Today was definitely the fastest day so far. It feels like we just had breakfast, and now the day is over. It probably went by so quickly because of all the fun activities we packed into today.
Up at the field, the boys practiced their base running skills, working to beat their own times. One ridiculously fast camper rounded the bases in just over 13 seconds. The baseball portion of the day finished up with another red versus blue practice game. The campers learned about the roles of different positions on the field today, and they put what they heard into practice right away. As much as I don’t want the week to end, I can’t wait to see how amazing the boys play in the official game on Friday.
Today was water day – the wettest water day in camp history, at least to my knowledge. It started raining soon after we started practicing our sliding skills on the giant slip-n-slide, and the drizzle quickly turned into a torrential downpour. No one seemed to mind much; we were planning on getting wet anyway. It was the perfect time for the rain to come. We barely even had to use the hose to spray the slip-n-slide; the rain kept it wet and extra slippery. It even encouraged some coaches to participate that might not have if they had a way to stay dry, which the kids loved.
After showering and drying off, we all hopped on a bus and headed to a minor league baseball game, complete with an all-you-can-eat buffet beforehand. Believe me, these boys can eat. One camper ate his Curve game usual – a slice of cheese on a cookie. Thankfully he also ate a burger this year.
A short shower set the game on a rain delay, but before too long the boys were heading out on the field. The campers had their names announced with the players, got a ball signed by them, and stood with them for the national anthem. Everyone was so excited, whether they did it last year or had never even been to ball game before. One returner got to run out with the same pitcher he met last year. Many campers got signatures from tons of Curve players as they waited by the dugout. I saw one new camper with a baseball completely covered in autographs.
Signed baseballs weren’t the only things the boys brought home from the game. Two campers got foul balls, and another caught a t-shirt. These boys’ success inspired multiple other campers to position themselves wherever they thought they could catch something. They quickly figured out that right-handed batters usually foul to one side and lefties to the other, which led to lots of changing seats and walking back and forth. I don’t think they actually caught anything doing this, but they got close and seemed to have a lot of fun.
Today during Pregame Pep Talk, our speaker asked what the goal of baseball is. I think he expected someone to say “winning,” but what some of the boys actually shouted out was “have fun.” They do the same thing when asked what the rules at camp are. I’m so glad that Run Home Camp is somewhere these kids can simply have fun without having to worry about things like when they’re going to eat next or if they’re going to be in the same house that night. It seems like a simple thing, but being at a place where they feel that having fun is part of the rules obviously means so much to the boys.
The kids were able to find the fun in basically everything we did today – obviously at the Curve game and on the slip-n-slide, but also on the bus and eating meals and singing songs. I love seeing them laugh and play and just be kids. They’re entertained by the smallest things, like glow sticks on the bus ride home. I think we have a lot to learn from these boys, and one of those things is how to just have a good time. They aren’t worried what the other campers are thinking of them; they’re too busy dancing between innings or making up a song about the purple team on the van. They’re too busy having fun.
