All Seasons Must End

I have started writing this blog three times. It’s hard; I have a lot to say. My mind is spinning with emotional words, my heart aches, my fingers fly across the keyboard and then I hit delete wiping out an entire paragraph of what seems insignificant when it is committed to paper. The truth is I wasn’t ready, I didn’t prepare myself, I wasn’t finished and yet I have to accept that I saw some folks who meant A LOT to me for the very last time yesterday. There are young men that I have spent the last few years with that hopefully I will be able to follow through facebook or on the internet. But I know there will be some that will drop off my communication line and I will wonder about them as time goes by and I will never really know how their lives turned out. I can only say that the games this weekend made them better men. They will make decisions based on strength they know they have because they had to dig deep, they will not feel defeated because they know what it feels like to rally back time and again, they will have confidence because they have experienced losing a game when they were truly winners and they knew it.

I can’t begin to recap the emotional ebbs and tides we felt at the games. There is no way to illustrate on paper what we saw but I know this, I witnessed one of the best games in baseball history yesterday.

Now indulge me as I write an open letter to my son (and I suggest you do the same for your son if you are lucky enough to have one on this team). I’m not sure he will ever read it but someone who reads this will tell him that on the weekend of June 5th, 2010 I have never been prouder of him and probably not for the reasons you think.

Cole,

It’s hard to know what goes on in that head of yours sometimes because you are such a silent warrior. I wish I could live there, in your brain, for one game and know what you know and how you raise yourself to the level of competition that I have never experienced. I wish I could feel what you feel one time when you come across the plate knowing that you have brought your team closer to yet another victory. This weekend I wonder if you saw the tournament slipping through the team’s hands as you grabbed your teammate and held him back when I know you yourself probably wanted to charge the other team. I wonder if you felt like you had to personally stop the outrage so we could continue the charge. I was so proud of you in that moment. Certainly people would have understood if our team had left the dugout but nothing would have been gained and you clearly knew that. And when you hit the second home run on Sunday and started around the bases there was no big celebration or showboating, you merely took the bases, held up one finger and continued your pursuit of the victory. Then the game was over and we had clearly been robbed, the team did not want to leave the dugout and shake the other team’s hand but you lead the march. The newspaper asked you today what you thought of your performance and you replied that you would have gladly gone 0-5 with 5 strike outs for the win. Oh Cole, what a man you were this weekend! I have never been so proud of you.


Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful ride.


I love and respect you more than you will ever know.


Mom

I've Never Liked Roller Coasters They Make Me Sick

I don’t even know how to begin to recap last week’s games. I mean I feel like I have been to the biggest amusement park ever and ridden the wildest roller coaster known to mankind. It was tremendous, there were moments when I thought I was going to throw up and moments when I was screaming and then there was the moment of let down when the ride was finished. Truly worth the ticket price but I wanted it to end differently. I know I can be a little selfish but at 2:30 AM on a Thursday night when my blood pressure was off the chart I’m just saying I REALLY wanted the win.

 

I wish there was a way to describe the looks on our faces when Coach Lee took Jose out of left field, brought in Jesse only to turn him into the FOURTH infielder leaving only TWO outfielders (are you still with me) after WCU loaded up the bases with no outs. I kept thinking to myself “Oh Coach Lee they are going to think you are a genius or they are going to think you are something else……and I didn’t even want to go there”. I mean I couldn’t even get my brain wrapped around what could possibly happen outside of covering the bunt when the batter slammed one straight away to left center. I hung my head and knew there was no way Cole was going to get to the ball but as crazy as it is he did AND GET THIS then he made the throw to the plate and the runner was out. FOR REAL, that really happened. I thought I was going to jump out on the field, no really, I really thought I was going to. It was the most amazing thing I have seen in college baseball. I was a crazy woman, I just kept jumping up and down screaming I love that kid, I love that kid and when I looked around everyone else was jumping up and down screaming too. So at that point we were truly on the TOP of Space Mountain we went back down to the valley a couple more times and as crazy as it sounds we ran this same play again in the 11th (I think), four infielders and two outfielders and AGAIN instead of bunting their batter hit a long fly ball to center field, (I mean really how many times can a girl go to the TOP of Space Mountain in one night and continue to live) Cole caught it and started to make the throw and guess what-no runner-they didn’t send him from third. Now that, my friends, is respect. You know how this story ends by now. The ride on Space Mountain made me a little sick and kept me up most of the night thinking about different plays and opportunities but hey it’s baseball and it is what it is and one thing was for sure Thursday night you got your money’s worth and then some. My sister tried to leave three times. Both those teams played their hearts out and for the first time ever and after almost five hours of baseball I would have been satisfied for it to end in a tie. I can’t believe I am saying those words but both teams deserved a win after that night. My hat goes off to Coach Lee for coming up with the play and having the confidence in his team to pull it off.

A huge, huge thanks for the celebration that the Cliffords hosted on Friday night. If Dave decides he doesn’t want to paddle board anymore I’m pretty sure he could open a rib shack because I would certainly be there a couple times a week. The food was awesome and the company great. It is so nice to get to know the parents and the great sense of family we have developed for this team.

