Summer Forever at the Little League World Series

This past week I spent two fantastic days in Williamsport, Pennsylvania watching the Little League World Series and experiencing all of its surroundings.  Earlier in the summer, Eric and I had talked about the possibility of going there, and when we each had a couple of rare free days, we hopped in the car and took off.  We also took Devon Roberts with us.  Devon is the ten year old son of some friends, and he seems to love baseball as much as Eric and I do.

We left early Tuesday morning and arrived at the LL complex in the 4th inning of an historic game, even though it was a consolation game.  The team from Uganda won the game 3-2 over Gresham, Oregon as we watched from the famous hill on the other side of the right-center field fence.  It was the first victory ever for a team from the Middle East-Africa (MEA) in the LLWS.  We worked our way into some sixth row seats for the next game, which was a 6-2 Mexico victory over Curacao, then got even closer, just behind the parents of the Petaluma, California team for their 5-0 elimination game win over Fairfield, Connecticut.

On Wednesday we visited the LLWS Museum for a while, bought some t-shirts to bring home, and then got into the stadium early enough to sit one row behind the parents of the Panama team as their boys played in the winner's bracket game against Japan.

I can't say enough how this experience was more fun than I imagined it to be and even better than what it appears to be on television.  The enthusiasm that can be felt throughout the stadium and around the entire LLWS complex is electric and as genuine as I have ever experienced.  I am now wondering why it took me 54 years to get there.  I know that Eric and Devon enjoyed it as much as I did.  Next time we'll have to take Tess with us!!!!

Watching the teams do their pre-game warmups and taking infield-outfield was great, even though those are things that Eric and I see almost daily in our lives.  One of the most impressive things was the way the Japanese kids took their pre-game infield and the way they ran off the field into the dugout after the third out was made each inning, making sure the game ball was properly placed on top of the pitcher's mound for their opponents.

It is hard not to cheer for all of the kids, but to be sitting in the midst of their parents and family members was awesome!  As I write this here in my living room, I am watching the International Championship game between the two teams we saw on Wednesday, Japan and Panama!  Seeing the close-up shots of the Panamanian parents brings me right back to the stadium!!!

"Panchalo! Panchalo!"

The end is only a new beginning

The more years I spend coaching, the more often I am able to remind myself of the many reasons I love coaching.  Way back in the spring of 1979 there was one moment that led me to decide that I wanted to spend my adult life in coaching, but little did I know back then that there were more benefits to coaching than just enjoying the moments on the field or court.

This summer and my experience with the Adrian Post 275 American Legion team provided me more than just fun on the field.  There was more to it than watching these 16-19 year old athletes compete in games for a couple months.  There was more to it than winning games and championships.  There was certainly more to it than telling players to go out there and give a complete effort.  And there was more to it than just being a part of a successful team.

It was a privilege for me to be involved with these young athletes who were eager to improve, who were eager to learn more, and were excited about the achievements of their teammates.  When the season ended on Monday, just a day before the potential flight to North Carolina for the American Legion World Series, there was nobody in that dugout who was ready for the season to end......just as it should be.

These players made gradual improvements all throughout the season.  They understood that they should improve every day, and they did so, not only in their individual baseball skills, but also in their understanding of game situations and in their abilities to play their roles for the benefit of their teammates.

Each guy understood that he was not as big as the team, and that each of his teammates also had the same understanding.  Each guy put the team in front of himself, and thus made the team much better as each week and each tournament passed.

I saw them improve, I saw their passion for playing a boy's game, I saw their love for their teammates, and I felt the joy of victory and the heartbreak of a season's end.  I felt all the things that make coaching such a fabulous way to spend my entire adult life.

Congratulations to the players of Adrian Post 275 American Legion.  Thanks to their parents, to Dave Stanifer and Don Cappelletty for allowing me to be a part of it.  I have gotten back more than I have given.....trust me on that!!

Legion National Regional Tournament

Today I'm sitting in a hotel room in Midland, Michigan, waiting out the rain during the American Legion National Regional Tournament.  Day 1 was yesterday, and we defeated the Moline (IL) Legion team by a score of 4-1 with Andrew Wood on the mound to put us in the winner's bracket and assure that we play at least two more games.

Our M.O. yesterday was similar to what got us through the State Tournament last weekend undefeated.  Offensively, we again got key hits with runners on base.  As a matter of fact, after the Moline left handed pitcher threw a perfect first four innings, we erupted with all four of our runs and all six of our hits in the bottom of the fifth.  I don't know the specific statistics from our last couple of weeks, but it seems like most of our runs have been scored by getting hits with two outs and runners on base.  Credit goes to our hitters, who have obviously been thriving in those situations.

