The school year is winding down for 2023-2024, and man what a year it has been.
Both of our kids have grown so much, and Jaden completed his first year of school in the Pre-K3 program at Primary. Natalia is as fiery as ever and has changed so much over the last nine months.
As for varsity sports, I’ve watched a lot of fun moments, Sudan softball competed in their first ever play-off game, Olton boy’s basketball made it back to the Regional Tournament, Littlefield boy’s basketball had a 30+ win season, Sudan baseball made the play-offs for the first time in just their second year of having the baseball program and won a gold glove. Littlefield Baseball knocked off # 6 Bushland in the Area round of the play-offs and so much more. Another first that happened this year, was Jaden getting to compete in sports for the first time, which also meant Marisa and I coaching for the first time. Marisa coached him in the fall in soccer and I was her assistant coach, and this spring myself and Jaden’s godfather, Tio Mando, coached him in Teeball. In soccer, I got to watch Jaden score his first goal, against arguably the best team in our age division in our second to last game of the season. Y’all I jumped so high when I saw that ball roll into the goal off of his kick, you would of thought I won the lottery or something. I forgot I was coaching for a minute, but the joy that overcame me when he scored that goal; it was such a proud moment for me and him, and to see the smile that came over his face when he turned around and saw me and realized he just scored, is something I will cherish forever.
And then we get to teeball, to say I wasn’t overwhelmed with emotions when we took the field for the first game would be a complete lie. It may not of shown on the outside, but behind those shades I was holding back tears of joy as my boy stepped into the batter’s box for his first bat. I remember pitching the ball to him and him connecting with the ball for his first career hit, and I can’t lie, I remember smirking while walking to the foul line as he ran to first base, because he hit out of my hand and didn’t have to use the tee...as Coach Rekieta would say, (We Practice That)!
We knew this day was coming for a while now that we would start teeball and I would coach him, but for it to have actually happened and now we’ve completed our first season, just brought back all of the memories of my dad coaching me over the years.
I grew up at the ball field, and as we begin this journey I can only hope the same for him. I made so many memories playing baseball, and I can not wait to see what the future holds for him.
I can’t say enough how proud I am, not just of Jaden but of our entire team, they all came so far since our first practice that got cut short about 20 minutes into it because of the West Texas wind. I’ve seen so much growth in each and every player and it was an honor to be their coach this year.
And to top it off, I was blessed with such an amazing group of parents in this first year, who have made coaching so enjoyable, I really couldn’t have asked for anything more.
I also have to give a shoutout to my wife, Marisa and Kara, Mando’s wife, along with a few of the other moms who have helped in the dugout and kept the kids in line and have had them ready to go when it’s our turn to bat. Also to Shawn Cristan and Graham Henley for all of their help this season on the bases, in the field and in practice. Also to everyone who helped us in practice, Teeball truly takes a village and we had an amazing one this year.
As graduation approaches, it’s hard to see this group graduate, I think they were in fourth grade when I first started with the Lamb County Leader-News. So, I’ve seen them come up all the way through junior high sports, with some playing three or even all four years in high school on varsity. These kids all hold a special place in my heart and I wish every single one of them the best in whatever they decide to do in the next chapter of life.