Friday, May 31, 2013

It's a Mean Nasty World

I admit...I probably scared my softball girls Thursday night.  I scared them with the truth.

The world is not all sunshine and rainbows.  It's a mean, nasty place and it will keep you down if you let it.  It is not about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward.  How much you can take and keep moving forward.

If it sounds familiar, Rocky Balboa says something like it to his son in the last (but I won't say final) installment of the Rocky movies.  It is very true: it is not what happens to you, it is how you handle it.  I pulled it out in the sixth inning, when we were behind, losing by five runs, but with some of our best hitters starting the inning.

The girls responded well,  but we came out on the short end for the first time this season.  I am very proud of these girls because they didn't stay down.  They could have easily folded when we were down eight runs in the fourth inning.  They could have just given up and allowed the ten run rule to take over.

After the game, I brought the same speech back out, with the reminder that we play these games to learn the lessons: friendship, loyalty, teamwork.  Oh yeah, never give up.  Scores of the games will be long forgotten, it is the players and coaches we will remember with those lessons.

It might be a lot of truth for 11-13 year old girls.  We live in a world that wants to dress them like tramps and see them starve to achieve a body they can never have.  I hope the lesson took some root, and they realize that they are worth going forward.  It's better than what Hollywood wants them to do.

So...am I off base?

Thursday, May 30, 2013

End of the Line

My travel baseball team plays their last game tonight.  I won't even be there because my Little League Softball team plays at the exact same time.  At least we're in the same State.

I've enjoyed working with this group of boys.  It was challenging because we had a wide range of both ages and ability levels.  One player was eleven, we had a 15 year old who threw absolute gas.  The physical differences between the youngest and the oldest was stark, but they all could play ball.  It was just starting to come together and now we have to break up the Titans.

I thanked the boys for sharing their season with me after our doubleheader this past Saturday.  They thanked me for being there, for the batting practice I threw, for comic relief, for being a sounding board.  My role was to keep things rolling on the bench, but I'm not as hard core as might be wanted from a bench coach.  It can be too much fun.

I'm not as attached to this group as I usually get.  While they are still boys, they are young men, primarily because of the responsibilities of playing baseball.  They were learning the lessons you are supposed to learn: friendship, loyalty, teamwork, being on time and responsible.   It tends to make an adult out of you.  Major Leaguers in the making?  Probably not, but there will be some Major League Men come out of this group.  Of that, I am proud.

Al, Josh, Christian, Travis, Vince, Matt, Nick, Brian, Caleb, Trib, Jake, Grant, Preston, Brayden, Connor, and my first born, Robby are going to be part of what makes America great.  Hope I had something good to add.

So...am I off base?

Monday, May 27, 2013

Great Day of Racing?

Racing is my first sporting love.  I grew up watching races at the Avilla Motor Speedway.  My early heroes ranged from locals Moose Myers and Vern Schrock to Jonny Rutherford and the Unsers to Richard Petty and David Pearson.  Formula One came to my consciousness when Mario Andretti went there because he couldn't win Indianapolis.  He took a while to beat Nikki Lauda.  If it went fast, I wanted to watch it and, in the absence of in-car cameras, imagined what it would be like.  It was going to the limit, and sometimes beyond, that captured me, a shy, nerdy little kid of the 60's and 70's.

Memorial Day Weekend lets me do a one day overdose of speed and daring.  It was especially heightened by the addition to network TV of the Monaco Grand Prix.  Each race is iconic in it's discipline.  Monaco has run the same circuit for decades, a tight, high speed challenge.  Indianapolis had a full page of story-lines, and Charlotte had NASCAR's rolling circus nearing the halfway mark.

Monaco is a throwback track for Formula One.  A tight street course where your strategy consists of getting track position and maintaining it.  This year, the tight course lead to many crashes, dashing any chance for pit strategy to make a difference.  It was cool that Nikko Rosberg won thirty years after his father Keke did on the same circuit.  First time father and son have won on the same course.  You can't do that without history.

Indianapolis had a sentimental winner in Tony Kanaan.  A fan favorite, Tony ran a great strategic race and KV Technology's crew did an exceptional job in the pits.  The race was historic for a number of reasons: more than twice the number of lead changes, fastest 500 in history, and a highly popular winner.  Gotta love the comment, "I finally got my ugly face on the Borg Warner Trophy!"

