Finnish baseball

I used to play Finnish baseball for twelve years in my past. I started when I was eight years old and gave it up when I became pregnant for Jonna (14 years ago, already). Finnish baseball was very important for me then and it wasn't easy to give up. In my youth I played and also coached a team so my free time was pretty much taken by baseball, but I loved it.

Last fall Jonna asked if she could start playing Finnish baseball. At first I wasn't very willing for her to do that. I tought she was too old to start it (already 12 then) and it would demand too much of her. I also doubted her skills. I'm glad she was persistance and kept asking that. So in November she started training with the local Finnish baseball team. Soon I found myself back in coaching too...

We just spend a week in baseball camp in Kajaani with Jonna and her team. There were 115 teams from all over Finland there. I've been on those camps at least eight times in my childhood and the week was such a memory lane to me. I enjoyed every moment of it! It was definately the best week of this summer. Other parents kept thanking me for being there with their daughters but I was thinking: Wow, I got to experience this for free!

I hadn't realized how much I love the game before this. I'm so happy I can share it with my daughter but the game has me in hook even without my daughter now. I'm planning on starting to play myself again if I can find a team that accept old ladies like me.

As you can see from the name label (TYKKYLÄINEN) Jonna is a tiny girl compared to the others in the team and she is also new. I must admit that she has surprised me how well she's learned the game. There's still lot to learn but I didn't know that she has sportive talent at all. I'm sad that she didn't fall in love with the violin but Finnish baseball is a good one too. Actually I think it's the best sports in the world!