Character Counts

No one signs up for this when they decide to coach Little League.  Preparation is important, but one cannot prepare for this.  Life happens quickly, and it showed up on my smarter-than-I-am phone.

I got a text from one of my parents last night asking if I had heard about another parent on the team.  It was the kind of text that makes you draw in a deep breath and wonder "What did I do now?"

I honestly answered "Sorry, no.  Why do I think this isn't a good thing..."

The reply: "Her dad fell this weekend and died.  The kids got a letter at school today."

The words lay on the screen, almost daring me to wake up.  It was a mixture of disbelief and the wish another text would come through saying, "April Fool!"  It would have been a cruel April Fool joke, but one I would have approved.

The phone stayed silent.  Guess I gotta deal with it.

Found out the visitation was the same time as our next practice.  Cancelled that and encouraged the families to attend.  As I was sending, an offer came from the same parent to get a plant from the team, and I sent a coordinating text.  I had to explain to a couple of families what had happened: we draw from different schools.  My daughter attends a private school, so she wouldn't have seen a letter.

I was not looking forward to the visitation.  I talk to crowds in public address form, coach in front of them, and even played golf in front of large galleries.  I never liked large gatherings of people: parties, school gatherings, social events.  It is different than grabbing a microphone or speaking to a team.  I don't do cliques.

What I saw made me proud of my girls.  I didn't see them all, but that wasn't important.  I saw several of my players running together, without the tears of loss, being respectful, and being teammates.  I've tried to teach more about life than softball, and the lessons seems to stick.  They'll forget the games, and the defensive rotations (I'm not sure they ever learned them, anyway!) but they will remember the teammates.

As we were arriving, I saw a very brave young lady that I have coached for years.  She was empathetic and fighting tears.  Perhaps she was remembering the days when she laid her own mother to rest a few years ago.  She was brave to go, and I'm proud of her.  Most young people would have run away or made an excuse.  She faced the fear, and did it anyway.  That, my friends, is the definition of courage.

I let my daughter run with her team for a few minutes before we had to return to our regularly scheduled life.

So...am I off base?