The situation called for NASCAR's Green-White-Checkered rules.  All that great racing should have had a full speed finish.

Charlotte was a circus, where television possibly interfered with the outcome.  Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch had strong, capable cars, but were damaged by a cable holding a television camera.  I hope all spectators injured by the same malfunction are well.  The best car of the weekend, driven by Kasey Kahne, was undone by pit strategy, leading to Kevin Harvick's victory.  The finish was more of a relief than a climax.

NASCAR is king of the masses, but IndyCar and F1 are a real show.  F1 is incredible for the speed, the variety of courses, and the cutting edge of technology.  IndyCar puts on a great show everywhere, incredible passing, technology producing high speeds, and cars so equal, it takes a special button to produce a whole new strategy to pass.  NASCAR has incredible appeal, created by very fan-oriented drivers.  The show needs more technology, less interference from the governing body.  Up the speed, lose the WWE.

So...am I off base?

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Memorial Day-Thank You

In the United States, it is Memorial Day Weekend.  To Americans, it means many things: the unofficial start of summer, first visit to a beach, even barbecue grill work extraordinaire.  Maybe most importantly, it means a three day weekend for corporate America.

It means much more to me.

Memorial Day is in memory of soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  By giving their lives, we live in peace and freedom.  We are free to pursue what God has placed in our hearts, whether it is medicine, baseball, eating, even wasting it on things like X-box.  We are free to work our hardest to succeed, or even have failure.  We are free to pursue happiness, not have it guaranteed.

The sacrifices by Service Members range from small to the ultimate.  Giving up some personal dignity to bond their unit for when it really counts.  Taking duty for another so they can gather with family.  Having their back when the real action begins.  Covering them when injured.  Collecting them to deliver to a grieving family after an ultimate sacrifice is made.  The air of freedom is especially sweet to those know what it really cost.

I think of the Veteran from my own family.  My father served in an Army medical unit during World War II.  He never spoke of his time there, but it shaped the rest of his life.  Supposedly, when asked to re-enlist, he told the recruiter, "It took an act of Congress to get me here, it will take an act of Congress to keep me here.  I will have so many children, you won't want me back."

I have nine siblings.

My brother, Don, was drafted during Vietnam.  He talked a little about his service to me, much more to his bride.  He died in December 28, 2007 from cancer possibly related to Agent Orange exposure.  That's when I found out he earned Bronze and Silver Star for bravery in combat.  His remains lie in the Field of Valor at a cemetery in Fort Wayne.  He was an unofficial protector of our family, looking over the situation like any good MP.

Thank you, Armed Forces.  I am free to state my opinions on this page because of what you do.  It is my honor to share give you some love today.


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Oklahoma Strong

Living in the Midwest, tornados are a way of life.  Every child knows about getting to the basement and covering the back of their head and face with their hands.  Like baseball, it happens every spring.

Californian acquaintances marvel at our ability to live with the specter of tornados the same way they live with earthquakes.  I tell them we get some warning.  In their case, the earth just starts shaking and they cover up the same way we do.   About the only difference is the proximity of a beach.

However, I live east of Tornado Alley.  The swath of the Midwest carrying that title covers Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Northern Texas.  The natives are hearty people, strong in belief and roots.  You have to be to live off the land like farmers, which are in the family backgrounds of many people that live in Oklahoma.  They have built, failed, rebuilt, failed, and built again.  They have to do it again.

They will come back.  They have faith, they have desire, and they have each other.  We need to support them any way we can.  Prayer, if nothing else, works for everyone.

Monday, May 20, 2013

The Greatest Show No One Saw

Cheers to Ed Carpenter for winning the pole at Indianapolis.  An Indianapolis native, driving for a single car team, shows all the multi-car operations with significantly more money how to get things done.  It hearkened back to the days where people would shut down business for a month, grab a dream and go to Indianapolis. It was a warm underside to "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing".

However, Indy Car racing is at a crucial point, even more crucial than the CART/IRL split.  Their drivers are putting on great shows and show driving skills which are the envy of every level of racing.  The stands are starkly empty.