So it looks like we are off to Myrtle Beach. The bracket won’t be easy, NC State first and I am sure those Coastal Chickens (I think their proper name is Chanticleer) are going to be gunning for us like never before. We need fans folks. I mean really, unlike ever before we need fans. They will be out in thousands to support Coastal and they are tough fans to contend with so please, please come to Myrtle Beach. It’s not that far. Hey maybe we can have a tailgate if we can make it work. So come on lets follows these boys all the way. You know what the name of this blog is don’t you……that’s right

COFC ON THE ROAD TO OMAHA. Well we have just started up the first road now let’s get this convoy moving (ok I too, thought that was corny)

See you at the field.

I Hope They Had the Time of Their Life

I’m not exactly sure what it cost to have our Seniors’ jerseys framed for the ceremony yesterday but without a doubt it was worth every penny. I watched as each player walked out and tried to picture where they would be in five years as the Green Day song, Time of Your Life played over and over in my head. I’m lucky enough to say that every one of those players (with one exception) has had dinner at my house. I know more about some than others but I know this about ALL of them, they made the 2010 Cougar Baseball Program a TEAM.


My son has played on teams that have had great players and we have had the discussion that baseball is a ‘team of individual athletes’ but at the end of the day it takes the whole team to win the game. You can have the long ball hitters who lead all the stats but if they aren’t willing to lay down the sac bunt are they really part of the team or are they just ego driven individuals who happen to be playing a team sport? I’ve never experienced a team ‘huddle’ and couldn’t tell you who the ‘captain’ is per se but you don’t have to hear what they are saying to know that these young men are leading the charge.

I’m not sure that any of them read this blog and it really doesn’t matter because they each hold a special place in my heart and I will always remember them and hope that our paths cross again. I wish for them great success in life. I hope they remember all the terrific people who have contributed to their career and that each of them give something back to their community. I hope they pass on their knowledge of the game and help coach another young boy someday. I hope they all find jobs they are passionate about and that they experience unconditional love. But more than anything, I ‘hope they had the time of their life’.

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

So this week I have felt like the girl who was left at home when everyone else went to the party. The stomach flu put me on the disabled list for Tuesday’s game at Coastal (which has always been one of my favorite games of the season). I couldn’t believe I was going to have to miss this one. I mean really, the Chanticleers were ranked 4th in the nation (what is a chanticleer anyway-some kind of chicken) and we ALWAYS rally up for the competition. It was being held at the minor league stadium in Myrtle Beach and the best I could do was feel sorry for myself and wave goodbye to Ted as he pulled out for the game. He’s a great guy and everything but even he wouldn’t miss this game to sit home with the sick wife. He made sure I had some ginger ale and then booked it down Highway 17. I proceeded to mope around until the game came on the radio. Let me say I have new found respect for the folks who have to stay home and listen to the games on the radio. I’m pretty sure if I had had to watch the bobble dolls roll around the bases I might have thrown my laptop out the window so at least I had the benefit of live audio. That said, I found it very annoying and SORELY missed Tony Ciuffo. I mean he was the best with the color commentating and statistical analysis and I’m not gonna lie he gave me a personal shout out a time or two which was awesome. I wish I could tell you my perspective of the game from the stands but I guess you’ll have to read the box scores. I can tell you we beat those chickens again and it was a beautiful thing even from where I was sitting.

Wish I could say the same for the game against Wilmington. I was home again, the commentating was much better (I listened to the broadcast from UNCW) but we gave it away in the bottom of the ninth.

I do want to give a shout out to a couple of players who seem to be peaking at exactly the right time. Jamie Holler’s bat is coming to life and has had hits at critical points in the last couple of games and Dre Watts seems to be the man of all positions right now. One game you see him at the plate and the next on the mound and he’s doing a good job at both.

Next week I intend to ATTEND the games but in the meantime here are my top ten benefits for listening to the game from the comfort of your home:

10. Food is free.

9. You don’t have to sit next to any hecklers.

8. You don’t have to ride for hours in the car.

7. You can wear your pajamas.

6. You can curse at the radio and no one will think less of you.

5. You can watch the USC vs. FL game at the same time on TV.

4. You can text endlessly with Allisyn Miller for another perspective.

3. You can go straight to bed when the game is over if you want to.

2. You won’t get sunburned.

AND the #1 benefit to watching the game from home when you have the stomach flu is………………………………………….drum roll please………………………………

1. The bathroom is just down the hall.

Southern Conference play starts next week at Joe Riley Stadium.

See you at the field.

The Cycle of Life

I don’t think Cole will ever really understand or appreciate the value of being surrounded by his family until long after his college baseball career has ended but I can certainly tell you that I realize the value and was so happy this weekend when so many of our family members came to Boone and got to witness a great CofC performance. They drove from D.C., Chattanooga and Charleston and it’s hard to describe how proud I was that Cole had a good, no great, weekend and they got to witness it. Someday he will get what that means, maybe he gets it now, I don’t know but I sure do love that our family is so supportive. I hope this ride goes all the way to Omaha because I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of people there supporting #12 and the ALL the rest of the Cougars.

I understood what ‘hitting for the cycle’ was before this weekend but I don’t think I really got how difficult that was until the whispers started in the stands that Cole just needed a homerun left to hit for the cycle this weekend. I thought to myself “just a homerun” oh no problem, I mean really?? I hate to admit I didn’t think that was going to happen. Then he stepped up to the plate and I told my sister in law who was sitting next to me that this was going to be the one. I know, it sounds a little corny but I swear I get “the feeling” and it happens. I’ve gotten it before and told the person sitting next to me (and it’s not just for Cole). I’m not ready to sign up for the psychic channel just yet but I swear I do get ‘the feeling’.

