The Mudcats reassembled Tuesday night for a two-hour practice session at Kentwood Park, where the infield was crying out for Coach Mike's expert groundskeeping touch.
Practice began with a throwing contest, featuring the umpiring of Coach Sean. JJ claimed the first round of the contest and Anthony triumphed in the second round. Karl Hess would later contact Coach Sean and offer his compliments for his incredibly consistent, no matter what the age, strike zone.
The coaches then broke the squad into three stations: infield, outfield and Coach Tom's Kung Fu Dojo. In the infield, players worked on fielding the ball smoothly and making a quick transition with the ball to the chest area, then getting their feet beneath them before delivering a strike to first base--where hopefully the Mudcats have better plans than the guy manning first base tonight. In the outfield, I'm not exactly sure what was going on, but at one point I think I saw Coach Jim throwing a football. And in the Coach Tom station, strains of, "Strike first, strike hard, no mercy sir!" could be heard.
There was just enough light remaining after stations to hold a scrimmage. Unfortunately, the scrimmage also provided the lowlight of practice, as a fluke collision at first base knocked Drew to the ground. X-rays would later reveal two broken bones in his left wrist. Certainly, the thoughts of all his teammates are with him as he deals with the disappointment of an extended absence and the inconvenience and pain of a broken bone.
Coach Sean singled out JJ and Anthony for exhibiting confidence while being humble, which enabled them to serve as captains for the traditional concluding relay race. JJ's team, which included Smiley, Gavin, HD, Zach and Gabe, claimed a narrow victory. In honor of Asher's birthday, the entire team celebrated with cupcakes. Coach Tom and Coach Rob were last seen walking to the parking lot cradling an extra cupcake while muttering something about, "I need this cupcake for my other kid who couldn't come to practice." It was hard to figure out exactly what they were saying since for some reason it sounded like their mouths were full.
The Mudcats tentatively have a Thursday practice session, with exact time and location forthcoming.
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