Growing up in Indiana, the track became the central focus in the month of May.  I remember friends bringing home movie reels of a day, a Tuesday, spent at the Speedway.  The stands were full for practice.  Yesterday, for what should be the drama of Bump Day, very few humans were in the stands.  Since pigeons don't pay to get in, it had to be a financial loss.

Drama was a far fetched word yesterday.  Only 34 cars entered, and one couldn't even make a qualifying attempt.  Twenty miles per hour would be a lot to make up in one day.  Are the days where the car on track at 6:00 pm would get their last gasp effort to make a month of work pay off gone?  Don't even get me started on the three week schedule.

I'm aware how the economics of the sport have changed.  I'm aware how the demographics of the sport have changed: so few Americans that an accent seems mandatory to drive.  I'm aware of the cutting edge the drivers live on technically.  It's a fascinating story...if you're willing to read it.

Danica Patrick was not all Indy Car Racing had to offer.  The money couldn't keep her because it wasn't there.  The drivers deserve better for what they put on the line.  The fans are getting a great show, but there need to be more of them.  Growing the fan base is critical, and a lack of one could spell doom for open wheel racing.

Saturday night sprint cars need a comeback to help...but people will be at home watching NASCAR.

So...am I off base?

Friday, May 17, 2013

A Hall of Famer I'll Miss

Tonight, word came down about the passing of Ken Venturi.  Most of today's generation of golfers remember Ken as an announcer, closing that career with a young partner named Jim Nantz.  He called things as he saw them, with grace, dignity, and respect.  His World Golf Hall of Fame induction was just ten days ago.

My background as a golfer went from high school letterman, to Big Ten walk-on, to PGA Apprentice Professional.  Venturi called a couple of playoff losses by two golfers that I admire, Payne Stewart and Larry Mize. They were young and unknown, contending for the first time with long, smooth swings I tried to emulate.  He said they would have great futures.  Stewart won two U.S. Opens (also finished second twice) and a PGA.  Mize won a Masters thanks to a Divinely guided chip shot.  He was more than right about their futures.

Venturi came from a working class background, overcoming tremendous odds.  Caddy work introduced him to mentors who helped him hone his skills and finance the beginning of his career.  That career ended prematurely in 1966 when carpal tunnel syndrome kept his hands from wielding a golf club at the highest skill level.

About a month before Venturi's signature win, the 1964 U.S. Open, he was at the bottom of his game, house for sale, and begging for another chance.  While visiting the Indianapolis 500, Johnny Boyd, a friend and fourth place finisher that day, told reporters that Venturi would win The Open in a couple of weeks.  A sponsor's exemption into Westchester the following week netted a third place finish and a new lease of life.

He defied death to claim the game's pinnacle.  Facing possible heat stroke on a humid 90+ degree day at Congressional Country Club, advised by a doctor that completing the second round of a 36 hole day could kill him.  Venturi said, "Quitting is for losers.  The easiest thing in the world to do is quit.  I'm going back out there.  I have nowhere else to go."

He was so physically drained, he could not mentally process the enormity of the U.S. Open.  Raymond Floyd, his fellow competitor in the final group, had to fill in his own scorecard: Venturi hadn't marked a single score.  Making the final putt, his only reaction was to drop his head and say, "My God, I've won the Open."

A feared competitor, Floyd couldn't contain his tears.  I'm having a little trouble with my own now.

Remember those who inspired you in something you love and be grateful for their passion.

So...am I off base?

Thursday, May 16, 2013

A Rant

Another Wednesday night at the Little League.  In ten years, my family has spent a lot of nights around Little Leagues.  My son has played in every park in our District, my daughter is just three parks away from completing that cycle.  It won't happen because we have two leagues in our district that don't play softball.

I would like to say I am oblivious to the politics, but I've spent time on the board.  I've seen my son on the wrong side of the politics.  I've seen people use their children as pawns, a poor use of a t-baller.  I've seen people take talented players and leave for better opportunities.  I've done that myself.  

I would like to know...why?

One reason is Little League Paperwork.  The league paperwork is endless, all for the protection of the player.  From pitch count sheets to waivers for All-Stars to the paperwork to let a player from another district play in your league, Little League has done everything it can to protect itself from parents and coaches perverting the opportunity for children to play ball.  It still doesn't work.  Loopholes abound.

