Courtrights Explore Singapore

While Connor was playing some of his games, Collin and Kevin took some time to explore some of the sights of the city that the rest of us had been able to visit last summer. Once the tournament was over, the baseball fun may have ended but we still had another day or two to explore the great city-state of Singapore as a family.

We heard about this Mexican food place called Senior Taco that some of the baseball families had been raving about. It was in a fun area full of restaurants and night life, and we can never pass up the opportunity for yummy Mexican food. We enjoyed our dinner with the family and some fellow baseball friends but nothing ever beats our beloved Tex Mex, especially with the sticker shock of $250 (have I mentioned how expensive Singapore is??)!

After dinner, the kids walked over to this Virtual Reality place that was a part of the lively scene in the area. They both put on their VR goggles and played the game along with Connor's friend, Kiyan. Turns out that Connor was the high scorer of the night.

Getting out and about around Singapore is super easy with the taxis and ride share services. Our favorite rides were those where we could stretch out. We had a short time to explore some of the Singapore markets and street food, and we made sure to take full advantage.

It was really neat to explore as a family, but we were most excited to head out on the next leg of our trip. But first, we had to clean out the hotel fridge (ICE CREAM for breakfast, ha!) and call a family ride share to the airport. We had our own personal family bus! Why do the kids always want to sit in the back? Troublemakers!

Dubai Falcons in Singapore

Our reason for kicking off our family vacation in Singapore was that Connor's traveling baseball team, the 12U Dubai Falcons, were competing in the annual SEABYST tournament, which stands for South East Asia Youth Baseball & Softball Tournament. It was the final tournament for Connor's team, and they were excited to play against some great teams from Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Perth Australia and Jakarta Indonesia. The Falcons were fresh off their 1st place win in Dubai, so we had high hopes for our players. It was a bonus that our entire family was together for the event.

The Falcons played 2-3 games per day over a span of 4 days for the tournament. Connor played starting catcher and had some great hits. One of his teammates even hit a grand slam on one of their close games. Unfortunately a couple of the games just didn't go our way, so we didn't have the showing everyone was hoping for. We ended up in 5th place out of 6 teams. Oh well. It was still an experience that Connor will never forget, and we all loved being there to support him.

Each morning the team would meet in the hotel lobby to ride a group bus to the baseball fields. The tournament was hosted by the Singapore American School, a beautiful campus and perfect venue for the occasion.

The Singapore spring weather was SO hot and muggy. It felt like the worst Houston heat. I felt bad for the players and couldn't imagine how hot they were, especially Connor in all of his gear. The spectators were happy to hang out in any available shade we could find!

Connor's team handled the weather conditions pretty well. They enjoyed their time together and had a lot of fun. The school had an onsite cafeteria that worked overtime to keep all of the tournament players fed and fueled for the long weekend of tournament games.

On the 2nd day of the tournament, we encountered some typical Singapore rain storms which quickly escalated into some of the most intense thunderstorms I've ever experienced! After living in the Middle East with rain and thunder being a rarity, our entire team was even more fascinated by the thunder and lightening. It's not often that Dubai folks get to experience such weather. We had a 3-hour rain delay and were never more happy to return to the fields.

As I mentioned earlier, our Falcons ended up in 5th place. At the end of the final game, everyone was understandably disappointed at the team's showing in the tournament. But the sportsmanship is always strong in these international experiences. The players were all happy for the opportunity to be together and play some good baseball.

Even though our tournament season was now officially over, we were all so thankful for the experiences and opportunities that had come our way from the Dubai Falcons team. The family travels, team camaraderie, and baseball fun contributed to such special memories and life lessons for all of us, many that we'll cherish forever. But more than that, the father-son bonding over countless hours of baseball instruction, practices, games, and tournaments...well, in the end, that's what it was all about.

We will be forever thankful for the experience of a lifetime with our Dubai Falcons baseball team. What an unexpected blessing this sport has been for our family!