Tag: coaching

Softball/baseball Wrap Up!

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We officially hit the end of baseball and softball season last night. Four weeks straight of pretty much a game every evening, if not two. Four weeks straight of hot dogs, chips, famous Amos cookies, and orange pop. Four weeks straight of up and down moods based on how much sleep the night before, how much activity the day of, how much irritation at the thought of homework the following day.

Maria ended with a bang. Who would’ve thought that this ragtag group of girls would make it to the championship game? I was busy just getting them to talk to one another and cheer for each other during the game. But something clicked midway through the season and I heard girls that I had never heard before rooting for their teammates. I had girls that had never caught a ball catching flies in the outfield. It was amazing. Maria rocked out pitching for us this year – I basically had her and a fifth grader to get us through the season. She stepped up. She also got her bat around well this year. And last but not least, she was the voice of the team, as always. I think that’s why the shy, quiet girls on the team finally began to speak – they were worried of the wrath of Maria! Ri possesses the ability to get people to smile and to engage and maybe get out of their comfort zone for a while. That is because she can so easily act silly and goofy and wild without a care about what anyone thinks. 

She riled up the girls for the semi championship game, which led to a decisive win over the opposing team. The girls were so excited. 


However, me and my assistant coach were a bit less excited just because we were playing a team that can bring a bit of drama to the game. I learned a great deal about my personality over the two day period between winning the semi-championship and playing in the championship. I could not believe how sick to my stomach I was in that 48 hour period – second-guessing myself, worrying I hurt people’s feelings, concerned that people may be upset with me. Just throw me back to my childhood because that’s where all this crap began. I had at least 50 come to Jesus talks with myself over that short time period but it wasn’t until after the game that I began to feel less stressed. A huge lesson for me for the future – I am allowed to take a stance and I am allowed to have people be upset by it. Not all of my viewpoints are going to be loved. 

We ended up losing the championship game. I was surprisingly relieved after all the tension leading up to it. I would usually be madly disappointed but I wasn’t this year because of all the angst prior to the game and because I was mindful of my group of girls who gained experience and skill and had a most wonderful season together. They knew how to have fun. You would have thought we won the championship by the way they were laughing and playing and goofing around. 


Mario’s team got to the championships, too. They played a nail-biter of a game against the number one team in the league to win the semi-championship. Mario played his heart along with the rest of the kids. He had a killer nab at shortstop with a bullet of a throw to first. He also pitched like a rock star. I was so proud of him and so happy for him and his teammates. They were on cloud 9. 


They did not catch a break in the championship game; they hit line drives but they went straight to an opposing player. The other team hit line drives on the gaps in the field. There was nothing to do about that; it’s simply a matter of luck. Mario was upset as were his teammates. There were tears. There was anger. But they still got second place trophies and within twenty minutes were all feeling better and ready to move on. I told Mario over and over that no matter if he won or lost, he’d forget about it twenty minutes later. I think there’s a study that confirms you bask in your glory for about 15 minutes and then you are back to usual. 


We had Gio with us that night so I told the boys we could take a bike ride to Jeni’s and Mario was fine. 

What will I do next year now that Maria will play for the middle school team and I can’t coach her? Watch out Mario…:)

Summer of sports

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Isn’t summer supposed to bring rest and relaxation? If not for parents who are working year round, at least for kids? I feel like Jon and I and the kids have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off more so in the last few weeks since school has been let out then throughout the entire school year. 

Mario shot straight into basketball camp a week after school was out. He went there from 9 AM until noon every day, came home and ate lunch, and headed to the pool for a few hours with his buddies. Then, he would return home to eat a sandwich and head off to the baseball field for a game. The entire family has been living on hot dogs, KitKats and Gatorade through the month of June. 

Mario is pitching this year; all last year, he could not wait to move out of coach pitch and into player pitch. He had Jon and I out back with him every night catching his pitches. He’s got a nice throw on him. His first game he struck out quite a few batters. He ran into the dugout after he pitched with a serious, intense look on his face not showing any emotion relating to his performance. He was super cool. Although, Jon and I both knew his heart was thumping and he was pumped. 

