The Crist Family Journal

He’s Got Talent!

I just want to brag on Jake a little for a change! He had his second baseball game last night and can I tell you want a change! Last year, he truly struggled with the game and we are not sure why. I think we had a challenging coach where Jake just didn’t respond to his style of coaching. Anyway, hits were far and few last year and Jake really struggled with confidence and insecurity. It’s hard watching your child go through this and then beating himself up game after game and contemplating on whether or not to quit the sport. Dave and I both knew that he had it in him and that he just needed to find himself again. We are two games into the season this year and boy oh boy have we seen a difference in him. He’s got power, he’s hitting, his arm is improving and he’s on fire! He has batted 2 for 3 in the last two games and he’s making great plays. Saturday, we were ahead by a few runs, but lost it in an inning where mistakes gave up several runs. We needed 3 runs to win the game! The first two batters got on base and then Jake came up with a double which tied the game! The next batter allowed Jake to score the winning run for a score of 13 to 12! Last night, he hit a double his first at bat, struck out the second time, and hit a single the third time up, but an error allowed him to go to second. Jake has been alternating positions; pitching, catching and short stop. He did struggle a bit with pitching last night, but his coach, who I must say, is absolutely wonderful, has total confidence in Jake. He let Jake hang in there, even though he walked in two runs. The Cardinals still won 8 to 6. After the game, the coach demonstrated to Jake what he was doing wrong with pitching all the while praising him for having a great game! The coach told Dave and me both, that our son has amazing talent! He is a natural and as his confidence continues to grow, he will be amazing and unstoppable! We are proud parents, not only because he’s doing well in the game, but for continuing to keep trying and not quitting. Go Jake! We love you so much! We believe in you buddy!