There were so many great performances this weekend that I know I can’t note all of them but these were my highlights. David Peterson, I mean really, how do you get hit three times with the ball and stay on the mound and continue to pitch a great game. What a competitor that kid is! Jose continues to knock the cover off the ball, two homeruns in one game. (I wish he had hit those against UNC on Wednesday and shut those nasty hecklers up who were sitting next to me). We turned several double plays this weekend at the hands of Jamie Holler, Joey Bergman and Greg Blake. All three of those guys played tremendous defense. It was like watching a well orchestrated dance sometimes they were so in sync. And I have to give a shout out to Coach Lee for defending our team against our rude opponent at one point. I have just enough red neck in me to appreciate the puffed up chest and verbal challenge when it’s for the right reason.

I am starting to get this nagging feeling in the back of my mind and, ok, in my heart too about the end of the season. People keep talking about needing to get the 40th win and how many more opportunities we have to accomplish it and every time I think oh no, the season is almost over. This has truly been a great year for our “fan family”. We have made some wonderful friends and as much as I’d like to believe we will stay in touch I know I’ve been down this road before and rarely talk to folks that I spent years with in hotels and at baseball fields. So, I hope we make this season last as long as possible and maybe, just maybe, all my family can come to Omaha.

Mothers, Wins and Autographs

There really is a part of me that wants to be everyone’s mom. Ask the people I work with, they’ll tell you I mother them when they are hurting, I mother them when I think they are misbehaving and then I let them know that someone loves them when they are in need, the most important mothering skill of all. This weekend when the moms were told we were going out on the field with our sons I didn’t immediately think, ‘this is going to be awesome for me’. Instead, I thought this is going to be very tough for some of these guys and I can only imagine how their moms will feel when they hear about it. Don’t get me wrong I still think it was a great idea and I truly felt honored by it. I just wanted every boy to have a mama there on Sunday. I knew this was a great chance for Cole to honor his grandmothers and it meant so much to them to be able to stand down there and be so proud of ‘their boy’. I adopted Greg Blake and Ryan Daniels for the day since their moms couldn’t be here but when I turned back after the anthem and saw all the boys sitting in the dugout I just wanted to run over there and wrap my arms around each of them and just be their mom for that one brief moment. I know there was no doubt their moms love them and wish they could be here, I just didn’t want them to sit alone. I know, I know, we moms worry about this kind of stuff way more than our boys do, but let the record show if you ever need a surrogate mom I’m your gal.

So we moved right from the emotional feeling of wanting to be the “all mom” to watching the mom with it ‘all’ on her plate. There they were, The Shieder Family walking slowly out to the mound as fast as little Mack’s legs could carry him, he got his baseball and let it rip (okay it kind of dribbled out of his hand) but he knew what he was doing. He was throwing out the first pitch-really did it matter how far it went-there wasn’t a batter yet. He scooped it up and did it again. I took a quick look around because I didn’t have my BIG sunglasses on and I was at risk of major rivers running down my cheeks without them. It looked like I was in good company because my sister was just one pitch away from going in to the big ugly cry. I’m telling you I’ve seen a lot of moving things in my life but by golly (did I really say that) I think this one took the cake. That little boy, who wasn’t walking a couple of months ago, who got out of MUSC on Wednesday from major chemotherapy, who had a mask on his face, marched right up there to get the job done. I never saw a greater pitch, ever. My life changed Sunday because of Mack Shieder. He has courage beyond comparison, his parents have strength that is immeasurable, and the family is surrounded by love that is unbound. This young family can teach us so much. I am holding them up now as my example to live by and learn from. I thank them for allowing us this glimpse in to their lives and am happy that baseball could do some small thing to make one of their days better. Maybe more will come from this but if it doesn’t a lot of people saw the best pitch of their lifetime.

I want to give a HUGE shout out to Ryan Johnson who had his jersey hung on the wall of fame on Saturday. I have known Ryan for a long time. I knew he played for The College and I knew he was a very good pitcher but I sure didn’t know he was one of the greatest to ever wear a Cougar uniform. He’s a modest guy; he works hard now for the Town of Mt. Pleasant teaching young boys about baseball so he’s come full circle and that is a wonderful thing. I’m glad to call such a great guy my friend and proud that the College acknowledged him.

Oh those mighty Cougars how they roared this weekend. Friday night was beautiful. We went ahead early and although we gave up the lead we charged back and sealed the deal. Rodriguez was truly the man of the night at the plate and I would say Owen Brittle was the man on the mound. I think it takes a very special mindset to be a closer and I’m sure glad my son isn’t one because I would have to leave the stadium. Owen looks like he loves the challenge and God bless him for it. Kevin Decker had a very nice outing on Saturday night as we put another win in the record books. Sunday the story had a different ending and The Citadel won but I’ve got to give a big shout out to Joey Bergman for his major league play at second to hold the runners-it was phenomenal. My highlight moment of all the games this weekend was after game two when I had to run down on the field to tell one of the marketing guys something and looked over in the dugout and there was a pile of young boys surrounding Jose Rodriguez waiting for him to sign their hats. Now that, my friends, is a great thing. He was patiently signing away and those young boys thought they were sitting at the feet of a giant and that’s why I love baseball.

We're packing up to head to UNC on Wednesday (after we play USC Upstate tomorrow) and then on to App State for our last SoCon series of the season.  I can't believe how it has blown by.  I have so many memories from this year and am so glad that I have committed some of them to paper but I am sure there will be a future blog all about that. 