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He’s been getting his bat around, too. He had a beauty of a hit to right field one game but the only player that can catch from the other team was playing right that night. He loves baseball; Jon and I agree that may be his long-term sport. 


He’s off to football camp this week from 9 am to noon again. This week is a scorcher with temps in the 90s. I made him wear sunscreen this morning and he was less than happy. 

“Nobody wears the stuff, mom. That is how I have my bronzed look.”

This comment was made after he gelled his hair into a perfect wave on his head. 


Meanwhile, our other child barely manages to gather her thick, tussled hair in a ponytail for her practices. Maria decided to do swim team this summer. I still don’t know the real reason why. I have begged her to join swim team for the last four years and she always declined. And when I say “declined”, I mean she was adamant that she had no desire to join swim team. But her friend Evelyn seemed to convince her this winter while they were playing basketball (another sport she always refused to play until recently) that she should come out to swim team. She talked about how much fun it was with the other girls and how they all just played around and had a great time together. Something that Ev said resonated with Maria and she informed me in late winter that she wanted to sign up. I didn’t hesitate; I went to the Gators website and signed her up. I thought it would be good for her to get up early in the summer and start her day. I think she romanticized about how nice it would be to do the same. As of late last week, I think she was second guessing her decision. When I went to wake her up at 6:50 AM, she kicked the covers off of her nearly kickinh me in the thigh and huffed and puffed around her room as she looked for her bathing suit.  

There is a whole other blog post waiting to be written about how proud I am of Maria going out for swim team. Most tweens, I believe, would never try out for a team where they have never practiced in that sport before and knew that they would be far behind other kids. But that did not deter Maria, who is in it for the comraderie and for the laughs. However, Maria is not superhuman and she did suffer a bit of anxiety and nerves prior to her first meet. She was unable to dive off the diving board because she was concerned about hitting her head in the water. The concussion she got in soccer last spring still messes with her at times. She also was concerned about not being fast at all and losing to a bunch of third-graders. Luckily, my girlfriend was at one of our softball games and talked with her about how these meets were all about beating your personal time and not worrying about whether you beat the person in the next lane. I also reiterated that Jon and I did not expect her to win at any meet – swim team was more of a conditioning to get her ready for soccer and to make her a better swimmer. I was up all night wondering whether I should give her an out and let her get off the team, wondering if I had put too much on her this Summer. I decided to have her do the one meet and see how it went. 

When I arrived at the pool for the meet, she had “eat my bubbles” written on her back and came running up to me with a couple of her friends smiling. I was relieved. She made it across the pool and back for each of her swims, and I was proud as heck of her. She has now gotten to the point of wanting to beat her time from the last meet – she does have her mom’s competitive spirit in her! 


Maria is also playing softball. She is in the same boat as Mario – coming home from swim, doing homework, playing with a friend, making slime, choking down some pasta, and then warming up with me prior to heading to her game. 

I decided to coach one more year since Maria will be on the middle school team next year. I think overall Maria enjoys me being her coach although there are many a times when we get on each other’s last nerve. She refuses to allow me to root for her when she is up to bat. She is doing great with her pitching – thank god – because she is one of only two pitcher for our team this year. I think she embraces that responsibility and has taken it on herself to be a leader for the girls, which means she yells at them to cheer and talk in the field! She is a mini-me in that way. 

So there we have it; evidence as to why there have been a lack of posts in June – busy, busy, busy!

Team player 

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Basketball has never been my sport. I don’t know any of the plays involved in it, and can barely shoot a lay up even when nobody is blocking me. But I love the intensity of the game and the great work out. Maria played with her gradeschool friends last year and had a decent time (mostly because she was with her friends and the coach was a good friend of mine who she’s always liked a lot). 