Travel ball has it's share of paperwork, but nothing like Little League.  You can play all the games you want and all it takes is money, time and talent; emphasis on money.  Playing for the right (or wrong) travel program gives you the opportunity to pay the coaches and the owner of the program for playing time that may never come.  Little League often becomes a world where the ego of a coach or an administrator overrides the point of putting kids on the field.  

The percentages are against a player reaching the highest level.  I point to the phone directory: the chance of becoming a doctor is better than becoming a professional athlete of any kind.  College scholarship is your best bet, but even that is limited.  Division I baseball has 12 full scholarships for 25 players.   Softball is usually higher, thanks to Title IX.

Little League is not the only game in town, but doesn't seem to act like it realizes it.  A place exists for both travel and Little League, but let's quit deluding ourselves about what we can accomplish.  Every kid can reach the highest level, but the odds are against, especially without freakish talent.  The best I am hoping for my children would be small school scholarship.  

Kids should play because they love the game.  Forcing them to play doesn't work.  Expecting them to play like Major Leaguers doesn't work.  I'm tired of seeing both extremes.

So... am I off base?

Monday, May 13, 2013

Isn't Today Mother's Day?

May 12, 2013 was Mother's Day in the United States.  The day was set aside to honor Mothers of children of all ages.  Yesterday, many gifts were given, many promises of help and vows for better behavior were made.  It was all smiles, love and appreciation. Hallmark was exceedingly happy with their profits.

Now, it is Monday morning.  People are returning to work and school.  Moms are getting up and finding it was all rhetoric.  For the most part, they are not disappointed.

Something happens in that instant when a child is born.  Being a father, I don't know what, but something happens.  The love of a mother does not depend on performance, like it does for many fathers.  The love of a mother will go to amazing lengths of self denial to provide for her children.  The love of a mother patiently waits out the immaturity of tweenhood and rejoices when the mirrors finally turn into windows.

It is a tremendous example of God's love for us.  If you don't believe in God, the argument for his existence can be summed in the love of a mother.  We don't naturally look outside of ourselves: we look selfishly inward, until a miracle draws it out of us.  We are changed in that moment, and are never the same again.  The relationship draws an entire new life out of the old one.

So...am I off base?

Saturday, May 11, 2013

A Few Random Thoughts

I've had a few thought rumbling around that are fit to write, no matter how far off base they may be...

-Seniority should mean little.  Experience can be a great teacher if it's used.  However, one year's experience twenty-five times is less useful than five years experience.

-The athletic line between goat and hero is razor thin.  Sometimes the goat executed well, but had a great play made against them.  Sometimes the hero messed up in monumental fashion and got helped.

-PGA Tour golfers are among the most mentally strong athletes in the world.  The serious practice is done after the practice rounds, and the days can be 12 hours or more six days of the week.  And they might have to compete at 6:30 am on three of the four competitive days.  So much for the days of "Play golf, Eat Steak."

-Chicago Cubs organization should be worrying about building a minor league system, not JumboTrons.  How about getting a real closer?  Maybe a proven bat in the middle of the lineup?  The fans are gonna come out anyway: 105 years and counting.

-Whatever happened to the Los Angeles Thunderbirds and the Bay City Bombers?

-Ten years around Little League and the atmosphere is the same.  We get to see the absolute best and the absolute worst of both kids and parents.  The former gives hope, the latter gives pain.

-On my best days, there are players I could never beat.  On my worst days, there are players who could never beat me.  Enjoy the day and the game, you never know when the injury could take every bit of it away.

So...am I off base?


Thursday, May 9, 2013

A Little Wisdom

As the youngest of ten children, my parents had a lot of wisdom.  It didn't seem so as I was growing up, but, like most people, I found out how wise they were when I really faced adulthood.  Pearls of wisdom were not going to drip from their mouths everyday, primarily because of exhaustion.  We were a bunch of hard headed Germans.

A few of the lessons they learned from raising ten children, running a successful business, and even from being salutatorian of large high school class got into each of us.  I'm sharing one of mine today.

