For the love of the game and throwing out the first pitch
By JoAnne Pastel, President and founder, Farmer’s Hat Productions. Co-author, Bur Bur and Friends, an award winning children’s book series that teaches kids about sports and outdoor exploration.
A few years back, my husband and I had been fortunate enough to attend a live auction at a charitable fundraising event in Minneapolis. Giving back to the community is important to us and one of the items up for bid was an opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Minnesota Twins opener. My husband and I are always attending basketball, baseball, football games etc. Introducing William (our little ‘Bur Bur’ ) to new sports experiences has always been important to us. At the time, our little guy was pretty young, but we just couldn’t resist. How fun would it be for us to watch him throw out that ball at 2 ½ years old? Without hesitation we bid on the item and won. We later discovered he would be the youngest ever to throw out that pitch which made the experience even more exhilarating.
It was fun, educational and inspiring for a variety of reasons. At Farmer’s Hat Productions, we believe baseball and all sports have the potential to become lifelong passion for many young kids. It is one of the core reasons we created Bur Bur and Friends book series. Bur Bur and Friends is a brand made up of a group of young characters. The characters are a group of multicultural young children who introduce kids to sports and outdoor exploration through their own experiences. We try to incorporate pieces of that into every children’s book we write. He learned something from the process, but he taught us a few things as well.
- The importance of building confidence at a young age - The anticipation for the event kept building and building in the weeks prior to the game. By the time the big day arrived, William was ready. He was a little hesitant walking out on the field for the first time, but then it seemed as though it all came together and he did it! The smile on his face and watching those little eyes become the size of ping pong balls was a forever moment.
- Promoting the concept of practice - We spent a lot of family fun time in the backyard playing catch and throwing the ball. This helped increase William’s eye-hand coordination and taught him that in order to be good at something, practice is important.
- Building community - The event drew family and friends together as we all cheered on William and celebrated his baseball experience. Community is such an important component in the sports experience for young children. Parents and coaches pull together all for a common purpose.
-Patience – We had to wait for the big day, then we had to wait for an escort to bring us onto the field. William was so excited I thought he was going to burst with excitement. He wanted to jump out onto that field and run as fast as he could to the pitchers mound.
- Being open to new experiences and witnessing teamwork - He saw players swinging at the ball and missing. Dropping a catch. And getting tagged out at the bases. But most of all, he saw them pulling together, trying their best and then persevering again as a team.
It was this experience that inspired us to write our popular baseball book, Bur Bur Throws Out the First Pitch. Isn’t it amazing to watch as you see a light bulb go on when your child tries something for the first time and “gets it”? There is this priceless, pure, innocent ambition that shines through in their excitement of learning something new and gaining knowledge along the way. When that happens, everyone on the field who witnesses soaks it all in and that is where the importance of community starts for many.
We’d like to hear your stories of successes and any challenges along the way! Drop us a line in the comment section below.
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