Until then,

See you at the field.

Baseball is Big-Life is Bigger

So the best laid plans don’t always work out and this weekend was a perfect example. We headed up to Davidson, planned on watching the Cougars take all three games, hang out with all our baseball friends, possibly grab a nice dinner and then get home Sunday evening in time to throw in some laundry and get ready for the week.

Instead we saw two games and spent Saturday in the emergency room trying to quiet an infection that flared up in Ted’s hand. While I paced around impatiently and simultaneously apologized to Ted (for being so impatient) and stressing to the nurses that we didn’t have all afternoon to spend at the hospital I realized further how hard it is to be someone’s caregiver and confined to a hospital.

Ted asked me what I was going to blog about this weekend on our drive home and I told him I really hadn’t had time to think about it because my mind was consumed with his getting well. I am pretty sure he will see a hand specialist tomorrow and we will get on a path of recovery but it made me think about the Shieder family and little Mack and how it must feel to be his mom and dad. I can’t help but think their minds are ALWAYS consumed with their little boy’s well being. The day of mindless playing must be the exception rather than the standard for this family. They have to be consumed with the next chemotherapy treatment, his blood counts, and whether they are exposing him to something that will be difficult for him to fight off. There must not be the routine “let’s go out and play” that our boys have experienced. I was shown again this weekend that baseball is big but life is bigger.

Next weekend is a big weekend for the Cougars. We play The Citadel. It is always a huge match up and you NEVER know who is going to win it but you can always be sure there will be a crowd. It’s going to be an even bigger weekend because we are going to be “At Bat for Mack”. The team will take bp in a shirt for Mack to raise awareness and money for this little boy and his family. Please come out to the field on Sunday (or all weekend for that matter) buy a t-shirt or a wristband or just make a donation to help make this family’s life a little easier. Sunday is Mother’s Day, celebrate your mom and take a few minutes to think about what it must be to be Mack’s mom and celebrate Laura Shieder because not only will she celebrate being a mother she will be celebrating her little boy’s second birthday. So see, baseball is big but life is truly bigger. I love the game and I love it even more when we can do something great because of the game.

The College swept Davidson this weekend and we had lots of heroes. Please go to the CofCsports.com website and read the game notes.

See you at the field.

Playing for a Living

A friend of mine called me on my way to work this week; she was ecstatic because she was going to guide a kayak trip down Shem Creek and she couldn’t believe her great luck. They were going to pay her! If I could have one wish for this friend it would be that she could do this every day of her life. She has survived cancer TWICE and knows the value of living in the Lowcountry and all its’ splendor. I have to admit, while I was happy for her, I was challenged to head back into my office and my second week of budget hell.

I have given a lot of thought to what it takes to make a living ‘playing’ since our phone call. There were several baseball players sitting around my dinner table the other night and of course the majority of our conversation was about ‘playing’. I looked at each of them and considered the cost they were paying to play. One of them came in on crutches, one had both his ankles taped so thick they looked like casts, one’s knees were swollen and hurting and the other one had numerous screws and a plate in his wrist. All of this stemming from the game they love to ‘play’. Is it really ‘playing’ when they spend hours of every day in the batting cage trying to perfect their swing? They practice on the field in the sweltering heat and the bitter cold to try and field a ball coming at them at 100 miles an hour without making an error. Do you think they call it playtime when they are spending countless hours in the weight room lifting and resisting and then sitting in ice baths? They run, run, and run to steal, advance, and hope to score. Really, is it playing?

The next time someone tells me how lucky these boys are to be ‘playing ball’ I am going to say no, there isn’t any luck involved. It really is about the work and sacrifice they are willing to make (when no one is watching) for the three hour performance where they are judged if they miss the 95 MPH fastball, if the ball takes a bad hop and they aren’t able to field it, or if they are thrown out at the plate after running as fast as they can to try and score. My ‘budget hell’ requires me to sit at a desk for eight hours a day which I am pretty sure doesn’t come close to comparing to their ‘game playing’ prep. And if any one of them is fortunate enough to make a living ‘playing’ in the major leagues it won’t be because they GOT LUCKY.

The Cougars turned in a magnificent performance this weekend and won all three against Wofford. It was kind of tough for me to watch because there are several guys on the Wofford team that I have watched grow up and while I definitely wanted the College to win I also wanted those boys to have great games. I have to say John Cornely looked terrific on the mound Sunday for Wofford.

Several shout outs are in order this week:

David Peterson couldn’t have given his visiting parents a better performance (they are here from California and made the trip last year when his pitching rotation got changed and they never got to see him pitch) he threw a shut out complete game-that was awesome.

Joey Bergman-grand slam-was that for your grandad Joey (here from Rhode Island) sweet, as your dad would say.

Christian Powell struck out eight batters on Friday night-incredible.

And I guess I can’t publish one of these without mentioning Matt Leeds again I know I sound like a broken record but the kid is killing the ball.  I find myself expecting him to hit a homerun every at bat, which I admit, is just wrong.  It looks like the SoCon agrees with me because he was just named Player of the Week.  Way to go Matt!

We are playing a huge cross-town rival this Tuesday, The Citadel at Joe Riley Stadium at 6:00. Come out to the game and cheer on the Cougars. The Citadel always hosts a ton of fans. Let’s show them we support out team too.

See you at the field.

(Photos I took at the Blue Angels air show this weekend-it was awesome).