This year, that same good friend of mine, decided to coach a league a step above the school league, COBA. Most of the girls that had been in the school league last year decided to go to the COBA league this year. So Maria had to decide whether to try the COBA league or stick with the school league. In the end, my girlfriend influenced her to join the COBA league in order to take her play a notch up and be with the girls she played with last year. The “being with the girls from last year” part of the conversation swayed Ri. 

It’s been a long season so far. They had no wins until this weekend when they pulled one out against Dublin. Ri has struggled with understanding plays, especially offense (however, she does know how to disorient the opposing player who is throwing the ball inbounds – she is a spaz waving her arms and jumping up and down and screaming). She doesn’t get as much playing time as the others although she makes it to every practice. If it was me, I’d either have called it a day and quit or would be outside dribbling and shooting three hours a day. 

I said as much to my stepmom the other day as we were catching up. I was laughing at how different Ri and I are in dealing with situations. Her response:

“Ri was given to you for a reason…. And you were given to her for a reason.”

I thought about our conversation as I drove home with Ri in the backseat watching Dance Moms and petting Rocco. Ri has a very different approach to sports than I did at her age. I needed to rock everyone’s world with my athleticism; I hated losing. She does not have that intensity and need for glory. She could probably take sports or leave them, but for her friends being on the team. She sat on that bench during the last game knowing she likely would not go into play but still rooting for her teammates nonstop. She does not let the fact that she does not play a lot ruin her experience. I envy her for that. She finds joy in the social time with her friends. Don’t get me wrong, she does enjoy a win, and when she plays, she tries with all her might. She gets upset with the rest of the team when they aren’t playing well or the other team is trouncing them. But she can shake it off quickly and move onto the next thing. And she can give consolation and a lift-up to her teammates who aren’t able to move on 30 minutes after the game.

When they won on Saturday, she was ecstatic lifting her teammates in the air and hugging them all. She projects joy and I’ll take that any day over a lay up.

Two fistin’ trophies

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After six weeks of intense softball action, our girls brought home a league championship trophy and a tournament championship trophy. Rock on, ladies!


I am still beaming. These gals formed a cohesive and strong team during our six weeks together. 

The beginning few practices are always tough because girls are getting to know one another and feeling personalities and skills out. We had a sixth grader from the local catholic school on our team this year. She had an amazing pitching arm and hit the bat like Babe Ruth. She was definitely a notch above the other girls in the league. However, she was so humble and kind to all the other girls on the team. When one would strike out, she’d be the first to pat her on the back and tell her it was ok. When Ri pitched a bunch of balls, she’d step out to the mound and calm her down. The girls all looked up to her and her simple presence made a huge positive impact on the team. 

We struggled in the beginning of the season to understand the new rules of the game: dropped third strike, stealing, sliding…. And there was different rules for each league we played in through the season: UA played you could steal fine, Gahanna didn’t. UA allowed 4 innings per pitcher and stealing on a walk, we didn’t. You’d think it would be fairly easy to remember (I thought so too) but you get in a game situation and your mind is on who to play where, getting girls around the bases, where the game ball is hiding….

But we hit our stride half way through the season. The girls were all comfortable around one another, they were learning how to get under the pop fly, their arms were getting more accurate, and their bats were coming around well. We played only Grandview teams in the last week and a half of the season. We ended up 5-1 against our other Grandview gals; one game ahead of the second place team. We secured the league championship against the Indians – a team coached by my buddy and the father of Ri’s good friend. The girls doused me with water and ice and ran around the bases giving high fives. 


My assistant coach and I made sure after each game that the girls gave a cheer to the opposing team -“2,4,6,8 who do we appreciate…”. There were a few games where they were mighty hesitant to chant it but they came through after some provocation by their coaches. And their good sportsmanship was recognized: parents approached us after games and praised the girls for being upstanding sportsmen. 

I must admit, I was on pins and needles in the league championship game. I wanted my girls to get a trophy so badly. My stomach killed half way through the game but I held it together and never let the girls know I cared. It’s all about having fun and playing hard, I’d reiterate to them. But deep down inside, my competitive self squated, waiting for our next big hit.

