Memories...

Today is our first softball-free day since sometime in early February. We are officially done! After blogging about the agony of defeat, our All-Star team pulled out a well-earned victory in our next game Tuesday night. (I should add here that we got two different umpires, which made a huge difference in the rest of the tournament.)  After the umpire changes and winning the second game, the girls were ecstatic. As were the coaches and the parents. It was a tremendous come-from-behind win and a real boost to the girls' confidence, after the disappointing Friday night defeat.  

We had about 15 minutes to prepare a line-up for the championship game, which we played immediately following our win. The team came out strong and the girls fought hard. Unfortunately, in the end, it wasn't enough. We were so proud of the girls for the heart, character and sportsmanship they showed in the face of defeat. 

There's so much more to sports than the skills the kids learn and it's so much bigger than winning.  As I watched the heart, the fight and the grace in which they lost, it was so obvious that each one of them is a winner. I truly believe that the kids won't remember the scores, records and stats, but they will always remember how the experience made them feel.  I would much rather leave a child with more confidence, better self-esteem and greater character than a winning record. A winning record would be icing on the cake, but it's the other stuff that really matters.

Had we actually won this district tournament, we would be heading down to Tucson to play for the State Title. As I was picturing our team going down there, I thought about Audra's age. At 13, she's ready for some more competitive venues and even some team travel would be fun for her, to help expand her confidence and ability. I tried to remember how old I was when I started playing in out-of-town tournaments. It was funny, as I put my long-term memory to the test, all the things that came flooding back. Such great memories. I remember all the ball fields in places like, Prescott, Payson, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Tucson and Southern California that I played as a young teenager.  College was even better as we played all over the country at universities, parks and the best - the College World Series in Omaha. I was even invited to play in Italy during my college off-season.

With all these many, many trips, games and tournaments I was unable to remember one score. I could not even remember many specifics about my own play. What I do remember are the faces of the many coaches I played for. Some, I played with for many seasons and others just picked me up for specific tournaments and games. I remember that most of them treated me like gold. They expected a lot from me, but they treated me extremely well and they made each trip a positive experience. I also remember, even better, my teammates. I remember the hotels we stayed in, the games we played with each other, the pranks we pulled and the friendships we formed. It was a really fun little journey for my mind to take and I'm sure there was a big smile on my face as I recalled so many great years of my life in a short span of time.

I have so many great memories, already, from our season this year. I remember the girl who came to the first hitting practice and told me that her last coach told her she couldn't hit.  I'll always remember that she went 3 for 3 in her last two games.  I remember the girl who had never played before and could barely use her glove at the first practice.  I'll always remember that she made the All-Star team and batted first in our first game.  I'll always remember the girl who only has one arm and played as well as anyone on our All-Star team who has two.  I'll always remember the girl who was the last to leave practice and stopped to throw trash away because others had left it in the bleachers. I'll always remember that Coach Louie is the absolute greatest coach I've ever been paired with and I've taken away so many gifts from him.  His instruction, experience and knowledge are amazing, but his character, commitment and values are exemplary.  I'll always remember what a blessing it was to be paired with, not only a great coach, but an amazing person. (It was his daughter, by the way, who threw the trash away.)

These are things that I'm hoping the young ladies from both our regular season team and our All-Star team will remember someday.  I hope they'll remember more than whether we won or lost, whether they hit well or played without errors.  I hope they will each remember that Coach Louie, Coach Manuel and I cared about them, razzed them, had fun with them and encouraged them.  

After the feeling of losing the district tournament wears off and some years go by, I hope they will each look back and remember how the experience, on our team, made them feel.  

I know I will.