My mom said the most important thing she learned from being pregnant thirteen times in nineteen years was "From the moment they are born, they are leaving you."  She explained, that precious time where their bodies are taking shape, they were truly part of mother.  Once they are born, everything goes outward.  The contrast between the two stillbirths and the miscarriage made this wisdom very real for her.  I'm sure for some of my siblings, it was bittersweet for her.  By the time it got to me, it was relief.

Today, my son takes on a three day class trip.  Many times in the past, I have been involved in most of his activities.  This time, I am staying home.  I never worried about him in tight situations: he always seemed to do well when it really mattered.  This time, I'm counting on it.

This fall, he enters high school.  His course and classes are picked, the plans being made for lofty goals.  Godspeed.

So...am I off base?

Monday, May 6, 2013

Monday Morning Quarterback

Monday morning.  Two words that cause dread and trepidation in many.  Two words associated with being stuck, doing something less than loved only to provide not enough for the people we love.  Two words, by their mere existence, lead to a statistically significant increase in cardiac events.

Why the reaction?

I'm not a huge fan of underproviding for my family, but we have a roof, beds, food and clothes.  My children are being educated, even in a private school, thanks to my in-laws.  My cars have seen a large number of miles, but they are mine and reliable.  My kids, especially my 14 year-old son, are sensitive to the whims of acceptance at school, but are happy to be among their friends.

Guess I'm not really underproviding.  I don't really have everything I want, everything I studied for in college, but I have what I need.  My work, though relatively mundane in a hospital, has significance.  We save lives, and that is important.

You can't compare where you are and what you have to what media says you should have.  While Disney Channel kids shows value friends and family, they also distort the stuff you should have.  Create the jealousy early, and dissatisfaction can stay your entire life.

Matthew 6:27 reads "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" You are where you are by the choices you made and the people you associate.  Want to change something?  Change something.  Bloom where you are planted.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Go day? What Go Day?

Saturday is Go Day in travel sports and Little League.  Tournaments, regular season games, practices are all on the agenda when school and church aren't.

Why am I scheduled at home today?

Travel baseball rescheduled from Saturday to Friday night.  Other coaches for my daughter's team are out of town, so this game is rescheduled.  An unusual Saturday away from the ballpark?

Probably.

I am scheduled to work my real life job in the medical profession.  The weekend crew around our radiology department is a great group of people.  They show teamwork, compassion, care, and love that is the ideal in health care.  I am honored to be among them.  I hope my work supporting them meets their standard.

Radiology technologists of all modes have a service related job.  The speed and the quality of their work is subject to approval or venom.  Like their esteemed nursing contemporaries, they are coughed, eliminated on, and thrown up on by patients.  Occasionally, they fend off the unwanted advance from inebriated patients.  They are cursed, berated. and, on infrequent occasions, praised by doctors.  Sometimes, they have held their own pee for hours, because the immediate needs of the job outweigh the need for personal comfort.

They tolerate my ball and bat obsession, and a couple of them are Cub fans, commiserating over a century misery.  They listen to the stories with a smile and a nod, even pointing to the common sense I missed in the situation.  They make the requirement of working a Saturday enjoyable by the grace and compassion I try to share when we work together.

Hopefully, you don't need us often. We are there when you do.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

A Brand New Day

Our Little League Softball season opens today.  It is the first game at a whole new level for my daughter.  She is nervous because she has never even watched a game at this level.  She has no idea what it's like.

As coaches, we have tried to prepare her and her teammates for the field.  We hit balls to be fielded, and pitch endless batting practice.  We teach, we correct, we yell only to be heard, not in anger.  Tonight, it is all for real.

She is nervous, and I want my players a little nervous.  It means the game means something to you.  You like the thought of seeing if they are better than us. You want to be good when the world is watching.  Everybody likes to make the SportsCenter play.

Coaches look for routine plays.  Routine plays win games.  I get excited by the ground out to shortstop defensively.  I get excited by the well executed bunt.  A perfect steal makes my day.  A good throw to the cutoff man from someone that has never thrown particularly well puts a smile on my face.

Yes, I like to win.  But I like Vince Lombardi's view of winning.  His famous quote,"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." needs the remainder of the quote added: "but making the effort to win is."

Time to go win...at work, at school, at home.

So...am I off base?
 

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