The End of the Line

For the Dodgers' first practice, Jim White and I held court by the old backstop at Sevier Park.  I brought plastic bases.  JP and several other 4 and 5 year olds learned how to run to first base.  Although those boys didn't wear Dodgers jersey until the next season - we were the Red Sox - they marked the beginning of the Dodgers and started a run of WNSL baseball that would last for 12 years.

Yesterday, the curtain fell on the best 12 years of my life, as Joe's Dodgers split a doubleheader abasing the Moonshots on field 5 at Warner Park.  It was fitting, somehow, that ours were the only games begin played at Warner Park yesterday.  The concession stand was closed.  There were no other boys around. The parking lot was relatively empty.  No (cursed) flag football.  Just my guys - the WNSL Dodgers - and the Dom's Moonshots.

When I worked in minor league baseball for a couple of years after college, it occurred to me that nothing was more lonely, more forlorn, than Bill Meyer Stadium on the day after the Knoxville Blue Jays' season ended.  The players were gone.  The managers and coaches were packing up and saying goodbye.  All of the part-time staff from the spring and summer has scattered to the offseason.  The stadium was empty as the early fall wind blew hot dog wrappers through the concourse.  

That's kind of what it felt like, to me, at Warner Park yesterday, likely because I knew it was the end of the line for the Dodgers.  

It was fitting, too, that I coached game 1 - a surprising 14 - 6 win for the Dodgers - with JP.  He was on third and I was on first.  Spending so much time coaching with JP this fall has been beyond special to me.  To be on the baseball field with both of my sons, at the same time, is simply heaven on earth for me.  It really is.   

In game 2, Will Wright and Benton Wright arrived as JP left for the Predators' game.  Fitting, too, that I had one of my all time favorite players, Benton, coaching third base for me while Will ran the dugout and kept score on GameChanger, just as he has for what seems like one thousand games in the past.  

Will is my unsung assistant coaching hero, because he running the dugout is no small task when the boys are young.  It's not easy to keep five and six year old boys - or even nine and 10 year old boys - focused on the game, ready to bat, etc.  It can be a thankless job and Will did it willingly and with so much love for as long as I coached.  In so many conversations outside the dugout over the years, during games, we talked about our boys, our parents, our work, our lives.  I treasure every one of those conversations.  

I'm not going to write too much about the games this morning, as I sit quietly outside Sump and sip my coffee.  

The Moonshots are good boys.  Older than us and a little cocky but that's okay.  It made it all the sweeter when we dough-popped them on game 1, particularly after they scored four runs on us in the bottom of the first inning.  The highlight of the game, by far, was Bennett Lusk pitching a complete game.  After the first inning, he figured out for maybe the first time ever that he didn't have to try to throw the ball by every hitter.  He didn't need to nibble, either, by trying to get strikes on the inside or outside corner.  He could just throw strikes, constantly, and let his fielders get guys out.  

That's exactly what he did, too.  As as result, he pitched a five inning complete game on a day when we were without two of our older, more experienced pitchers.  When Bennett asked me after the game how many pitches he had thrown, I told him "too many."  Still, I wanted him to have an opportunity to pitch a complete game because I thought it would give him confidence heading into the offseason and, later, spring baseball.  

Other than a couple of botched run downs, the boys played flawlessly in the field in game 1.  The outfielders caught several fly balls.  George and Paul hit the cutoff man perfectly a couple of times when balls were in the gap.  At second base, Ram threw a boy out trying to stretch a double into a triple after George hit him with a perfect cutoff throw.  We practice that, so it was gratifying to see the boys execute it in a game.  

George made a nice catch of a fly ball in right field, too, when he took a step back as the ball left the bat, located it, then comfortably took a few more steps back caught the ball over his right shoulder.  Again, first step back in the outfield, find the ball, adjust, catch it.  Just like we teach it.  I loved the play because he looked so comfortable making it.  

There weren't a lot of highlights in game 2 for the Dodgers.  The Moonshots played some of their older players, 14 year olds, and my 11 and 12 year olds weren't much of a match for them.  Their pitcher threw hard and we couldn't do much with him.  

Much to my surprise, Walker Hughey squared to bunt late in the game, having gotten the sign from Benton (coaching third base) because the third baseman was playing so far back.  A lefty, Walker laid down a perfect bunt that snaked down the third base line.  The pitcher make an outstanding play on the ball and threw Walker out by a couple of inches.  With almost any other pitcher, Walker beats that one out.  Just a tremendous effort on Walker's part to lay down a bunt against a pitcher throwing hard. 

