide his arms and shoulders through the ball. He does this because i have yelled at him since he could stand up by himself. I occasionally will wake him up in the middle of the night and have him do swing repetitions while i yell in his ear like a drill sargeant. I also simulate game time scenarios at dinner and take food away from him if he gets the answers wrong. I do this not because i love baseball or want to see him succeed but rather because i have not made anything of myself and i desperately need the cash that his big league career will generate. Can someone out there tell me whether this type of parenting has worked for them?

Me said...

"Why was Daddy always screaming at me? All I remember is Daddy screaming all the time."

Francie said...

'Let's Go France'