I had the pleasure of hosting Opening Day for Fairhaven Acushnet Youth Baseball once again yesterday. I’ve done this for many years both before and after my stroke. There was that one year that I couldn’t do it but they have been inviting me back ever since.
I like doing it for many reasons but one of them is because it brings back so many memories. I coached Sarah, Doug, Kat and Matt and they all started with Little League Tee Ball. It’s fun to watch the kids, the dads, the moms, and the family members who come out to see the children.
Yesterday I started by saying, “To the returning baseball moms and dads, ‘Here we go again!’ To the new moms and dads, ‘Welcome to a new adventure.’ I can promise you some close games and some not so close games. And I speak from experience that years from now you won’t remember the score but you will remember the experience and the friends that you met. I remember people that coached with me and the many families and the relationships I made.”
It’s so true. I probably never would have met the people that I coached with if our children hadn’t played together or against each other. This game brought us together and while we may not see each other three or four times a week I still try to keep in touch.
I’m happy to be Facebook friends with several of the guys who umpired our games. I don’t think I was ever “that coach” that you had to deal with. I didn’t always agree with every call you made but I tried to be respectful. There was only one game where I almost got tossed and that ump and I now laugh about it.
I remember some of the games but not the scores. I remember them because of things that happened either on the field or in the dugout.
We had rain and lightning delays; cold, windy, foggy nights; hot, sweltering afternoons; and plenty of bugs. We all shared concession stand duty and fundraisers; we learned to line the fields and there always seemed to be a uniform issue every year.
Player: “Coach my pants don’t fit.”
Me: “Well if you hadn’t grown 4 inches overnight we’d be alright.”
There were some people that weren’t easy to deal with but, now that I look back at it, don’t we all have to deal with some people like that? They probably just had their own issues and decided to take it out on me. Lucky me huh?
We ate plenty of fast food or dinner at the concession stand. We used to joke:
Me: “What’s the difference between the ‘Hot Dog’ and the ‘Hot Dog Special?’”
My friend: “Oh the ‘Special’ means we cook it!”
It was neat to see the young families yesterday as I thought, “Buckle up! If your child stays with it, you could be in for 10 or 12 years of this!” Some will discover that baseball is not for them and that’s okay. There are plenty of things to be involved in.
I have a friend who is playing in her final year of softball as a senior in college. Her mom had a poster that pointed out that after 17 years she was all done. 17 years!
So Tee Ball moms and dads, get ready! Enjoy the ride and all those memories. I used to think friends were foolish when they would say, “It goes by fast.” They were so right.
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