Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Our Trip to Cary, North Carolina


Michael and I had a great time while we were in Cary, North Carolina.  As stated in a previous post, we were there as my son Michael who is 13 years old was trying out for the USA International Baseball team.  This was the second  round of tryouts. This was more of a showcase than a tournament.  Sure the kids played baseball games, each team played four games.  The games were played so the scouts could see the abilities of each player.  The ages were 14-17 years old, my son being one of the youngest kids there.



The best of the best baseball players were there so the games were really good!!  Michael's name was on the scouts list as one of the players to watch out for.  Michael did what he knows best and played his best up until the last game that was played on Sunday.  Michael was in the bull pen warming up with his pitching as he was going to pitch the next inning.  As he was in the bull pen, he "tweeked" his back and could barley move.  He told his coach what happened and Michael was pulled from the pitching position (the scouts wanted to see him pitch one more time).  Michael was next to bat and he ripped the ball up the gap between first and second base.  He could barley run up the first base line to get to first base, he was in severve pain!  He got out at first and everyone could see the awful pain he was in even the scouts.


(This is Michael #57, 5'9 tall, 180 pounds, not an ounce of fat on his body!)


Michael was having back pain before we left, he's  had it for about two months now.  We've been to his sports docotor and many tests have been run to figure out what is causing his back to "tweek" (it stiffens up).  All the tests have come back negative.  He's been going to physical therapy 2 times a week and doing his exercises at home.  His doctor said he may be going through another growth spurt which could be causing the problem (humm, not to sure I agree with that).




My husband received a call today from the one of the coaches who will be coaching the USA International Team.  He said that  he was really impressed with Michael and was one of the best kids out there in the showcase and  Michael was their number one pick but  due to the fact that  Michael had gotten injuried, he is the first alternate on the team.  Which means he didn't make the team per say.  Each team consists of 24 players.  If one of the kids backs out then Michael will be on the team. 
I have to say, that my husband and I are not upset about the news.  We would rather concentrate on Michael getting better than him playing on the baseball team (although Michael doesn't see it that way).  Plus if Michael made the team he would have to miss 10 days of school, yep 10 days, that's a whole lot of school to miss!!  Michael is still young and has a long baseball career ahead of him.  He has been gifted with the most amazing talent and athletic ability, these things can't be taught, you either have it or you don't, and Michael certainly has it!!
Thank-you all for reading as I bragged about my son, we are so proud of all his accomplishments and love him to pieces!!

Make it a great day, Janice


2 comments:

Mary said...

Hey Janice, You should be very proud of your boy! Being the youngest on the team is quite a privilege...he must be very good, or they wouldn't have included him. I am very sorry to hear about his back...wondering if they did an MRI...sounds more like a disc problem to me, but I hope it is just growing pains. You are right, he has a lot of years left to pursue his goals in baseball, but now is the time to take care of his body. Let us know as soon as you do. I'll be praying for Michael. Take care, sweetie, blessings to you and yours!
Mary

Golden Girl said...

Sounds like good news, bad news. I agree that iti is more important to worry about Michael's health than to worry about a career at this point. Get the back taken care of - he is very young and has many years ahead. It sounds like he is not a quitter, so I am sure he will be able to capitalize on future opportunities.

Love, Aunt Mary