The Growing Caldwell Family

Charlie played for the Iron Birds in Majors this fall. The Iron Birds are a real minor league team in Maryland. It was Coach Andrew's team and Charlie likes him as a coach.  Even with a good coach, this was a tough season. Charlie couldn't find his groove for pitching or batting. Definitely hard to go through, but there is a lot to.be learned in losing.  His biggest fans! His season wasn't going so well, especially batting, so he decided this new bat might do the trick.  At a game in October, he was giving it his all in the outfield and then he horribly was hit in the face with the ball. It happened so quick. He was running to get the ball and lost it in the lights. His team was very kind to him. Immediately it was swelling and he started to worry about kids judging him as a poor ballplayer for making that error. I felt terrible for him. His face hurt and his pride was so wounded.  The next morning he could barely open his eye it was so swollen. Thankfully, he had on...

Charlie was drafted to the Cincinnati Reds and we were excited for him to play for Coach Dunbeck again! Excited for Grancy to see his parade! Parade is such a fun community celebration as families line the streets to cheer on our guys as they start their baseball season! If you have a ball, Charlie is ready to play! He played first base, pitched, and did a little centerfield.  Lovie and Pops were his biggest fans! Dinner after a day of games. Game ball!  Dinner to celebrate the game ball! Little League day at the Braves! It wasn't the winningest season, but Charlie had a great season! With the support of Coach Dunbeck his pitching and first base plays get better all the time! He ended the season with a great hit! Can't wait to see how his game is when he gets the hang of hitting consistently! One of the funniest things this season was a really tall kid who played on another team and pitched. After a game he called, "Good game!" to Charlie in a very deep voice that sou...

As a fifth grader Charlie was eligible to run Cross Country and he really enjoyed it!  Lots of fun to run with great coaches and friends! His #1 fans! Trail run Wednesdays! Even when soaking wet running in the rain, they have fun! His interest at practice and hard work paid off earning him the award of "Most Improved Mile" at their award ceremony!  Charlie also had a fantastic season playing fall baseball on the AAA Red Wings! He played first base and pitched! I was so nervous for him to have all the pressure of pitchings and he did awesome!  First practice His team did not win the championship, which was very disappointing. In their final game Charlie pitched two of the four innings and he did great! He also had some great at bats and was able to help his team score! More than how he played, I am so proud that he spoke up to ask for the positions he wanted, and how hard he worked at practice and in the evenings to work on his skills to keep getting better. That kind of g...