I see it happening right and left. In all of these amazing “A-League” kids!! Most closely I see it in my boy Wyatt! In the last three baseball outings we’ve had …he has made a 360! From a boy that was feeling “lukewarm” at best~to a boy having a grand time! He had seemed unhappy… when it came to putting that helmet on, manuvering that bat and running those bases. Not the case today! He was on fire !
I love being out on the field with these kids! I am seeing alot of confidence and pride…growing and swelling. As well it should! I saw ALOT of extended family out there today. That really puts a spring in the players steps! Having Grampa Bob in right field with the video camera did the trick for Wyatt today. Hey… it just dawned on me ~was Wyatts 360 all about “his audience”?! LOL!! Is my boy a little more typical than others would like to admit!?
I believe that to be true sometimes! We all have tendencies to be typical AND autistic! More on that another day! 
I have said that DUGOUTS are character builders and I mean it. The sportsmanship and comraderie evoked through these bi-weekly meetings is intense! You really become a family of sorts. Coach is like a Dad…guiding you through rough patches. Your teammates are the siblings flanking you as you perform these tasks. Team moms and fans are the open arms waiting for you to score at home plate!! A perfect chemistry for beautiful life-long connections! Something EXPERTS have told us will NEVER Happen!!
SO THERE~ EXPERTS!!! This was our 3rd game and for the Dodger’s… HOMERUNS keep piling up!! Our power hitters the Zapata Twins are keeping their even keel going! Strong and steady hitters that give our other players a great example. They are both very nice boys with a very cool demeaner. Their father Manual is a fantastic Coach/Dad …he worked some of that “Z”~Magic on Wyatt prior to yesterday’s game! He helped Wyatt at the tee on Thurs. & on Saturdays game…Wyatt took his 1st independent swing dropping the ball just off the tee! AWESOME! 
That is what it is all about compassionate guidance and understanding! With that the possibilities here are endless. Is this sports experience going to “CURE” our players? NO. This is not about that elusive cure. We don’t have time to worry about a cure. If we spend all our time fretting and lamenting our condition we have no time left to enjoy our HERE AND NOW. So here and now…we have found an awesome outlet for our kids to
PLAY ball, BOND with team-mates and BUILD their already INCREDIBLE CHARACTER !!