I was calmer for our championship game. It was our last game, the girls had secured a trophy, and I just wanted to have some fun. Mission accomplished, for the most part. Ri didn’t have her best game; I wish she would have gotten a fly ball or hit a good single or double. But she cranked out some good plays in past games so I kept reinforcing that each time she came into the dugout mad she didn’t make a good play. In the bottom of the 6th, tied 16-16, Sofie hit a triple and brought Kathryn home to win the game 17-16, and no one cared how they had played through the game. They just ran out to the field to shake hands, ran the bases and hugged incessantly. 

We had to clear out immediately because the boys played right after us. The girls grabbed the water jug and moved it over to the grass. There was no surprise as to what was coming. I tried to get my assistant coach under the downpour with me but she alipped away. Half the girls got in there with me though. The ice felt good!


We moved to the picnic tables and I presented each of the girls with a gift bag filled with candy, sunflower seeds, framed picture and a “Stay Calm and Play Softball” postcard. I bought each girl a different type of candy based on their personality. As I handed out the bags, I described why I chose the candy for them. Yes, I am a sentimentalist….

I also just loved my team this year – I’d take these girls back in a heartbeat to coach. It was so strange waking up the next morning knowing there would be no more games to run to after work. Crazily, I really miss it, but look so forward to the insanity next year.

Take me out to the ball game…again and again and again.

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The beginning of Summer break has consisted of baseball, softball, and more softball. We should be used to this chaos that lasts from Memorial Day through the first week of July since I’ve been coaching Ri’s team for the last three years and Mario’s been playing baseball during that time, but this year feels different. I think it’s because Mario’s games are more exciting due to him making great plays and big hits, and Ri’s games are exhilarating between the sliding and the third-dropped-strike rule. I am a nut job during Ri’s games trying to watch for the dropped strike, the runner stealing, the fake bunt…. 

Mario looks like a pro baseball player in an eight year old body. He is in position before every play and in the batter’s box swinging away before he gets up to bat. He loves baseball this year. One reason why: he’s the oldest on the team this year. He’s one of four second graders. The rest are first graders. And he is one of the best players on the team. Hence, super stardom at every game when he makes an out or gets a hit. And he’s been making them like mad. He got all three outs on numerous occasions. He’s hit quite a few doubles. And his face is priceless when he gets an out. He hears the cheers but he just keeps on his game face and stares straight ahead. Mr. Cool.


And holy cow, Maria! She has stepped it up to the nth degree this year. The first game, she caught two fly balls. Jon and I stood with mouths agape, so proud of her. And unlike Mario, she shows her enthusiasm. She smiles as wide as the outfield and does a little dance shuffle. It is so sweet. I keep wanting to get a picture but since I’m coaching, I have no ability to think about a snapshot. Strategize, strategize, strategize.

Jon and I are both so impressed with Ri. She has made nearly every catch thrown to her. I’m playing her at first base and she is covering it like a glove. She’s completely aware and ready during the games. She moves. It’s a beautiful thing that was not seen much by any of the girls last year. This year is a different ball game. 

I hit the jackpot with my team this year, too. All the girls root each other on and have a great time together. I have a sixth grader from another school who is a star pitcher and batter. She’s got a heckuva arm and hit one to the fence the other night. But she is the most humble and considerate girl. She cheers on the other pitchers who are struggling to make it over the plate. She gives tips to the girls up to bat. She never whines or gets mad when we lose a game. She’s been an awesome 6th grade leader. Ri has gotten close to her over the past few weeks and looks up to her. Ri has stepped up to lead the team as well. It helps that she has her mother’s lungs and so it’s easy to scream for the girl up to bat or pitching on the mound. 

Ri cranked it the other night as pitcher. She had not been happy with her pitching a couple of games back. She had gotten some walks and gotten hit on a few times. She looked at me several times and whispered “pull me.” Yea, I’m serious. The girl gets really frustrated, really quickly. We are trying to work with her to calm her emotions down and take deep breaths. It’s the only way she will be able to pitch well, much less have fun with the game. I’m so happy to have Jon near me doing the scorebook because he’s able to grab her when she’s upset and talk some sense into her (or give her a wet willy). 

