It's a lazy Sunday afternoon here at the ranch. Last night we had a nice little thunderstorm which brought some much needed rain, and today the sky has been filled with ominous gray clouds that have given me all the encouragement I need to stay inside and watch a little college baseball on television. I love baseball, and I suppose that maybe I look for "opportunities" like today.
This year the games have been interrupted periodically with some of the same storms that brought last night's rain to us. Rain delays are a part of baseball, and if you've ever been involved with the game, you've lived through the experience of not only the delays, but playing through the occasional shower at the ballpark.
I coached youth baseball for many years and loved every minute.....even those times when the rain and cold made for miserable playing conditions. Those were "teachable moments" as I used to call them. The times that helped mold the minds of young athletes, and to teach them that playing through adversity was just a part of being a complete player.
It was a rare Saturday morning practice for the eleven year old's who were trying their best to master the art of throwing, catching, and hitting. My role was to control the chaos while teaching the fundamentals to a rowdy group of boys with a very limited attention span. On the field next to ours a rival team was raucously doing the same thing. They were a good team, with a big kid who was probably the best pitcher in the league. The youngsters on my team were somewhat in awe of his fast ball......
He was a good kid, but lacked discipline, and the least little distraction would often take him out of his game. Still, I would have loved to have him pitching for us.
About halfway through the practice a light rain started to fall, and everyone scurried for the protection of the dugouts. Our rivals started packing up their equipment and were headed for home. My kids expected us to follow suit.....we didn't! They ended up having the time of their lives, learning to throw a wet baseball, slipping and sliding in the wet grass and mud, and most of all......making fun of those "weenies" who packed it in with the first sprinkle.
Fast forward to the league tournament held at the end of every year. We had a good team, but not the best team. That honor would belong to our rivals who were now sitting in the opposing dugout for this semi-final game. The first few innings were uneventful, and to tell you the truth I can't even remember which team was leading when we felt the first few drops of rain. I do remember that we were at bat, and I was coaching third base when I noticed the wind shift; Then, those little puffs of dust that you see when a big fat drop of rain hits the dusty field.....unbelievable.
The rest is history. All it took was a few drops of rain, and our kids knew they had the game won. I glanced over at the dugout, and it was pandemonium. Kids were jumping up and down, the rain drops streaking their dusty faces, and smiles beaming everywhere. What fun! Of course there were more than a few shouts of derision aimed across the field at our opponents, and suddenly the best pitcher in the league couldn't find the strike zone.
We won that game, and I will never, ever forget that providential moment when the sky opened up and confirmed to a group of eleven year old boys that Yogi was right when he said "It's like deja vu all over again". I love baseball and I love kids who love baseball.....and yes, this is what I do know.
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