Going to Bat for Mack

So today we aren’t going to talk about baseball. I want you to stop what you are doing and think for a moment, what YOU would do if the person you loved most in life (your little baby) just stopped walking one day. You had no idea why. You took him to the doctor and it took a while but finally they found out the reason-----he had leukemia. What would you do? You would fight for his life. You would spend every single penny you could find on getting him treatment. You would spend several months in a hospital sitting next to him trying to ease his suffering. You would research every possible case to find a treatment to prolong his life and increase his quality of living. This is what Laura Ann Shieder does every day for her son Mack and now we are going to help. We are trying to organize a day that the baseball family can come together and help this little boy and his family. We are “Going to Bat for Mack”. Please, please stay tuned to this blog and my facebook for more information. When we get the date set bring your entire family to the field, buy a shirt, make a donation and say a prayer for little Mack Shieder. We are going to “Go to Bat for Mack” and help him win his battle.

Be grateful for the blessings in your life. Tell your family you love them. But more than anything know that baseball is such a small thing in the big picture unless we can do ‘Big Things’ through the game. Now let’s “Go to Bat for Mack.”

Blessings on Easter

When I got up this morning I knew it was going to be a perfect day. Don’t ask me how but I’m sure it had something to do with not needing a quilt on the bed last night and the smell of coffee already wafting down the hall and my sweet pup’s wet nose waiting patiently on the bed for a pat on the head. All those things can bring so much pleasure to me before I ever even step a foot on the floor. I laid there thinking about the games we had already played and the game coming up and how tough every win has been and how hard the boys are working. It made me so prideful as I reflected on yesterday and all the great things that happened in that game. Greg Blake was just incredible at the plate powering ball after ball over the fence. It was beautiful, and how great was it when Kobly Epley laced one out and his mamma was sitting there with her grandbaby in her lap and couldn’t stand up – I stood taller for you Janet because I know what it meant to you for him to hit that homerun. And for the entire Leeds family to be in town to see Matt’s great weekend performance and Knox, and Schiller, and Brittle, and Huttie’s families all there for their games and to see what really great players they all are.

Do you ever have to pinch yourself and say is this really real? I know it sounds corny but this morning I again said I am going to really focus on living in the moment. Maybe I am getting weird(er) as I get old(er) (and oh yeah you better not let me find out who issued that happy birthday message at the field or bad things will happen-you should know me well enough to know that I hate being singled out like that) but I swear I keep thinking about how important it is to make sure I FEEL what is happening. I don’t want to worry about what game I am going to on Wednesday when I’m at Sunday’s game because I want to see and feel and be ‘in’ every moment. I wanted to see Rob’s face today when he came home and the pitcher barked back at him, I want to hear the crazy words that Chris Campbell can come up with when he is heckling. Today was the best Chris when you said ‘Hey Pitch, I’ve seen a snake with a better arm than you.” Now that is good stuff. Do you have a book of those one liners because I certainly haven’t ever heard them before? I want to be able to hear the grunting sound the pitcher makes when he comes slamming off the mound but more than anything I want to be in the moment my son makes a great play. I don’t know if there is a way to describe what it feels like when a mother is watching an amazing thing happen at the hands of her son but I am going to try and recap it here:

High fly ball comes soaring through the air to the outfield, it is right center, I watch the ball, I watch Cole, and I have a moment of uncertainty that the ball is uncatchable. Then I look back at him and he is running like a wild animal as fast as his legs will carry him, it’s still coming and he is still going and then he projects himself-how he knows when the right second is to leave the ground I will never know but he is laid out flying through the air with arms fully extended, I steal one more look at the ball as it lands in his glove before he slams into the ground. I realize I have been holding my breath the entire time and it is now ok to exhale because he gets up and starts off the field. With this catch he garnered the third out of the inning and kept GA Southern from going ahead. The stands went wild. This was truly one of the catches of his life and worthy of an ESPN highlight. This is the way it read in the post game notes ‘Rakar caught a ball in center field to end the inning’.

See how much value there is to living in the moment. You just can’t get it from the game notes or from someone telling you about it. You have to see it and feel it yourself. I want to hold my breath and almost cry sometimes because I am so filled up with pride for my son. So when people say to me – you are crazy for going to all these games I just smile and think- you don’t know what it feels like to catch a fly ball at the fence to save the game and I do.

We swept GA Southern 3-0

Wednesday we head to USC

See you at the field.

What Defines Character

Crazy as it seems, I think about this a lot –what defines character. I really want to be that person who people think of as having great character. I know I fail, sometimes miserably, but I still try. I think having great character means different things to different people. To me, it means rising above your circumstances, showing courage and the determination to become more than is expected of you. If you have the quality in your personality to make a person want to be more than they are, they are lucky to know you. I remember watching a movie years ago and hearing Jack Nicolson say “you make me want to be a better man” I thought wow I want to be that girl, or boss, or coach. I just want to do that one small thing that makes a person say I can do better because I know someone expects me to. Character is the one thing we do for ourselves, doesn’t matter who our parents are, doesn’t matter how much money we have, doesn’t matter where we live or what we drive, we own our character and we can have as much or as little as we choose. It’s not something we can tell people we have; we demonstrate it in our actions. This weekend I saw character beyond explanation. A group of young men made me want to be a better person because I saw in them the determination and courage it takes to win things in life and overcome obstacles. We didn’t win and it broke my heart for them but we showed tremendous character.