The at bat of the day - maybe the season - came late in the game when Trey Glenn fouled off four or five two strike pitches, including a couple of curve balls, then laced a single into left center field.  It was our hardest hit ball of the day and it was against a legitimately good, hard throwing 14 year old pitcher.  I've had Trey as long as I've had any of the boys, since he was five years old, and he's one of my all time favorites, so seeing him have such a great at bat made me very, very proud.  

Trey's personality is infectious.  Always smiling.  Always happy to play baseball.  A great teammate and a great kid.

Game 2 never close and in the end, the Moonshots gonged the boys, and the game was stopped after the fourth inning because they were 10 + runs ahead of us.  Huck struggled with his emotions, at times, but he battled at catcher.  He also stole home on passed balls four times in two games and had no problem sliding, which was real progress for him from the beginning of the season.

Nico struggled and had a few mental lapses, which happens.  He was down after the game so I was glad I was driving him home with Joe and me on the Coach Phil Xpress.  We had some time to talk about the game and how important it is for him to play with confidence and not to be afraid to make a mistake.  

After the end of game 2, I the boys took a knee and gathered around me on the infield grass near first base.  I told them I was proud of them and that in those two games, we had seen a little bit of everything.  I reminded them of the lessons they had learned throughout the fall baseball season, on the practice field and during games.

I reminded them of the importance of competing, of persevering, of working hard, of failing and getting up to try again, of being a good teammate, of never quitting and never giving up.  

The secret, I told them, is it's not about the baseball.  It never had been.  It's about life.  

Dodgers forever.

USN Sixth Grade Soccer

It starting brewing last year, when Joe's fifth grade classmates took over the sixth grade soccer team late in the season and won the HVAC Div. II tournament at Franklin Road Academy.  For maybe the only time in the decade one or both of my boys have a attended University School Nashville, a coach recognized the importance of winning, in terms of morale and school pride, and played the best players.  In other words, they played to win, which is exceedingly rare at USN, at least in middle school sports.

Joe's class of boys - particularly his close friends - is different from others in the past at USN, including JP's.  More athletic.  More competitive.  More intense.  More physical.  More willing to mix it up with other teams.  All of the good things, in my mind.  These boys share traits that will help them succeed in life, long after their days on the athletic fields are over.  That's my guess, anyway.

I expected big things out of them on the soccer filed this fall, as sixth graders, and I haven't been disappointed.  USN is 4 - 0 on the season and, if memory serves, they only have give up two goals.  Joe is playing middle back on defense, rather than goalie, which is good for him and for the team.  It allows him time and space to work on his foot skills and his leadership is readily visible as he sets the defense, encourages his teammates, and moves the ball.  

Tuesday afternoon, in an away game at Ensworth, they dominated the second half and won 4 - 1, clinching a first round bye in the Div. I tournament at the end of the season.  It was a big win for the boys in large part because Ensworth is not a school that USN normally beats, in any sport.  It's refreshing for the boys - and their parents - to play a sport at a high level and defeat schools that place a much high emphasis on athletics.  Competing, and winning, breeds confidence and school pride.  It's contagious.  I saw it last year and I'm seeing it again this year.  

The Ensworth coach yelled at his players after the game, proof positive that he didn't anticipate or like losing to USN.  That made the win all the sweeter.  Then, after a tie in the B team game, he whined about something that happened in the handshake line.  

Joe and his teammates play with a bit of an edge.  They're a bit cocky and that's completely okay.  Not arrogant, mind you, but confident and a little cocky.  They're not going to get pushed around.  For several of these boys - not Joe - soccer is their main sport.  They've played it competitively at the travel level for years.  They've practiced, drilled, and played games all over middle Tennessee.  And it shows, now, as they play for their school.

Last year, it was interesting to hear Joe talk about how much fun it was playing soccer with his closest friends from school, boys he's been on the playground with every school day for the past 5 + years.  At lunch or during breaks, the boys got together and broke down the previous day's game.  He loved that.  Again, it's not often that a group of boys in middle school at USN are able to compete at a high level in a sport and experience success because too often the focus had been on participation, not competition.  

Sadly, because it's USN, it's very likely this group of boys will splinter when sixth grade is over and attend seventh grade at other private schools in the area.  This is what happened with JP's group and it's what will happen with Joe's group.  Why?  Because of a serious of broken promises from the USN administration over several years and a refusal to recognize that competitive sports can coexist at a school with a strong academic reputation.  That's a whole story in an of itself.

For now, though, I'm going to enjoy watching this group of sixth graders from USN compete on the soccer field the rest of the season.  Let's go!!