OT: Another side of an 11YO athlete

[MSandman]

Besides playing basketball in the winter, my son has another big interest... acting each year in his school plays. This year, he was Warbucks in "Annie Jr.".

With the wonders of the internet, I'm able to share his performance with out-of-state relatives, so I thought I'd share it out here too.

I've certainly posted enough of his baseball swing over the last few years. But if anyone's interested in seeing a lighter side of him, click on this link and it will open in Windows Media Player:
http://members.cox.net/warwickcontin...0But%20You.wmv

Enjoy!

Proud Dad,
Sandman

[Jake Patterson]

Hey Sandman you should be proud!
Awesome job!
Jake

[tadlock11]

Very cool!

[Ursa Major]

Wogdoggy, scratch the order for scotch. Send that man some champagne! (And a six of root beer for the thespian...) Great stage presence and singing from the youngster. Ahhhh, though, the curse of 11 year old boys; being shorter than many of the girls.

I too bounced between baseball and being a thespian, and I think they feed one another -- the ability to perform in front of others in specifics, and to perform in the clutch in particular. He will find it to be of immense value with respect to anything he does.

I'll brag on my 11 year old youngster for just this once in a slightly different vein. For some reason -- well, for a very good reason -- he's become very upset about the methodical killings and village destruction of native Sudanese in the Darfur region of Sudan by Islamic zealots, known as janjaweed. So, without any encouragement from his mother and I, he asked for seven minutes at the school assembly on Friday, put together and presented to 225 of his schoolmates a seven minute Powerpoint presentation on the situation, and then got a huge number of them to sign petitions calling for our government to take action on it. I've put together a 3 minute, 1.9 MB excerpt of it. I'll PM MSandman (and anyone else interested) with the URL. I don't want to bore (or depress) any of the rest of you unless you're really interested.

Is this off topic? No! When I spoke with my son later and commended him for his cool in presenting such a complicated issue and his presence in keeping 225 middle school kids quiet and enthralled just before the dismissal bell on a Friday afternoon, I said, "Anyone who can keep that cool has just got to have what it takes to be a closer." He liked that idea.

[MSandman]

Thanks everyone! Like most parents, we're happy to see him explore varying interests and not just drop in front of the t.v. all the time.

John, very commendable that your son is taking such notice of the world around him and isn't just totally consumed in his own life, as so many of us often are.

[swingbuster]

can you sing and dance like that Mike? Maybe he will take that stage presence to home plate....

Good job ... KEVIN

[MSandman]

can you sing and dance like that Mike? Maybe he will take that stage presence to home plate....

Good job ... KEVIN

Heck no, Don! Not that well anyway. Though I did get up at a Little League parent's birthday party last year and sing a couple Karaoke songs. My friends had no idea and were pretty surprised that I could sing. Never really tried dancing... 'cept the late 70s and early 80s disco scene!

We surely don't expect him to be a professional actor. But we do think, like many have said, that there are some definite lifelong benefits to being able to "perform" in front of people.

Thanks everyone for letting me share a bit of non-baseball.

Mike

[Jake Patterson]

I've put together a 3 minute, 1.9 MB excerpt of it. I'll PM MSandman (and anyone else interested) with the URL. I don't want to bore (or depress) any of the rest of you unless you're really interested.

Ursa Would love to see it.
I feel these types of activities really round out a child.

[Jake Patterson]

can you sing and dance like that Mike? Maybe he will take that stage presence to home plate....

Intersesting observation.... If he's willing to perform in front of several hundred people, what's a 12 y/o with a little curve? I am sure this will help his plate presence.

[Ursa Major]

Ursa Would love to see it.
I feel these types of activities really round out a child.

I've PM'd you with the link, Jake. Yeah, they do round out the kid. And certainly make performing in front of us low-key, unobsessed parents a lot easier.

I don't know if you want them too well-rounded. When I suggested to the boy last week that he take a break from looking up information online about the Darfur situation for his speech and go out in the back yard to his some wiffle balls, he said, "What's more important, Dad, my swing or the lives of millions of people?" ... I don't know. Maybe it IS time that we moved out of Berkeley. Messes up a kid's values, y'know?

[bbjunkie]

I'll brag on my 11 year old youngster for just this once in a slightly different vein. For some reason -- well, for a very good reason -- he's become very upset about the methodical killings and village destruction of native Sudanese in the Darfur region of Sudan by Islamic zealots, known as janjaweed. So, without any encouragement from his mother and I, he asked for seven minutes at the school assembly on Friday, put together and presented to 225 of his schoolmates a seven minute Powerpoint presentation on the situation, and then got a huge number of them to sign petitions calling for our government to take action on it. I've put together a 3 minute, 1.9 MB excerpt of it. I'll PM MSandman (and anyone else interested) with the URL. I don't want to bore (or depress) any of the rest of you unless you're really interested.

For reasons that I don't need to go into here, I recently had a crash course in Darfur and Sudan. What a nightmare. If your son is going to take on a cause, he couldn't pick a better one.

Sandman Terrific show. I've got a feeling the college recruiters are going to be looking for him in a few years.

[tom.guerry]

Sweet !!!!!!

[wogdoggy]

I don't know. Maybe it IS time that we moved out of Berkeley. Messes up a kid's values, y'know?



glad you said it ursa.lol SUDANESE in the DUFAR region???WTF.

[Captain Cold Nose]

It's great you have a child who's that well-rounded, MSandman.
Is this talk about what these young players do outside of baseball off-topic? It can be argued as such, but since we are talking about kids who are ballplayers, this is just insight into what makes a young ballplayer tick.

[Gashouse6]

I will never be able to dance or sing that well. That kid is GOOD!!!