 
I know I say a lot about Matt Leeds in this blog but for real the kid is going to be an awesome man.  He could barely walk after hurting his knee this weekend and I never knew if he was hit by a pitch or if he fouled a ball off his leg but it was obvious he could hardly make it to first base. They kept him in the lineup and every time he came to bat I said a selfish prayer that he get a homerun so he wouldn’t have to struggle to get around the bases. It was just too hard to watch. He never gave up though, he never stopped competing and he was the one that kept us in the last game. We were down by two and I know it had to hurt him just to swing the bat but he crushed one over the fence to tie the game, hobbled around the bases and fired the team up and back into the game. I don’t think there is a greater thing in life to watch than when a player approaches the plate after a home run but this one was particularly sweet. He showed a lot of character.

All the pitchers worked hard to keep us in the game but when Josh Salay snagged the drive back up the middle and came charging off the mound he showed great character.

So while we may not have won the series this weekend I know I am a better person for having witnessed such great displays of courage and determination. I know if those young men can stay in a game for thirteen innings and keep me believing that they were one hit away from victory it will help us all one day when we are facing a challenge. I believe there are many life lessons in the game of baseball and while we watch these young men compete we can become better people by trying to have better character. Because, at the end of the day, every outfielder is trying to make the best possible outfield catch, every in fielder is trying to make the best throw and every hitter is trying to make the best hit they can and our job is to remember that and be a fan with character. We probably don’t have to tell the pitcher he has to throw strikes because I’m pretty sure that’s what he went out there to do.

I’m sure Georgia Southern will test our character next weekend so come out to the field for our home stand and show our boys you stand behind this team. They are good and tough and deserve to have a great audience watch them

See you at the field.

The Competitive Edge

When my kids were small we played a lot of games and everyone always played to win. A short time after Ted and I started dating he posed the question “don’t you guys do anything for fun?” I didn’t really get it; play a game just for fun-what’s the point. My mother is in her seventies and to this day she gets mad and goes home if she loses two games of Upwords in a row. We had to put an end to our post Thanksgiving football game because we almost had to carry my sister to the hospital when a rocketing pass hit her in the face. We once had a kick ball game that was so intense the ball ended up deflated by a limb in pursuit of the homerun. The worst family competition though was the year my brother was nearly impaled by a plastic lawn chair over a friendly game of musical chairs. These are true stories, if there is one thing we know how to do in this family it is compete. Some of us are fiercer than others but none of us like losing.

I was thinking about ‘the competitive edge’ on Wednesday as player after player came across the plate in our game against Charleston Southern. I don’t even think it was about the game after a while; it was about each individual player competing within himself. At least that is the way it looked to me. Why swing for the fence when you are ahead by ten runs? Why-because you can-and I’m pretty sure a homerun feels good no matter what the score is. And does the third homerun in a single game feel any less significant than the second? I’m going to say I don’t think so but you will have to ask Rob Kral. I’d be willing to guess that now he is going to be trying to get four homeruns in one game because he, like most of the CofC players, is a competitor. They play to win and not just the game; they want it all, the records, the stats, and the retired jersey.

We once had a youth coach that wouldn’t take the field to accept a second place tournament trophy. While that may be excessive he truly made his players believe they could be more than they were. I remember a night when one of Cole’s early teams lost and his coach was reassuring them and saying it was ok and Cole’s dad pulled him aside and said ‘never get comfortable with losing’. At that moment it made me a little mad but I now realize if you are comfortable with losing you are not competing. I know someone who works for a company that only hires retired baseball players for their sales staff. Why-because they never stop competing.

So, in case you are wondering why the score was 28-9 on Wednesday it is because we have a team of competitors. In reality they probably stopped watching the score after we went ahead in the second and were playing to beat their own records.

We’re packed and heading to Western Carolina tomorrow for another weekend of conference play.

Oh yeah and don’t talk to me about basketball right now because I picked a bunch of non-competitors in my bracket and I’m a little testy.

See you at the field.

Variables

Have you ever considered the variables involved in doing your job? The variables in my job are minimal: will I show up to work, will our staff show up to work and will we be able to accomplish the things we need done.

I started thinking about ALL the variables Coach Lee deals with. I haven’t spoken with him about them but these are the variables from ‘my’ perspective:

A player is recruited-variable- does he want to play, are his parents on board. He makes a commitment. The coach checks his position off the list then the player decides to go to another school. Back to zero and start recruiting process over for next player.

All players signed and ready to go-finds out one is academically ineligible. Out for at least one semester-get the line-up card back out.

Got a new line up filled out getting ready to start first game everyone shows up but one guy-uh oh trouble in paradise-player suspended indefinitely because he had a little too much fun on Thursday night. Get the lineup card back out.

Ok, this time everything should be good a new line up on board. Flu runs through entire infield. Get the lineup card back out.

For Real, line up is submitted. Player breaks his leg in wind sprints. Get the lineup card back out.

See where this is going………

Coaching is really not that tough, if you can first, get the player, keep him, maintain his academic eligibility, keep him out of jail, keep him healthy and uninjured, and THEN see if he is coachable.

Once you have all those variables solved you just have to depend on the weather and the umpires.

There are days when I don’t like my job but I sure as heck don’t ever want to be a college coach and I have the utmost respect for them. Coaching isn’t for the weak at heart that is for sure. I just want to say that I think our coaches are doing a great job.

