Listen to the Good Coach

It was a big showdown in cowtown.  Last night was the last game of the Davis Little League regular season between the first place Red Sox (Taylor’s team) against the second place Orioles (Matthew’s team). It was especially exciting because this was the first time the two boys played against each other.

It was also our turn to volunteer at the snack shack, so Susanna, Kristen, and I were serving hotdogs, pizza, popcorn, and snowcones for a couple of hours before the game. (Since we didn’t have talent/time to be a coach, we figured snack shack coordinator is the one thing we could field.) Our kids are very lucky — a few junior and senior brothers came out to watch them!

The game proved to be exciting. One of Taylor’s teammates hit a grand slam to take an early lead and the coach’s son hit two home runs!  Susanna is not much of a baseball fan, but she was yakking away in the bleachers:  “Oh, that boy is a slugger; he’s the coach’s son and he’s the #1 hitter.  And she’s the coach’s daughter…  How many scores do we have?  Oh, Matthew is up to bat; yea Choi-boy!  Get a hit!”  Kristen blushed as she whispered, “Mommy, you have to be quiet! He’s on the other team.”  Our daughter needs thicker skin.  (I believe there are skin lotions made in Korea for that!)  🙂 It’s okay — it’s Monday night and we’re out there to have some fun family time…

The biggest excitement came in the middle of the game when it seemed like the Orioles were making a comeback.  All of the sudden, Taylor’s coach yelled out from the dugout, “Throw to first, throw to first!” At first, almost everyone didn’t know what was going on because the runners had already advanced.  But as it turned out, the coach realized the “Infield Fly Rule” was in effect and so the Orioles’ runners should not have run. I don’t think many of the players knew what was going on at that time. And the fans didn’t have a clue either. But the good coach knew. And the good thing is, as trained, the players listened to the coach. With that, they got their 2nd and 3rd out of the inning on that one play. That quick thinking on the coach’s part and the players listening promptly might have been the difference between a win or a loss.

(Just a quick spiritual lesson here:  There are many times when I don’t know why God might be telling me to do this or that.  It might even seem strange or odd.  But I need to listen to the Good Coach.  He might be seeing something that I’m completely unaware of…)

Taylor had a great season and it was clearly because he had an excellent coach.  He pushes the players hard, keeps them alert, and expects them to be disciplined all the time.

BTW, Taylor finished the regular season with a total of 14 hits (which blew away my prediction majorly!).  He’s especially excited because his numbers topped the coach’s son’s when he was 10-years old.  (He’s always looking for comps so that he can guage his chances of making it to MLB.)  Son, talent is overrated; let me tell you about  deliberate practice…(to be continued in the next post)