Thursday, July 16, 2009

Softball Nights Under the Lights

Lyza has a softball camp M-F from 6pm - 9pm this week, and it has been great. 16 girls from age 7-13 having a great time learning all of the fundamentals of softball and incorporating plenty of fun skils challenges along the way. I think she may have found one sport that really fits for her alongside soccer. It's been so great to watch her grasp the benefits of a team, and realize how she can learn from others - I think for her being one of the youngest players in the camp has been great too because she's not even close to being the best on the field. It's nice to get your ass handed to you from time to time. It's important, really.

Now, I can't sit on my ass in the bleachers for 3 hours over 5 days like the Katie Couric Moms and the overzealous Dads, so I have managed to squeeze in a 1-1.5 hour ride each night on the Campbell Mesa trail system just behind the fields. Campbell Mesa is flatter than Nebraska, but once you are off the Mesa you can dive down into Walnut Canyon - a place where I have had many, many strange experiences with my bud Scottie and solo on night rides. In the daylight however, the Indian burial grounds don't seem to mess with me much. The drop into Walnut Canyon is a doozie, with 20+ drops all steep enough to scrape your chainring if you're not picking the right line. Step/drop/step/drop, switchback, full brake skid into a 120 degree turn, step/drop/step/drop. Good times, but it means I'm straight hiking with my bike on my shoulder on the return trip. Back on the Mesa and I see a herd of at least 100 elk. I took a pic with my cell phone, but it looks like a single brown pixel a million miles away.

Quick change out of the stretchy goofy costume, and back to the softball practice. They played a scrimmage for the last hour and Lyza (aka Laser - as all the girls now have nicknames) plucked a pitch out of the air with her bat and got her first single. D rolled in with a few slices of pizza, and we had a good time under the lights watching the drama unfold.

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