COLUMN: Summer fun done to a 'T'

Tomorrow will be the last day of T-ball for a dedicated group of 4-5-year-olds who have spent Monday evenings in Kalispell for the past two months learning the fundamentals of baseball.

Did I say learning? All right, I might have exaggerated a bit.

And as for the “fundamentals,” I think most of the coaches would be happy if that meant their players had at least learned not to kick sand in their teammates’ faces (and some of them did!).

But let’s face it, kids who are 4 years old have a short attention span. I suspect it would drive most of them crazy to spend 2 1/2 hours watching a major league game where oftentimes the most interesting thing that happens is the seventh-inning stretch.

As for us adults, that’s a different story! There I was, week after week, glued to the action as my son Huzhao (baseball name Tiger!) fought off a dozen other small fry for the right to grab the T-ball (a super soft baseball) and then ponder what to do with it. (Dad’s loud hint: THROW TO FIRST!)

The good news — for both parents and kids — is that you can do no wrong in T-ball. In this co-ed sport, everyone has an equal chance to be a star. The ball is placed on a stationary rubber pipe attached to home plate (creating the upside down “T” stand) and kids whack at it until they connect. The ball might go three feet or it might actually make it just past second base into the no-man’s land known as “the outfield.” Either way, the result is always a base hit and always a single. The fielder who is lucky enough to emerge from the scrum (not quite as bad as rugby) with the ball eventually tosses it to first base, but even if the throw beats the runner (highly unlikely) the runner is safe at first and guaranteed to eventually score.

One of the more challenging aspects of the game is convincing batters on their way to first base not to stop and field an errant throw as a way to help out the opposing team. Another is convincing base runners to agree to move to the next base when their teammate hits the ball. They usually have something better to do, and yes, usually it involves kicking dirt until they cough themselves silly.

Tiger was a proud member of Team 4 in the National League. It goes without saying that Tiger and his teammates, along with all their parents, owe a debt of gratitude to coach Dave Slack, who exhibited super-human levels of patience throughout the season. Volunteers like Dave are what makes this program possible.

Thanks also to Flathead County Parks and Rec, program supervisor Bob Tuman, and the Conrad Complex for giving kids the opportunity to learn about sports in a stress-free environment.

Not sure if Tiger will continue his athletic career or not, but for the most part he has exhibited grit, determination and hustle, which are not bad qualities to start with. We can work on batting, fielding and throwing later. In the meantime, he’s already better than I ever was, although — to be entirely “frank” — that’s not saying much!

 Frank Miele is managing editor of the Daily Inter Lake. Email responses may be sent to edit@dailyinterlake.com