Summer Baseball with the Jays

Summer baseball was by far the highlight of Connor's summer. Late in the spring, he joined a local select team called the One Percent Academy (OPA) Jays and committed to playing with them throughout the summer. It took him a few tournaments to get to know the team and establish rapport, but by mid-June Connor was really finding his groove with the Jays and enjoying some great action on the field.

The Jays had 2 different uniforms for the summer, and Connor thought the pinstripe version was pretty neat. Well, except for the knickers - those type of baseball pants drive him nuts. He sure looked the part though! 

One of the cool ways that the Jays coaches would motivate and encourage the players was to hand out a special WWW-style belt to an outstanding player of a tournament. It was a coveted reward for the boys, giving them a chance to enjoy some well-earned recognition along with some bragging rights. Connor was the recipient of the belt for a few weeks during the summer and definitely enjoyed his temporary accessory.

One of my favorite summer tournaments was one held in Brenham. I snapped a couple photos of Connor and then Jeff and I enjoyed a nice walk in the local park on a beautiful summer morning while Connor's team warmed up for their game. This was only one of MANY baseball games we attended  throughout the summer, and it was so fun to watch the boys find their groove as a team.

One of the coolest things about Connor playing with the Jays team is that the coaches are dedicated to creating opportunities for the boys to get noticed for their contributions. They choose tournaments where local scout teams record outstanding plays and capture player statistics and profiles on their social media accounts. Connor had his name and photo requested a few times before we figured out that he had been featured on Twitter on multiple occasions as a Player of the Game (POG) and Notable Player for his great pitching and hitting performances. His first POG shout-out came from a tournament at University of Houston where he pitched 6 strikeouts and earned 2 RBIs... awesome! I saved some of the Twitter screenshots featuring Connor because it was so neat to see him recognized for his hard work!

It was a great summer of baseball so far with the end of the summer season drawing near. Next stop for the Jays? Florida!