Or what I referred to as “For the love of God, please don’t let Zak injure one of the players” day. “Jr. Lynx Day” was a little shorter, so I guess that’s why they went with that.

Anyway.

The first “Little League” day back in June (?) was rained out, so we missed that one. We went to it last year, and there were tons of kids. I was told Jr. Lynx day was different, and there wouldn’t be too many kids. On Little League day, it wasn’t uncommon to get only one turn to field, throw or run before a rotation to the next area. People were right - Zak was in a group with about ten other kids and he had lots of time with each player. His age group started with our second favorite catcher, Eli Whiteside. Mr. Whiteside was teaching them the finer points of baserunning. Good - I thought. I’m pretty sure he couldn’t hurt anyone while running, at least not seriously. I was immediately impressed with the amount of time Mr. W took with the kids to make sure that they understood, that they did it right. In fact, all of the players - Brian Burres, Brooks Badeaux, Howie Clark and Eli Whiteside were like that. I guess I figured that they wouldn’t take things too seriously - wrong again.

Here’s Mr. Whiteside, explaining to Zak how to take his “secondary” lead

Brooks Badeaux handled the infield fielding and footwork part of the clinic. What a really fun guy - does he ever stop smiling? Here he’s explaining the importance of that first cross-over step.

Talking to the group - just before Zak’s hand shot up. Mr. Badeaux was unfortunately subjected to one of Zak’s infamous multi-part five minute questions. “What if the ball goes to my right, and I’m left handed, but I’m right leg dominant, and there’s a runner on third with two outs, but we’ve got a big lead…..”

The following sequence were moments of sheer terror for me. Zak had no fear - he was just throwing to Brian Burres. I saw it as Zak throwing to “Baltimore prospect, we’ve got a lot of time and money tied up in this guy, good hard throwing left handed starter, might get called up” Brian Burres. Should be harmless right? He’s just a 9 year old kid - right? Wrong. You’ve obviously never been hit in the temple with one of his patented split finger, four seam, circle change tennis balls. Never take your eyes off a kid with a baseball in his hand. Unfortunately for Mr. Burres - there were about ten lethal weapons, er, kids, lined up like a firing squad about twenty feet away from him. The only thing missing was the blindfold, last cigarette and a priest reciting the 23rd Psalm.

Actually, Zakky looks pretty good here.

We moved on to the final area, fielding pop-flys with Howie Clark. Whoa. Can you say intense? This guy was serious. Seriously. The kids made the mistake of joking around while he was talking - once.

In the next photo, Zak (God love him), has put up his hand and is going to ask a question. Mr. Clark points at him, all business, appearing slightly annoyed: “Yes?”. Patented multi-part question (again). Answer: “Yes.” Smart man, Mr. Clark - I like him more already.

Getting the kids to shag fly balls that were over their heads.

Howie (Mr. Clark just doesn’t fit) was a lot of fun. The kids had to listen, but he kept them running and started really “playing” with them. After the announcement came that time was up, he conspiratorially encouraged them - “come on guys, let’s get one more run through”.

To do this ‘post’ justice, I’ll have to finish up later. Check back after lunch!

** UPDATE **

Howie and the other three Lynx players hung around after the official end of the clinic to sign autographs and talk with the parents and their kids. It occurred to me, that these guys had obviously volunteered to take time out of their Saturday to do this, which made their enthusiasm and serious approach to the clinic even more special. Zak had a great time, and learned a few things too - I know that he’d never even considered footwork before that afternoon.

I left the park, as I had many times this past season, shaking my head. What had I been thinking for the last few years? I should have been out here with Zak all the time…