Baseball Practice
It’s a calm cool evening at baseball practice, and there are kids around the age of 15 gathered around the metal cage with two wooden benches that we call a dugout. They are grabbing things like bats, gloves, and helmets from their bags. You can hear a mix of the players discussing the latest MLB game and the coaches barking directions at the kids. The wet, freshly cut grass and dirt mixes to create a scent similar to damp cardboard. All the players have a common question: “Is coach going to make us run today?” The coach calls the players over to begin stretching; he picks the captain to lead the stretches. They start with arm circles and stretch their calf muscles, legs and finally their back with twists. We then run drills like fielding ground balls, catching fly balls, and running plays on the infield. Practice ends with all the sweaty players kneeling and breathing heavily in a circle with the coach discussing how practice went and when our next game is.
