Go, Royals!

Okay, first of all, can I just say how cute Jayden looks in his baseball uniform?  He was one of the older boys on the team, but also one of the smallest.  I think he felt he had something to prove because he made up for his lack of size with his spirit.

 Jayden had some great coaches that really worked hard with the kids.  Jayden's baseball skills improved dramatically - including his batting.  He wanted to hit so badly during the games, but being small means you also have a smaller strike zone, so he got walked a lot at first.  But, Jayden did manage to make some great hits despite all the walking.

 Jayden playing 2nd base:

 Isn't he just the cutest baseball player - ever!

His team's chant was, "We are Royals!  Bum, ba, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum" to the tune of the "We are Farmers" commercial jingle.  At first we all thought it was kind of clever and catchy, but by the end of the season we were all getting sick of it.  They even got comments from opposing teams about how annoying it was.  So, I guess it was a successful chant, after all.

This team was a delight to watch. The coaches were very positive with the boys and the players all became friends.  They were good winners and good losers.  They started off the season a little rough, but by the end they took 2nd place.  I got so into these games and enjoyed spending my summer nights at the ball park.  The bummer part was that Jayden had to miss the last week of tournament because of Scout Camp.  But, I still went to cheer on the Royals even though Jayden wasn't there.  I just could not stay away.  I'd lay awake at night thinking about baseball.  

These are a great group of boys and great coaches who taught them more than just baseball skills.  After watching many games with angry and degrading coaches, I was SO grateful that Jayden got put with this team.  It is obvious that the coaches set the tone for the team and teams with heated coaches typically had heated players.  The Royals were one of the classiest teams in the league.  

Way to go, Royals!