A blunt trauma to my middle-aged psyche

After the game last night, Nicole and I went to the Chancery in the Wauwatosa village for a small bite and a beer. My parents were nice enough to take the kids overnight for our anniversary, and we relished the chance to be spontaneous. I wore my ML baseball hat to the restaurant. We had a nice waitress and as we wound down our meal, she asked if I coached at Milwaukee Lutheran. I answered in the affirmative, and then the blow came:

“Cool, I graduated from there in 2006.”

Ouch. It’s always nice to run into a fellow alum, but 2006? You have to be kidding me. We confessed to graduating in 1989, and she didn’t look surprised. We all had Mr. Heinkel for PE, but on the other hand, one of her favorites (Mr. Moesch) was a classmate of ours. In sharing this story with my friend Steve, he mentioned that I could have said “I’m almost old enough for you to be my daughter.”

To make the night odder, the pen given to me to sign the receipt was from our church. I pried a bit to get the pen-stealer’s name. I won’t disclose it here, but he will be confronted in church. J

Game 3 Recap

I’ve never been an agent or recipient of the mercy rule before. That is until last night. When the fifth inning ended, we were down 21-6. Jackson was upset about being tagged at home for the last out, and I don’t have the heart to tell him that had he not hesitated, we would have only been down 14 runs and played a sixth inning. It was for the best anyway.

What I learned:

• Kids take these games very seriously. Now the adult tendency would be to tell them to chill out and lighten up, and while true, that’s easy for us grown-ups to say. These kids don’t have jobs, mortgage payments, responsibilities, and bigger things to invest themselves emotionally in. They’re 8-10, and this is a big deal for them.
• Confidence is a fragile thing. One second a kid will feel like he can tackle the world, the next he feels like he isn’t worthy to be on the field. I used second as the time frame, because it seems to turn that quickly.
• Our players need constant reminders about things like standing back in the box, being too far away from the plate, where the play is, etc.
• The team we played last night got first pick of all players who tried out. That is why they are the Blazers #1. Once they got done picking the team from tryouts, Blazers #2 went second, and then #3. That can be misleading, but it was obvious to me they had some good ballplayers.

What I liked:

• Playing at home. There’s nothing like it.
• Our team mentality. We are quick to get behind each other.
• The catch Jackson made on the fly to end the first.
• Watching Trey discover the benefits of pointing the toe toward home plate while pitching.
• Logan’s great form in retreating for a fly over his head. I thought he had it.
• Logan and Cole’s help on the bench. They both caught stuff we were missing.
• Seeing our parents (and my family) in the stands.
• The sportsmanlike demeanor of both teams.
• The weather! How blessed we are to play baseball during these rainy days.
• Wearing a Red Knight baseball cap. Everyone looks good in Red Knight colors.
• The great help from the other coaches in getting us ready for the game and packing up after. They are an asset and a blessing to our team.

What we need to work on:

• Calming down and trusting our abilities.
• Not putting any more pressure on the kids.
• Finding a better substitution pattern. I HATE, HATE, HATE putting anyone on the bench at all. I need to check to rules and see if there is a more equitable way.
• Finding a way to warm up our hitting swing.
• I need to organize my papers better.
• Outfield depth and spacing.

Our next game is Monday June 23 at Waukesha West HS. Please pray for a dry field. See you then!