We played our last regular season game on Friday, June 17th and lost by 2, which tied us for 3rd place going into the semi-finals. We started the semi-finals June 20th and our boys played a hell of a game! They were down by 2, but then my little Jerrick and Joseph both had in the park home runs, which gave us the win! We played again the next day, June 21st. We still only had 9 players, so they didnt have a chance to take a break, rest up or even cool off from this ridicous 96+degree heat, but they were ready to play!! We absolutely exhausted out our pitchers and players...but none of these boys ever complained!! They really wanted to go into the championship round and we had faith in them, especially after watching them have many (what we call) "Mahomes moments."
A few hours before game 2 of the semi-finals started, Jerrick had to go for his yearly physical. He turned 9 in April, but having only 10 days of leave (per year) to divide between myself and 2 children, I haven't had the chance to take him (or his brother, who turned 6 in September) to the doctor...so I thought I would take advantage of this new juneteenth holiday and get it over with!! My 6 year old, Camden, is built like a tank and is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. Jerrick has fallen into the 10th percentile for both height and weight. Poor guy was fighting back tears as the nurse joked with him "we need to do something about that, your brother passed you up". I know she meant no harm...but if only she knew the struggle I've had with him this year over this being small issue. I've sat on my sons floor and held him as he's bawled his eyes out because of bullies about his size. I've encouraged him to continue playing basketball after he absolutely did not want to anymore because some bully told him he wasn't big enough to play (he ended up scoring atleast half, if not most, of the points for his team each game, and was one of the shortest players on the team). Time and time again I tell him size means NOTHING, but when you allow others to get into your head, its hard to belive the truth. It also didn't help when the doctor walked in and mistakened him as my 6 year old, UGH! I encouraged a laugh out of him, but i could tell he was pretty upset hearing he's too small; to make matters worse, 2 hours before the game, he now had to have blood work done (just to check some things in regards to his size). I wish i would have encouraged him to cry and get all of his emotions out, but i personally don't know how to handle crying. I've always been a mentally and physically tough person and have always just tried laughing through the hard times...unfortunately that's just how I know to cope.
We had exhausted our pitcher (stupid pitch count rule) because we played Friday and Monday, and now Tuesday. Jerrick just turned 9 and hasn't had any experience pitching, but we've thrown him in several times to end a game and he did amazing! He took criticism from coach like a champ and brushed off mistakes like a real pro...but this night was so different, he was so in his head and it killed me to watch. Knowing my child, I could tell he was still fighting the emotions from a couple hours earlier. He didn't do horrible by any means. This kid is just so passionate about baseball and I absolutely love watching him play, so it killed me to see him struggle to put his emotions aside and pull himself together. I cant even exaggerate his passion, he literally plays ball every-single-day, and when he's not playing it, he's talking about it, or watching it on TV, or playing MLB the show on the Xbox. I honestly fear the day Cam passes Jerrick up, both physically and possibly in sports, especially baseball (Cam is built solid and with that comes power). This season Cam (who just finished kindergarten) popped a ball over the fence and crushed another couple off the fence (at the tball fields). We really regret not playing him up, but I dont even know where this child came from?! We coudn't even get him to play ball until about the age of 5 (he's very strong willed), so to see how much hes progressed in 1 yr is amazing! I just pray that my boys will grow to be supportive of one another and be each others biggest fans; it would truly break my heart if they treated each other with hate, like so many siblings do.
