Peyton’s teammate’s mom texted me last night that her daughter wasn’t feeling well and would be missing out on camp today. Peyton didn’t want to go as a result! But, we reassured her she would meet friends just like she did at Stanford last year. In fact, the first girl in line was a girl she met last year at camp. And another dad came up to us and told us we looked familiar, and that the girls knew each other from Stanford. He had come up from LA to attend!
I wasn’t sure if Dave was coming so I wanted to head out early, especially since this was Day 1 and we had to check in with paperwork. We headed out, and it took us a full hour to arrive. The line had already started to form, and we were about 10 deep, with about 20 minutes to wait for check in. Dave and Brandon took off on foot, while I stood in line with a slightly nervous Peyton. She was apprehensive, especially as we saw girls from all kinds of travel teams. I’d asked her to wear her “clothes” to represent her team, which she reluctantly did. Good thing though, as we were asked to pay for parking. I went up to the parking attendant to check to see if we had to pay. He looked at Peyton’s jersey, and asked if that was the SJ Sting that she played for. When she told him it was, he told us, “My daughter plays for the 16 u team with Bob (the owner)!” He proceeded to tell us that it was a small world, and that he’d be here the whole day, and promised NOT to give us a ticket. I winked and told him to remember my car. I took his word for it, and despite being told by the leader of the camp, one of the assistant coaches, to pay for parking, I did not. Speaking of the leader of this camp, she is a friend of a one of Peyton’s teammates, the one who was supposed to come up with us. She walked the line, gave instructions, then said, “OH, HI, Peyton! Good morning to you!” Peyton cringed and sunk behind me in abject horror! I nudged her to say hello, but she was so embarrassed because all these girls heard it. It was comical to me, and I rolled with it, saying hi to coach. She may well be one of Peyton’s fall coaches, as she is friends with the assistant coach on our team. She helped Brandon when we went to the CAL/UCLA game back in May. She is a lefty, and helped him with pointers for first base. Later, when the boys arrived, she asked Brandon how he was doing, and we told her he ended his little league career playing a clean first base, using the tips she provided to him. Upon check in, the girls received a CAL jersey to wear for the day at camp.
The parents were talked to all together while the girls warmed up. We then were allowed to watch the girls, and we found Peyton with her team at the fielding station. The girls were throwing balls to each other, in a pattern, however, one girl couldn’t catch Peyton’s throw, it glanced off her glove, and hit another girl who was standing in line not paying attention to what was in front of her. I think it may have hit her in the face, and she was not wearing a mask. The girl went down, held her face, and another of the younger coaches was tending to her, while the first coach brought all the girls together for another drill. Coach Mandy came up to the fence, after tending to the girl, and told me, “Peyton has quite an arm!” I told her that she just nailed someone with her throw. She told me “That’s all right, these girls have to know how to catch.” I explained the circumstances, and then she addressed the safety issue that they should all be paying attention. Peyton wasn’t wearing a mask either, and later came back with hers.
We watched the morning drills and then the scrimmage. They got to play on the real field where the college players play! It was a bit of a disaster, as one girl, who told the coaches she pitches, clearly could NOT pitch. It extended the innings, and it was a nightmare to watch. Even the head/main coach of the actual team, ended up leaving the area, unfortunately, before Peyton got up to bat. Peyton was last up, and I think it was alphabetical order. Peyton was so annoyed, she said that she wanted to change her name to mine. At least she’d get to hit in the middle. After that, they broke for lunch, and the three of us headed into town for some food. I had brought food for Brandon and me, as I didn’t know what Dave’s plan was. There was some talk of him heading into work after dropping us off, but he decided to stay the whole day.
We watched Peyton’s bunting session, and the male, older coach was fairly impressed. We could hear him chatting up Peyton, as she laid down the majority of the pitches he gave her. She was first up, and the pitching machine had been adjusted to what he thought was the correct speed. But after Peyton, no one else could lay it down, so they had to tune down the speed of the pitch. At the end of their session, he told everyone, “Okay, now watch THIS.” He called Peyton over to bunt some more. She laid down a few more bunts, and then they moved stations.
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The next station, they were practicing throwing again. She threw a line drive right to her coach, and the coach exclaimed, “Where did that come from?!” I could hear it from half way across the field where I was sitting. She even made her do it again, telling the other 20 girls to watch her. I’m sure she was so embarrassed, but when I asked her after camp, she said, “Nope, I wasn’t.” I think she likes it! Mandy came around to that station, and when it was Peyton’s time up again, she threw a laser to the coach. Mandy clapped for her and cheered loudly. Hopefully this will give her the confidence she needs. Other girls were overthrowing the coach, or taking short hops, but she managed to get it to her each time when the pressure was on. This will be good for her, as she will have to try out for her team again in the fall.
The final station was another fielding drill, simulating catches at first, as if playing first base, and then playing second base, with half the team as base runners and the other half as second basemen. They were working on sliding, and then catching and putting down the tag on runners. After this, they were done for the day. This coach, who had watched her throw and was catching for her, told her that she should play 12 u. I didn’t think I heard it right, and as I was standing around, while coach walked by, she asked me, “Are you Peyton’s mom?” I confirmed, and she told me, “I think she should play 12’s. She throws harder than half of the 12 year old players I’ve seen.” I told her she should tell Mandy, because I don’t believe her. Peyton told me that coach had asked for her age, and even when she told her she was 9, she told her she should go play 12’s. Mandy’s advice was to stay where she was and continue to get better đŸ™‚ We have no intention of moving her up! The girls returned their jerseys, and then we were all done by 3 pm. Back at it again tomorrow, but this time, I will have grumpy Brandon alone, who did see a friend he used to play ball with, but he wasn’t interested in hanging out with him today.
Here are the pictures:
