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Last week I shared about the organization called All Pro Dad. I mentioned that on Saturday the 11th I would be attending one of there events with the Tampa Bay Rays. When they do a baseball event they call it All Star Dad instead of All Pro Dad. This post is just to basically go over some of the details from the event, I also have some pictures and video for you.

What We Did

There were 5 different stations we went to and in each station there was a fun activity as well as a quick message. What they do is when you check in you and your kids get a colored arm band. There are 4 different colors which are the different groups.

You and your kids should have the same color. This is so you will know where your group is. There are 2 people in each group that are carrying a big colored flag, you follow them and you are in the right group. This will also help the kids should they lose site of you at anytime they can look for the flags.

Station 1

In the first station we learned about healthy eating for the kids. Getting them the proper amount of fruits and vegetables etc. As well as the importance of exercise and sleep.

Childhood obesity is a pretty big issue these days and they gave us some great tips on how to protect our kids from it.

Then of course came the fun part. We talked about being excited and proud of something we do. They mentioned how the Rays when they won the American League Championship last year they just piled onto each other in excitement and joy.

So what we had to do was all the dad’s lined up and we had to pretend that a fly ball was hit our way and we caught it, winning the World Series! How would we celebrate and what kind of crazy dance could we do? The kids loved seeing us dads go nuts over an imaginary fly ball. The kids then did the same and it was a pretty fun time.

Station 2

The next station was over in the bull pen. We talked how underage drinking and driving is a growing statistic. We discussed ways to prevent our kids from being in that situation. The fact is that most parents will not talk to their kids openly about those issues and it leads to problems as their friends will pressure them with various things.

We then talked about pepping each other up and how a group cheer is used before sporting events. We then all huddled up and took turns shouting out a cheer. The kids just love the opportunity to be goof balls with dad.

Station 3

In this session we got to run the bases with the kids. This is a great time as the kids run the bases of a Major League Baseball Field. They are standing right on the bases they see on tv. I think my kids look forward to that the most.

We talked about the importance of the kids having a dad in their life. How much influence that is. Sadly dads are just not around enough in most families.

Station 4

In this session we talked about automobile safety, about putting your kids seat belts on. About wearing your own seat belt. There are a lot of deaths out there from not wearing them and many parents do not make their kids where theirs.

In this session we had to take out a note pad and write a note to our kids about why they are so special to us. The kids had to do the same for us. Then we spend 15 seconds hugging each kid. I never get through this one without getting choked up. Especially now that my son writes so well and can put a lot of thought into his note.

About a month ago I got really teary eyed when I was getting some socks for my son and saw a folded up piece of paper in his drawer. I opened it up and it was one of the notes I had written him from one of the other events. How amazing that he kept it at 6 years old! He understands what it means and knew he wanted to keep it somewhere safe! Amazing!

Final Session

In the final session they usually bring out a football player or in this case a baseball player from the team. At this event they had Lance Cormier and Gabe Gross. They spoke with us about how their fathers influenced their lives and made them who they are today. Both players have young children and will be passing on that same love and attention they got from their dads.

After this session they always do a raffle, didn’t win anything but they gave away some cool stuff. Rays tickets, Disney tickets, big screen tv, a Nintendo Wii, really wish I won one of those. It was a great time though and we look forward to it every year.

There were a lot of other fun activities and I’m sure I am forgetting to mention some of the extra session advice. (I would’ve taken notes but the purpose was spending time with the kids) Some other fun stuff was like pretending that you were stealing home plate, we pretended that we were pitching a ball to the kids and they were hitting it. It was definitely lots of fun.

Pictures and Video

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