We had three big wins this weekend in Greensboro. I really never got comfortable or felt like we had the game in the bag even though the score seemed a little one sided at times. Rob Kral was firing rockets on Friday night, three homeruns to tie the school record with Jose Rodriguez adding a pair of his own. Every time I looked up it seemed like a Cougar was coming across the plate and we took that game 14-10. Matt Leeds led the way to the victory on Saturday with four RBI’s and a score of 9-2. (For the record, Saturday was a beautiful day in Greensboro and at one point I said to Ted that I couldn’t imagine being any happier than I was at that moment. I truly feel sorry for the people who haven’t experienced a green grassy hill with kids rolling down it at a ball park.) Sunday we squeaked out another victory at 6-5. Peterson looked good on the mound for his first outing after taking a line drive to his leg a couple of weeks ago.

No home games this week as we travel to Charleston Southern mid-week and then to Western Carolina for the weekend.

See you at the field.

I couldn't resist including this picture of what I hope is a future Cougar.  This kid has an arm coach, I'm just saying you might want to keep your eye on him.

Sitting at the Feet of Greatness

One of my favorite assignments is to give my nephews a ride to the ball field.  You never know where the conversation is going to take you but it is always cool to see things from the perspective of a nine and eleven year old.  They are batboys for the Cougars.  They have different favorite players for different reasons but there is no question that in their minds they are sitting at the feet of greatness.  They feel so special and so important and such a 'part of the team'.  I watch for them to run out and retrieve the bats and wonder how long they will be able to do this and still feel 'cool'.  I love that they choose to spend their evenings off of their own baseball practices at our field.  I wonder if our players know that these young boys think they are sitting at the feet of greatness or if the coaches know that if they acknowledge them they feel like giants.  Tuesday night when Luke ran out to first base to give Holler back his bat after the contested call I would have given a thousand dollars to have a picture of him passing off that bat.  In my mind it symbolized 'enough of this bickering let's play ball'.  I hope these players understand that they are impacting the worlds of these boys in a very 'big' way because whether they accept it or not they are 'greatness' in their small eyes.  Maybe one of them will feel compelled to go out to the youth field where Zane or Luke are playing this season and show them the Cougars appreciate what they do and truly demonstrate what it means to be 'great' in the eyes of a kid, because just by watching they will have made a difference.

 I know I keep saying this but really is winter EVER going to leave the Lowcountry.  I feel like I went to bed one night and they moved Charleston to Seattle.  I don't want to make this blog about the weather but for real I am over it.  I have never gone in the press box in my life to watch a game and I did on Wednesday night I couldn't stand it anymore.  I always say if the players can stand it I can stand it, not anymore.  Let the record show I can no longer stand the cold. 

This was the week of sacrifices-flies that is. Two games decided by one run each, both sacrifice flies, one in the bottom of the ninth after a three hour rain delay.  You never know who is going to step up and make a difference.  This week I have three shout outs.  First one goes to Justin Brewer for the big win over Coastal.  He hit the sacrifice fly.  The second shout out has to go to Cole he made one catch on the center field fence that was near impossible and none of us thought he could make it but he did and he robbed Coastal of at least a double maybe more.  The last one goes to Rob Kral for the beautiful fly ball he hit Wednesday night in the bottom of the ninth to beat Jacksonville.  I was so happy his mom was there to see it.  Those special moments just don't look quite the same on game tracker. 

Ted and I are packed and ready to hit the road to Greensboro in the morning.  Enjoy the 70 degree weather that I will be missing this weekend and keep our Cougars in your good thoughts and hopefully we will bring home three conference wins.

See you at the field.

I’m Going to do a Better Job

There is a man who has been coming to our ball games for a couple of years now. He isn’t related to anyone on the team and wasn’t personal friends with any of us until recently. He drives past another college field on the way here but likes the College of Charleston so he says it’s worth it. I have sat next to him many times and we chat about the games, stats and sometimes my son. We have talked a little about what he does for a living but we have never talked about his personal life. Yesterday we became friends on facebook and I now know so much more. I feel like I should have done a better job being a friend to him because I learned that he lost his daughter a few years ago and she would have been college age now. She was beautiful and I know she must have been a great kid and I bet he would like to talk about her but I never opened that door. Today I am going to start doing a better job being kind to the folks I meet at the field. There is a reason God is bringing them to Patriots Point and who knows what it is, but I know I can do better.

I hope John, another friend,  makes it safely back to Indiana today. He winters on Sullivan’s Island and comes to every home game until he returns to Indiana to coach his own team. He is a great fan and he left yesterday to go back. I’m going to stay in touch with him this season and keep him apprised of how the team is doing. I am going to reach out to the new guy from Seattle who has just started attending our games because he was transferred here for the Boeing plant and loves baseball.

Baseball is a great game and it brings us together for a few hours on the weekend to enjoy the game and cheer on our team and so much more. So I am going to do a better job reaching out because you never know what the person sitting next to you is dealing with and maybe, just maybe, they need a friend.