I have been trying to prepare Jerrick for the day Camden passes him up (Cam is currently 1" shorter, and 3 lbs heavier than Jerrick). I've been telling him "Cam WILL pass you up, and that's okay. God made us all perfect in his own image, some are small and some are big, and the way that you are is exactly how he wants you to be." Man, i cant imagine where I'd be in life without religion. I truly belive Jerrick would be suicidal without our faith...I wish i was kidding. I'm truly blessed these boys have a different outlook and understanding about life. It just kills my heart that a little 9 year old has such big feelings over something that shouldn't even matter!! I know it's not easy being a little man...be he just turned 9!! If only he could see himself the way we do. He is so naturally talented and is so fast!! May i never fail at reminding him, "you are strong and courageous, and are fearfully and wonderfully made". Dont get me wrong, i think Camden has great potential too, but I know Jerrick has always been special. He was swinging a bat before the age of 1 and has always had love for the game. Hes only struck out 4 times all season and only once last season. He's naturally great at all sports, but baseball is his passion...and I'll be damned if someone takes that away from him! I can't wait to see him play once we pack some weight on him (if that's even possible). It truly breaks my heart to see him so down on himself over something he can't control (for crying out loud, his mother is 5'1" and weighed 90lbs going into high school); it just infuriates me that all of these insecurities are because of a child "bully"!?! I've worked entirely way too hard building these kids up to have someone tear them down!! Can you imagine, if a child can cause that much damage to someone...what can an adult do?
Anyways, fast forward back to game two of the tournament. Our boys were down, and we knew there wasn't enough time to come back, but they didn't give up! At one point, one of our 8 yr olds was about to strike out and he looked back at coach completely defeated and coach yelled out "believe in yourself"!! (I just have to brag, I have dibs on that coach)! I hope those are words that will stick with that kiddo for a life time. Believe in yourself. Man, I wish I had that advice at 8 years old! Maybe it would have saved me from years of anxiety and insecurities!
REWIND a moment. Some of these kiddos have been in their heads so much this season and have had a really hard time brushing off and letting go of their mistakes. We've had a lot of sweat, a little blood and some tears, but our coaches have done an amazing job with these boys, picking them up, dusting them off, fixing their injuries, encouraging them. They have worked so hard, not just on fundamentals, but building them up also. At one point we feared losing a player because he was just so hard on himself; it is then that we came up with our motto "quitters never win and winners never quit"...we honestly couldn't afford to lose another player, we already lost out on one in the very beginning of the season because he was 11 and too old for our U10 league, one only came to 2 practices and never was seen again, and another's season ended due to personal reasons the day our games began. Not only could we not afford to lose this player, we couldn't allow for this kid to quit because he was talented. If only he could believe in himself the way we did, he had both talent and potential. After this, I (aka team manager) decided these kids know how to play baseball, but they don't know how to handle making errors, or their emotions. With the help of my best friend, Alex (i truly love this girl), we created a sign that we hung in our dugout that said "never give up, the last swing could win the ball game".
NOW, FAST FORWARD back to the 2nd night of the semi-final tournament. It's top of the 4th, we haven't scored a run yet, but these boys amazed me. I heard them in the dugout and they were telling each other our quote "don't give up, the last swing could win the ball game". My mom heart was bursting! They were rallying and cheering and I knew that they didn't have enough time left in the game to come back for a win, the 4 run rule rendered that possibility, but I was so proud of them. We have such a young team, and we've never played with more than 9 players, but these boys fought so hard to be here and deserved the chance to atleast ride it out. They scored three runs! In this moment I think I wanted the win more than them; but I knew our season was already over. The game ended in the fifth with bases loaded and i was expecting some hard shed tears, but there were none! These boys ended the tournament like true Champs! They went in for one last huddle and all held their heads so high. Were these even the same kids I witnessed earlier in the year who couldn't even shake off dropping a pop fly? It is in this moment that I realized the growth these boys gained this season. For many, athleticism ends after senior year, but ones character lasts a lifetime. I think Babe Ruth said it best, "it's hard to beat a person who never gives up". I'm not sure what the future holds for these kids; our two 4th graders will move on to play U12, some may go on to play competitive and it may be the end of baseball for some of these players; but whatever they choose to do, I hope they always remember to believe in themselves, to allow themselves to be a beginner and never give up! As I wrap up another long blog, I can't help but ask the age old question, how can you not be romantic about baseball?!? What a season! <3
