Kyle in Poland: Days 88-90
Multiple practices, Gym trip, Awkward moments, and more, Photos at the end
On June 26, I slept in and woke up around noon. Once I finally rolled out of bed, I got ready for the day, dressed, trimmed my mustache, and made sandwiches for lunch.
After those tasks were completed, I did some light editing on a story before doing my daily stretches in advance of kid’s practice.
For that session, their practice schedule surprisingly varied from the usual format.
They began with the typical groundball and pop fly routine, briefly worked on pitching, and finished with a game. The kids initially pitched to their peers for the first half of the game and then Greg returned to pitch the other half.
Obviously, they struggled a bit with the live pitching, but they also had some good moments as well. It was certainly a valuable learning experience for the boys and a small taste of real baseball.
After a little while, the practice concluded, and we rode back to the apartment. Along the way, I asked the Japanese guys what they typically did throughout the day and learned that Masa watched a lot of tv. I was curious as to what he fancied, so I asked.
From the sound of it, Masa was very keen on anime, a popular genre of animated television from Japan. We talked about his favorite show, discussed its premise, and I told them I would give it a try once I returned home, an idea they thought was hilarious.
A few minutes later, I made it back to my room. I laid around for a bit and later edited a story. Once I finally reached a stopping point, I rode a bike to the gym.
For that session, I did my typical “day one” workout which consisted of leg curls, leg press, side lunge, back lunge, calf raises, and 400 abs. Since I did not have a game that week, I added a couple sets and did heavier weight than usual, which made it quite brutal compared to other lifts.
Toward the end, Taku showed up and we briefly chatted before I rode back to the apartment.
In my room, once again, I talked to Jocelyn until I grew hungry and made pierogis for dinner. I enjoyed my typical Polish meal, washed dishes, showered, and edited before falling asleep.
The next day, I slept in and got a late start for the day.
I originally had plans of riding to the baseball field to throw, but since it rained several times throughout the day, that idea was thwarted. Instead, I went to work on a story, making the final edits and later publishing it.
My writing process took a bit longer than I had anticipated, so I ended up eating an extremely late lunch. Afterward, I spent time watching a few pitching videos on YouTube. In case anyone is wondering, Tread Athletics and Pitching Ninja are some of the best online resources for pitchers.
Once I finished watching videos, I did my daily stretches and began working on another story. After some time passed, I took a break, talked to Jocelyn, performed more stretches, made kielbasa hot dogs for dinner, and showered.
When all of those items on my checklist were completed, I did a final round of stretches for good measure and went to sleep.
The following day, June 28, was Tell Cross’ birthday, so I had to make sure to wish one of my best buds a happy birthday once I awoke.
Then, I got ready for the day and spent time reading sports articles. When I finally became hungry, I deviated from the usual lunch schedule and (surprise, surprise) ate a bowl of cereal.
Afterward, I stretched and got ready for kid’s practice, which did not start off well.
When we arrived at the field, Taku and I sat our bags down, took our gloves out, and tied our shoes. By the time we did this, Greg already had the kids fielding groundballs. So, Taku and I stood back and let him work, occasionally fielding errant throws for him. Since we were mostly just standing there, I began to talk to Taku about our upcoming games, the opposing teams, who would pitch, etc.
Apparently, Greg took exception to what we were doing and voiced his dissatisfaction with us standing around and talking. He was unhappy that we did not make another group for groundballs and thought we were old enough to do it on our own without having to be asked.
I do not think he realized that by the time we were ready to roll, which did not take very long, he was already in the middle of the drill. He was obviously the boss, so we never thought to overrule him and interrupt, so we let them proceed as they were. Greg is a good guy and normally happy around the kids, so I think it was all simply a misunderstanding.
As you would expect, the dynamic was a bit strange and tense immediately following that exchange. Later, when the kids played a game, it featured another awkward moment as well.
With there being an odd number of kids, Taku had to play on one of the teams. As always, in order to take some heat off the ball whenever he hit, he swung from the opposite side of the plate as a right-handed hitter. Unfortunately, he happened to connect with the ball too well and absolutely smoked Greg with a line drive.
Obviously, it is never ideal for someone to get hit, even with a softer ball, but considering the context of the situation and how it could become increasingly more awkward, it was rather comical.
Eventually, as time went on, the mood began to normalize.
When the youth practice came to an end, we started our normal team practice immediately after.
That day, I stretched, threw a flat ground bullpen to Maciej, worked with the infield for a while, and hit two rounds of BP.
My original plan was to have a legitimate bullpen session on the mound, but Greg vetoed since it had recently rained and did not want us to tear the mound up. It was a valid reason, though it threw a wrench into my plan. Nevertheless, we complied and settled for a flat ground in the outfield.
As far as my performance, I was honestly really pleased with how it went- my arm felt solid, and I was able to locate and control all three of my primary pitches. Later on, I was also pleased with how my hitting fared, so it made for a good day.
Once practice was over, I went back to the apartment and showered.
The rest of the evening was quite laid back, I spent a good amount of time editing a story and whenever I became tired, went to sleep.