Baseball this weekend was tough.  Friday was another game I would like to erase. Our starting pitcher, Peterson, got drilled in the leg with a line drive and had to be taken to the hospital for x-rays and of course in a situation like that you lose more than your starting pitrcher.  The team's focus is affected and they are somewhat distracted.  Not to mention the delay and loss of momentum.  I don't really know if it affected us that much or we just didn't play very well after that but it just didn't feel like we had it in us to win.  Peterson is going to be ok, he was badly bruised and will be out for a brief period but will be back this season. Saturday we looked better and were playing like we know we can.  We had several hits by many batters including Epley, Knox, and Blake.  We were able to pull out the win on Saturday.  Sunday was a repeat of Friday night.  Samford does a great job with the small ball logic, they love to bunt and it worked for them-more than once but what can you do?  I did see two things this weekend that I have never witnessed in my long bleacher career (1) Shulze (Samford) went 11 for 15 with 3 homeruns, 2 of them in one game.  He hit off numerous pitchers and hit various styles of pitches but he was hitting the ball solidly his every at bat and I cannot, not give him a shout out.  He was amazing. (2) The second thing I saw was not quite so impressive but has to be listed as the weirdest.  Samford's first baseman was sick, it was obvious he was struggling, then he started throwing up, yep right there on first base where the players dive back down in the dirt on the throw back.  Not once, not twice, but three times. By the second time the crowd was supplying sound effects.  It was crazy I tell you.  But here is the craziest part, they sent back out for another inning.  Yep, never seen that before and never want to see it again.  Crazy.  It did remind us of a great story about a kid that played with Cole when they were about 14 and the kid was getting ready on the mound to throw a pitch and just started peeing all over himself-craziest thing you ever saw but our coach handled it very well when he explained that it happened to him all the time. Great coach, kid no longer plays ball. (I'm just sayin, I'm pretty sure the coach never peed his pants in his life)

Hope you can make it out to the Coastal Game tomorrow at 5:00.  Always a great game and we need mid-week fans.

See you at the field.

No Rain On Our Parade

Sometimes you work for a year coordinating all the tiny pieces and parts that make an event great and everything changes in a day.  You send out hundreds of emails, make dozens of phone calls, run a thousand errands and on that final day, everything you have worked for becomes something different.  Yes, it rained yesterday, all day, for our golf event but that didn't dampen our spirits.  It just made the event different.  Some folks played golf in the rain, some folks hung out all day in the tent drinking beer and eating, and some folks competed in the first ever(which I think will now become an annual) corn hole tournament.  I think we all had a GREAT time and this just proves you Can't Rain On Our Parade.  I wish I had taken some pictures but I was so busy running around recreating the event that I hardly had time to pick up my camera.  Please know that if you sign up next year this event happens rain or shine and is great fun either way.

Now I need to thank a few people, who without their help, this tournament would not have happened.  Our sponsors, Brian Fisher of Davis Garvin Insurance, John Rhodes of Diamond Devil Baseball,  Heather Hardwick of Outback Steakhouse, Jake Morgan and Nick Short of Patriots Point Links.  Everything you did for us raises the bar for other events.  You are the best. 

I'm not sure what I can say about Mike Bennett that hasn't been said before but let me start by saying he fooled me.  When I first met Mike and we started negotiating this tournament I walked away thinking, this is a 'big money' man who wants to own this tournament so he can splash his name all around.  I will be the first to admit I was completely wrong about him.  This guy TRULY loves College of Charleston Baseball, he has a passion that is so infectious that I walked away feeling giddy about a program I already believed in and loved.  Mike Bennett is a stand up guy, who doesn't own a computer so this blog will be lost on him but I hope when you see him you will thank him for what he does for us, not only for this baseball program but for this city.  Eat at his restaurants, Virginia's on King, Rue De Jean, and Coast and stay in his hotels because I guarantee you the money comes back to us ten fold.

While there is no way I could have produced this event myself for some reason I get the public recognition.  If you truly know me you know I am very uncomfortable with that.  Every year I want to go to the bathroom and hide when Coach Lee gets to that part of his speech.  I apologize to my son for drawing attention to us because I know he too is uncomfortable.  Please know this, I have been given the gift of leadership, that is what I do.  I lead a cast of people this year to make this event happen and without each and every one of them it wouldn't have happened.  They got the raffle items, they sold hole sponsorships, they carried beer and loaded coolers and cleaned up.  I wish I could thank each of you individually but you know who you are and know this, you are my heroes and my warriors and without you this event would be a lot less. 

With that said, there are a couple of people who go WAY beyond the call of duty and have to be singled out. Tracy, thanks for saying that you would follow me off a cliff but the truth is I would hold your hand and we would jump together because we are a great team and without you I am only half the effort.  Chris (Soupy) Campbell you make this event so much fun every year.  You work hard but more than that you truly have a Heart for CofC baseball.  I want to rig the raffle just so I can watch you win.  Thanks for being such a great fan.  I love you man.  Rob Fowler, your voice is smooth as silk and your friendship great.  You definitely raised the bar yesterday and I am so proud to call you my friend.  Tim Rakar, you stayed with me until the bitter end last night literally helping me turn off the lights.  You trudged drinks to the truck until you were completely soaked but even more than that you are always there.  You are Cole's rock and really there is no way to define what that means to me except to say without you he would be less of a man.  You are the best.

More than anyone, I have to thank Ted, my husband.  The guy is a saint.  I couldn't do half the things I do in my life if I didn't know he was standing by quietly figuring out how he was going to pick up the details of the things I get us into.  He does ALL the heavy lifting, all the behind the scenes work to make an event more than just an event. Ted, you are truly the best partner a girl could have!

Thanks for indulging me on the notes of gratitude because these folks truly need to know how much they mean both to me and to this program.

In closing I will share with you the most valuable lesson I learned yesterday, MY DAUGHTERS WILL NOT GET MARRIED OUTSIDE.

Conference play starts this weekend.

See you at the field.