On the mound, Wood did what most of our pitchers have been doing lately.  He gave up only four hits, one of which was a home run.  Due to rainy weather, the tournament committee made adjustments yesterday and decided to use two fields and play 7-inning games rather than 9-inning games.  We ended up playing at Bullock Creek High School, where only the short porch in left field prevented our left fielder Marcell Grayer from having room to catch it.  As was the case last week, again our defense was great!

Andrew threw 84 pitches, which meant he averaged 12 pitches per inning, the exact average he had in game one of the State Tournament last week.  He threw his fastball and changeup for strikes, and only needed about a half dozen breaking balls to basically own the State Champions from Illinois, who came into the game with a 43-6 record.

As for today, I've got no problem with waiting out the weather.  I'm pretty certain that the weather is out of our control, so when the time comes, we can head out to the field and try to win our next game to advance further in the winner's bracket.  The Olympics are on television and I have my Kindle, Galaxy II cell phone, and laptop to chill with.

In the meantime, hopefully the players are relaxing and continuing to visualize being successful on the field.  They have played their best at the most important time of the season.  I can't ask for anything more from them!!!

Walk like a Champion

As I continue to grow in age, it becomes easier for me to be reminded that I am so fortunate to be able to enjoy all the things I do on a daily basis.  This weekend I am so grateful to have been involved in something very special.  As a coach who is lucky to spend my free time with young guys who love playing baseball, I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the 2012 State Championship with the Adrian Post 275 American Legion team.

As hosts of this year's State Tournament, we were able to sweep through the state tournament and beat the Midland Berryhill team twice to earn the championship and an automatic bid to the National Regional in Midland next week.  The Adrian team hasn't won the state title since 2001, and I was present in 2002 when they lost to Midland in the title game in Menominee, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula when my son Eric and his teammates completed a great season.

This weekend's tournament victory was simply a joy to be involved with.  Dave Stanifer and the Tournament Committee, as always, went above and beyond with their preparations and execution of providing a fabulous tournament atmosphere for all of the six teams involved.  There is a tremendous amount of selflessness involved with Dave and his staff in performing so many tasks that often go unnoticed.

What gives me the greatest joy though, is the performance of the players with whom I am fortunate enough to share the dugout.  This team has earned a 29-10 record after beginning the season making about two mental errors per inning (that's roughly how I remember that first weekend) back in June.  As individuals and as a team, these guys have gradually improved from game to game and week to week.

They seem to have bought into the idea that a baseball season should be a gradual climb from point A to point B, with some peaks and valleys that undoubtedly occur during the season.  They are now peaking and playing their best baseball when it really matters the most, in the post-season.

This weekend's play was highlighted by some timely hitting, especially by hitters near the bottom of the batting order.  In addition, they played great defense and had outstanding pitching.  In three nine-inning games, the pitchers averaged 11 pitches per inning.  That is a tough enough task for one guy to accomplish in one well pitched game, but to have a staff of pitchers do so for an entire tournament is indeed a great accomplishment.

As a coach, there were two major highlights to the weekend.  The first one was the performance of Phil Carey, a 2014 Tecumseh High School player, who was almost perfect in throwing a one-hitter against Midland on Friday night.  Phil gave up a ground ball single on the first pitch of the fourth inning, and then allowed only one walk to a hitter with one out in the 9th inning.  It almost seemed to be cheating to watch him carve up the Berryhill hitters.  Phil was named the tournament MVP yesterday!!

The other highlight was to see and feel the sense of happiness, satisfaction, and pride in the fifteen players.  They don't even have to tell anybody.......they are champions, forever!!!

As for me, I am grateful, as always!!

In game dugout lessons

I'm sure coaching is similar to other professions, in that so much of what we learn is through our interaction with others in the same field.  Though I may have heard earlier in my career as either a teacher or a coach, I remember an outstanding coach, Lance Hershberger of Indiana Tech, telling me about trying to get his guys to understand that coaching is a negative business.  In other words, athletes often need to be told about their mistakes so they can work on limiting them in the future.

I think that most good coaches are not only good teachers, but they are also pretty competitive people. Sometimes during competitive situations coaches expect their athletes to understand situations and execute according to what they have been previously instructed.  Unfortunately, especially for younger athletes who are still learning from new experiences, they repeat mistakes enough times that it becomes the mistakes that ultimately teach the lessons.

The fact that athletes can and do learn from their mistakes of understanding and execution does not eliminate the idea that correction from coaches isn't helpful, but as I have to remind myself sometimes, the way that the corrections are made during intensely competitive situations is in control of us coaches.

For coaches as well as athletes then, controlling our emotions......not allowing our emotions to control us, is a constant skill to try to improve!