Just finished coaching our first tournament for the Let Them Play 10U baseball squad…
The idea was to put a team of kids and parents together so we would be able to collectively share baseball and life wisdom with a group of young aspiring GO HARDS looking to make their way in the world…
Ok, to be totally transparent, it was also a good excuse to vacation with good friends and maybe even enjoy a few adult beverages together along the way.
With very little experience in the youth coaching world, I really didn’t know quite what to expect.
We practiced a few times beforehand, but only 7 of the kids are from the Bay Area, while 3 are from Southern California and 2 from Florida.
Just to be clear, this is far from any sort of travel ball super team… It’s a 10U squad that is comprised of exactly 2 players that happen to be 10 and the rest are 8 and 9 year olds…. And although we have a couple studs with pretty solid baseball IQ’s, it’s safe to say the majority of the kids are still baseball illiterate.
Going into the weekend, we had 2 goals in mind:
- Make sure the kids got along
- Don’t get 10-run ruled
On the Friday night before Saturday and Sunday’s games, we had a practice and within minutes, the little groms (who from youngest to oldest were as far apart as 2 years and 4 months in age) were quickly bonded by a shared passion and love for the game. By the time we hit dinner after practice, the little dudes were so comfortable with each other they were running a mariachi Conga train through the middle of the Mexican food restaurant. 🤣
At the ballpark on Saturday, it was almost as much of a shit show that it was Saturday night at the pizza pool party, but we somehow pulled out a couple victories… On Sunday and down to our final out in the semi-final game, we found a way to tie the game and win in extras…
Later that afternoon, we pulled off a small miracle when we beat a much older, bigger and better baseball team to win the championship.
So often in life, we go into situations we are unsure of and hope for the best. Yet what I realized that weekend is that when you surround yourselves with good people and decide to mix in Mexican food, margaritas, a Conga line, a pizza pool party and a sh*t ton of baseball, it’s a can’t lose scenario…
Oh yea, sometimes we even get to bring home some hardware. 🏆
-EB
P.S. Speaking of Let Them Play, It’s finally here 🤠…
The LTP Triathlon Across America Documentary Screening Party is tonight at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, TN!
If you are nearby, come hang out and support a great cause…
Doors open at 6:45pm, Doc starts at 7:30pm. See you there. 👊
Click here to check out the Facebook Event to RSVP and reserve your FREE tickets.