Grabbed my worn-out baseball glove this morning feeling kinda blah about practice. But then remembered that dog video where the golden retriever catches frisbees mid-air – looked stupid fun. Figured I’d stop sulking and just try something new. Dug through my garage junk pile till I found those old tennis balls rolling under the toolbox. Three should do, right?
The Wall Drills (Epic Fail At First)
Started simple. Stood maybe ten feet away from my brick garage wall – the one with all the ugly moss patches. Tossed one tennis ball underhand thud. It bounced back way slower than I thought. Easy catch, glove open like I’m catching an egg. Felt cocky. “More speed!” I yelled to nobody.
- Bad Idea #1: Chuckled, wound up, threw the ball HARD. Smashed against the bricks. Felt good until it rocketed back like a bullet train. Completely missed. Ball flew past my head, rolled under the neighbor’s fence. Oops.
- Lightbulb Moment: Slapped my forehead. Realized I should stand closer first. Moved in like three feet. Tossed softer again. Focused on the ball’s spin off the bricks this time – not how cool I looked. Snagged it clean. Did ten reps feeling the rhythm: throw, follow the arc, glove out, pop.
Two-Ball Juggling Chaos
Got greedy. Found another ratty tennis ball. Held one in each hand. Logic? “If catching one is easy, two must be twice as easy!” Spoiler: Nope.
- The Pancake Method: Tossed ball #1 right hand straight up kinda high. While it hung up there, quickly tossed ball #2 left hand underhand. First try? Smashed ball #1 landed ON ball #2 mid-air. Both thumped onto the lawn. Dog looked confused.
- Tiny Wins: Slowed it waaay down. Only tossed #2 after #1 reached its peak. Forced myself to track #1 with my eyes like it owed me cash. When I actually caught #1 before scrambling for #2… tiny fist pump. Managed three ugly catches in a row eventually. Arms felt like noodles.
Blindfolded? Why Not? (Seriously)
Saw some pro player interview about “feeling the ball.” Sounded fancy. Used my grubby sweatband as a makeshift blindfold. Deep breath. Threw a single ball softly upward based purely on gut feel.
- Reality Check: Listened hard. Heard the thwap when it smacked the wall… then silence. Couldn’t hear the bounce or direction at all. Panicked, yanked the blindfold off. Ball was chilling near my left foot. Felt incredibly dumb. Laughed hard anyway.
- The “Kinda Sorta” Win: Tried again without the wall. Just tossed straight up blindfolded. Concentrated ONLY on hearing the ball leave my hand and listening for the pat-pat-pat as it fell near me. Somehow got my glove vaguely near the sound. Ball actually glanced off my glove fingertips! Didn’t catch it… but touch felt like a weird triumph. Sweatband smelled terrible after.
Hot Mess Wrap-Up
Soaked my sweaty shirt in the sink. Thumb joint kinda sore. Neighbor probably thinks I’m nuts yelling at tennis balls. But honestly? Best practice in weeks. That “pop” feeling when the ball settles perfectly in the glove pocket after a clean catch? Pure gold. Gonna go scrape moss off my wall now.