I took her out to the front yard before our game this past Monday to throw with her. She started to get angrier and angrier with each minute because she was throwing balls and only a rare strike. After ten minutes, she threw her glove down and ran inside. She was hysterically crying and telling me she could not play. She didn’t want to lose. She didn’t want to mess up. She was hugging me and sobbing. I felt so badly for her and was worried because I had not seen her act like this before. After a few minutes, she settled down and laid her back against the kitchen wall. I rubbed her back and got her water. After some breathing exercises, we drove down to the game. She jumped out of the car – completely unphased by the past twenty minutes –  and chatted it up with her teammates while they watched the remainder of the game before us. 

I put her on first base the first inning and she made an out. When she came in for the bottom of the inning, she said she wanted to pitch. I told Jon if she started to flip out, I’d have to pull her. But what did she do? Threw strikes and caught a pop up ball to get out of the inning with no runs scored. She was so charged up. And the next inning, she hit a double! Oh, the intense feeling of joy you get when you see your daughter in her element and so happy. I was at once relieved and excited and proud. She had a heck of a night. I think melt-downs pre-game may need to occur in the future….


As hectic as June is with baseball and softball, Jon and I would not change a thing. It is a treasure to be able to watch our kids play hard and achieve new feats (as well as learn how to deal with the hardship of a missed play or loss). And I get the added boost of being able to coach a group of girls who love the game and want to learn and succeed. Couldn’t ask for a better start to the summer.

Take me out to the ballgame

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We are in the thick of softball/baseball season. About two more weeks of regular season left. You’d think it was mid-July with the temperaturs soaring in the 90s. That makes for sticky, sweaty games with complaints of thirst and bugs and fatigue. It also makes moods a bit more irritable…. Ri lashed out at me during our game because I put her at shortstop (“why would you put me there when I never play it!” and then a dramatic stomp off out to short).

But I wouldn’t change it for anything. I love coaching Ri and the other girls. I love the thrill of the inning – waiting to see the girls hit the ball and run to base with a huge smile on their faces and watching them make plays in the field (85% of those plays don’t result in an out but they are getting better). I had a come to Jesus moment in one of my first games – I saw how competitive I can be and how unnecessary it was at this level of play. I have since toned down my anxiety and competition genes and just tried to enjoy the play. It has been a welcome change to my soul. I enjoy the girls more and the fun of the game (but I still get goosebumps when my girl strikes a batter out). 

  
It has also been a blast watching Mario play in coach-pitch baseball this year – so much better than tee-ball. Jon has been able to assist this year, which Mario loves. He is a complete daddy’s boy and has no issues telling me that again and again. He will choose Jon for anything. It is darling. The other night Jon acted as umpire because the ump failed to show to the game. After the game ended, Mario said “dad, I don’t want you to ump because I like you in the dugout close to me.” Mario’s a champ at bat – he’s got some good hits. We still need to work on the fielding, especially grounders. He gets so mad at himself when he misses one – after one of his games where he missed a couple, he asked Jon to stay so they could practice grounders for a while. My competitive gene got passed down to that boy, for sure. 

   
 

  
We had the Clippers game last night. All the Grandview teams got to walk the perimeter of the field and see themselves on the giant tv screen. My girls were hilarious as always – we have some real cards on the team this year. They performed cartwheels on the field and made faces when the camera landed on them. 

   
  

Meanwhile, I didn’t get to see Mario walk around the field since I was honing in my girls. It looks like he was having a good time from my girl friend’s picture. 

  

But then I walked up the stairs with my girls who were bouncing around and screaming, and found this sight before my eyes. Mr. Cool. 

  I could have eaten this kid up right in the stands but he would have killed me for embarrassing him. 

I don’t think the kids watched a lick of the actual game; rather, they played in the fountain, ate hot dogs, ran around the stadium, and got caricatures drawn of themselves. 

Who needs a game when you have all that?!