The Love of the Game

The Allstar season is coming to a close, and my boys have done well, especially considering that more than half of them have never played at this level of competition before. They've won plenty of games, some of them incredibly close.

The last game they played was tied up at 5 to 5 for three innings. They finally lost in the ninth inning (normal game is 6) after nearly winning when bases were loaded with no outs. The batter smacked the ball deep into center field. It was a beautiful, solid, satifsfying hit. But the center fielder leapt into the air and made an incredible catch. The kid on third base was given the signal to steal home, but forgot to tag up at third, and was called out. The next batter struck out and the opposing team scored a run to win the game. Many of the games they played were equally close and equally exciting. They have nothing to be ashamed of. But of course, all they see, is that they didn't take any of the tournaments they played in.

They did however, bring home a trophy for Sportsmanship. The boys were not particularly impressed but I am incredibly proud of them. Allstar ball can get UGLY. I have seen Coaches, parents and players alike engage in some incredibly unsporstmanlike behavior. I have seen kindly looking grandparents ejected. But our boys and our Coaches have gained a name for themselves this summer for their positive attitude, their sportsmanlike conduct, and their love of the game. Our parents have become known for the same. At our tournament this weekend, we had a lot to contend with. But still we managed to convey to our guests that they were welcome, and they noticed. The KBA president was flooded with calls and emails about how visiting teams were treated and complimented all of us on a job well done. That's a pretty good feeling.

At the District Tournament our boys were playing a team that was known to be pretty hard to beat. At one point, the Coach of the team who would be playing the winner of our game approached husband and informed him that a kid on the team opposing us was wearing the wrong color socks. According to Dizzy Dean rules, this is a violation and we could have won the game on that technicality. The coach did not want to play the other team, he wanted to play us and so, took it upon himself to kindly inform husband of the sock problem. Husband looked him in the eye and told him that we do not choose to win that way. We lost that game, but in my opinion we came out ahead for not having sacrificed our values to win. I'm incredibly proud of my husband for setting that kind of example for our boys. And I'm gratified that the boys understood and supported husband on his decision.

As you might have guessed from this post, I was a little downhearted after our tournament. But I've had some time to reflect and I've realized that our season has not been a failure at all. Because our boys learned how to hold their head high when they gave it their all and to be proud of themselves even if they didn't win. They learned that good sportsmanship is noticed and rewarded. They learned that people they look up to will not win at all costs if the price has to be paid with principles they hold dear. They learned that the love of the game is enough. We have won in all the ways it is important to win.

So, we are going to the World Series. Several families have agreed to help those who can't afford to go. We may not win. We may not even place. But I wouldn't go with any other team if I had the choice.

World Series, here we come.

UPDATE: State Tournament Saturday July 1. We played two games. Won the first game 8 to 5. Second game was called in the fourth inning because we were winning 19 to 4.