For Love of the Game

For those who know me it is well known that I love baseball. This passion began for me when I was very young, my brother whom I idolized loved baseball. He knew every stat from every player on every team. One summer, our cousin Craig came to visit and they spent the entire time playing a baseball game, the name escapes me, but I remember being in awe of just how much knowledge they both had.

In University Place, girls couldn't start playing softball until they were 8 years old. But I couldn't wait. Luckily my best friend Pam, who was two years older than me, played on a team coached by her dad and he ignored the rules and let me play when I was 7. I will always remember my first at bat on that team at the dirt field at University Place Elementary School. It was a hit up the middle and I got to first base safely. I don't remember what happened after that, I was just so happy.

There was no organized high school girls softball when I was there. It's probably a good thing because that's all I would have wanted to do and then I wouldn't have sang in choir, the musicals etc. But I played every summer, most of the time on Mr. Pollen's team. It wasn't the best team but it always made me seem better than I actually was. One year, I decided to move up and play for the "good" team coached by Mr. Gilmore. Yeah, we won lots of games but it wasn't fun. If I had not learned it already, I learned it then. Winning isn't everything.

I continued to play when I could. I loved intramurals at WSU. What a blast! I played in the summers at home with a team named RAMCO, some construction company sponsored it. At some point I stopped playing but never stopped loving the game.

When I finally had boys old enough to play baseball I, of course, had to get into coaching. I coached T-ball for four years then Gig Harbor started up the Little League. Now that was serious so I stepped back thinking that I would let better coaches than me take over. That first year was a nightmare with one son playing for a coach who had a little bit of problem with the bottle, if you know what I mean and the other playing for a coach whose philosophy for those 9 year olds was to let them learn by making mistakes, not by coaching. I had to step back into batter's box so to speak and start coaching again. This wasn't an easy task in the "Good Ole' Boys" club but I managed and eventually took my team to the championship without sacrificing the fun. Go Angels!

Now, I obviously don't play anymore but I still love the game. My husband is not quite the fan I am but he goes along for which I am truly grateful. And now, he has given me the best gift of all. I get to live my dream and go to Peoria, Arizona for Spring Training! This is something I have always wanted to do and my only regret is that I didn't do it when my dad was alive and take him. It was as much a dream for him as for me.

So, there you have it, For Love of the Game.