The WNSL Dodgers 6U All-Star team played it's last game this afternoon. Where to begin? Where to end? I'm not sure, but I do know I want to get my thoughts down while it's all still fresh in my mind.
I'll start with today. We lost in 8 innings, 30-25, to Nolensville, playing a game that lasted more than 2 hours in 95 degree heat. To say I was proud of my boys is an understatement. After the game, when I sat them all down in the dugout and talked to them a final time, I got choked up and my voice caught a couple of times when I told them how proud I was of them for competing under such difficult conditions. We were down by 5 runs, 25-20, in the bottom of the 6th inning, then rallied to tie it up with J.P. on second base. Brennan Ayres got a base hit and his dad, coaching third base, sent J.P. home. I so wanted J.P. to score the winning run and when he was tagged out at home, my heart sank. Extra innings and, ultimately, we lost the game in 8 innings.
I gathered my assistant coaches and the other fathers in left field and asked them if they wanted to play our second game against Bellevue. After a brief conversation, we agreed it just didn't make send to have our boys play a second game in the heat, after they had already been out there for more than 2 hours. So, we forfeited and didn't play the second game (against Bellevue). It was the right call to make, but I still felt a little conflicted.
3 tournaments in 4 weeks. Was it worth it? Before this weekend, I would have said "no," unequivocally. After this weekend, now that it's over, I would say "yes." Now, that doesn't mean I would do it again, knowing what I know now. In the end, though, I'm glad J.P. played and I coached. I think I learned more than he did, which is about what I thought would happen.
What will I remember most? The boys, of course, whom I loved like they were mine (which they were, for a month, anyway). J.D., Will, Win, Cash, Drake, Logan, Aidan, Cooper, Wes, John, Brennan, Benton and J.P. Each and everyone of those boys is special, but for different reasons. They had fun, which is what I wanted and all that mattered in the end.
It was a little more intense than I thought it would be, which surprise me a bit. Too many silly rules, too, and too many parents who were way too serious about 6U coach pitch baseball. Not so much on our team (with one exception), but on other teams for sure. Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken Baseball requiring coaches to wear uniforms in the district tournament was silly (and I looked ridiculous). Too much yelling and screaming at the boys - Run! Stop! Throw it! Call timeout! Slide! It was just because the coaches and parents were excited, but still, a little too intense.
Here's the bottom line, though. When J.P. and I were driving home together from Grandpa and Grandma's house after going for a quick swim (with J.P.'s teammate, Win), I asked J.P. if he had fun. "Yes," he said immediately. I continued, "Which did you like better? Playing for the Red Sox or the Dodgers?" "The Dodgers," he said. "Why?" I asked.
His reply? "Because it was more like real baseball."
That's all I needed to hear.
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