More than Dirt

I was blessed to have baseball in my life from a very young age. It has given me a lot of experiences, gifts, friends and has helped "mold" who I am today. I was lucky to have made the local All-Star teams from Pee-Wee through High School. Have been a part of several State Champion Teams and even went to the Pony League World Series, where I was named to the "World" All-Star Team. Baseball helped me through College. It was a truly blessed ride. A few years ago, it came full circle and I was asked to help Coach. I can say that I learned just as much from the players as they did from me.

This is one such lesson . . .

We started the season coaching in a league where we as players had made a name for ourselves. We were anxious to test ourselves as coaches. The head coach and I played with or against each other since we were kids, the pitching coach had coached us and us position coaches were similarly connected. It was a tough season, but the kids came together at the right time and we took the Championship. We selected and coached an All-Star Team from our district. Again, we as coaches were to be tested. Even thought the players all came from different teams as well as some from our team, they gelled as a team. An even greater thing was that they came together as friends. We ended up winning the State Tournament, but lost in the Regionals. After returning, the team had a final end of season pot-luck. At this gathering the Head Coach passed out little containers that had dirt in them. He told us that this dirt came from the field that we won the State Championship on. He went on to explain that this was a special team and that was a special Championship and nobody can take that away. The dirt in the container represented that specialness. It was one of those quiet moments and you could tell everyone knew what he meant.

About a year after that the head coach called me at work and told me that the parents of one of the players on that team had called and asked if we could come to the Hospital ICU. Their son had gotten into a car accident and one of the passengers (another player) was killed. Their son was in ICU and they had asked if we could go in to see him. When we walked into the room, right on the medicine tray sat the container of dirt! The head coach and I both choked up but needed to be strong for our player. Upon leaving the room, the parents explained that it was the first thing he asked for when he became conscious. It was one of those moments that you could have heard a pin drop. I had learned a lesson from a player that what was in that container was . . .

more than DIRT.

Many Blessings to you all.