Softball

I love coaching softball. I honestly love everything about it i think. Oh sure, I whine about the sun and the wind and the rain. I often time speak ill of the long hours and 1000's of miles spent in a bus or on the road recruiting. I have even blamed softball for my "singleness". Softball is just a game, but the impact I get to have on young adults is overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, my impact is about 50/50 positive to negative, but it's an impact just the same.
I was sitting out at the field Friday night alone as the sun finished it's work and the stars clocked in for their shift, and I realized how at piece I was being there. We had our opening round regional tournament less then 12 hours later and I was anxious, nervous, excited, but at that time there was a piece. I pray a lot on the field, mostly for forgiveness for the foul words that just passed over my lips, but prayer is prayer. And we pray a lot as a team. Before and after games, dinners when we can, and sometimes we just pray against the enemy after a bad dream or preminition.
I love great effort and great plays. I love the smell of the grass and the pop of the leather. I love seeing the smiles on the faces when we win, and love sharing the pain of a loss. I love calling a squeeze and it working. I love yelling at the umpires when they screw up only to laugh with them about it later. I love early morning practice and late night bp under the lights. I love seeing a kid covered in dirt with a light dusting of blood. I love seeing first college homeruns and game winning hits. I love the lessons learned from losses and humility gained. I love the National Anthem being played at the start of a double header.
As you can see there is little about this game I don't somehow love. I think I may have married my mistress. haha We are in the regional Championship game today at 1pm. Winner goes to nationals. Keep us in your thoughts.