Not Bad at All

The last two years have been pretty interesting for our family sports-wise.
With the exception of an incident last hockey season which is also affecting us this season (I’m not going into it here), I believe the boys are doing well and having a great time.

In the winter of 2011-2012 both of our sons were attending the practices/tryouts for the New Brunswick Junior Selects baseball team. Pretty early in the process T decided that he would rather not continue the process and stepped out which was perfectly fine.
B stuck with it for a while but eventually realized that it may not be for him either. We weren’t too fond of all the travelling that we were doing and was going to come if he made the team.
No worries.
We did agree though that the boys wanted to play a higher level of baseball than the Recreational level at New Maryland. So we said goodbye to our beloved New Maryland baseball and headed to Fredericton to try out for the Bantam AA team.
Both boys made the team and the season began.

It was going along really well for B. He’s a leftie that pitches and plays first base so he was always right in the action.
I wish I could say the same for T. He’s a great player with a great arm and good hitting skills. Unfortunately a great arm like his is best utilized in the outfield where he can rocket the ball back to the infield to make the play.
He wasn’t having a lot of fun and was often bored out there. I can’t say that I blamed the poor guy. It’s a long game when nothing is coming your way.

So T came to us and said that he didn’t want to play anymore. Initially I was of the mind that if he made the team and was on the team he has to stay on the team. But I realized that no good would come of that and he would come to despise the game. He talked to the coach and there were no hard feelings.

Both guys still played summer hockey at Base Gagetown in Oromocto.
If I haven’t mentioned it before it’s a great little league that runs for 10 games. The players are made up of all skill levels from first timers and Rec players to AAA. The main rules are that they have fun and that no one player is allowed to score more than 3 goals in a game. If they do they get a penalty.
I love that rule. It ensures that the stars on the team pass the puck and involve the other players.
We’ve done this for a few summers and I love coaching. I just open the doors and the kids play the positions that they want. Great fun.

So with B’s AA ball last year we were pretty busy and did a fair amount of driving. Nothing crazy though. We had long weekends off from games. The team did pretty well.

In the fall 2012 the boys started high school. B decided to try out for the Fredericton High School Men’s AAA ball team and made it. That’s pretty good for a guy in Grade 9 who has played Rec and AA ball.
The coach of the team is a really nice young guy named Phil who plays on the Fredericton Senior Royals as well as being a substitute teacher.
Our family has always enjoyed watching the Senior Royals play. It’s as close as you’ll get to a professional baseball game in Fredericton. These guys are really skilled and put their hearts into the game.

We haven’t been to a game in a while though. I’ll tell you why just because I’m in the mood for a REALLY long blog entry today.

In the summer of 2012 my best pal Mike was visiting us from Ontario for a week as he does most years.
One evening we decided to take in a Royals game over at their home field on Baseball Hill in Marysville. They were barely able to start the game before the clouds rolled in and a massive storm ensued.
The game was rained out and everyone was given a raincheck to be used for another game.
We were pretty busy and didn’t get a chance to get over for another game in the regular season.
The senior playoffs rolled around and we decided to get over to see one of the games.

Cheryl knew the guy who looked after the tickets and administration of the team so she sent him an email asking if the playoff game that night was going to be in Fredericton of away. We wanted to head over and use our rainchecks.
Nope, he replied. We weren’t allowed to use the rainchecks for the playoff games.
Oh, okay. No big deal. We’ll just use them next season then and pay for the playoff game.
Nope, they’re not good for next year he told her.
Pardon?? It didn’t say that anywhere on the raincheck that it wasn’t good for playoffs or the following season!

That’s just the way it is.
That left a bad taste in our mouth so in the summer of 2013 we saw exactly zero Senior Royals games.
Think about this.
We paid our full admissions to see a game that wasn’t played.
By refusing to allow us to use the rainchecks they saved the price of 2 adult and 2 student admissions that we would have used.
In doing so they lost a chance to gain the numerous admission fees that we would have paid in the summer of 2013 to see several games.
That doesn’t seem like very good business sense to me.
Maybe they didn’t even notice that we weren’t at any games in our usual spots that we watched the games from?
Perhaps someone did notice but has no idea of this backstory? Oh well.

Anyway, Phil has a great baseball mind and a really good style of coaching. If there’s a screw up he’ll deal with it but in a calm manner.
The boys had a pretty good season and a good time. They didn’t make it to the Regional playoffs or the Provincials but that was something to strive for again next season.
The best thing about the FHS ball was that B had a chance to play with and against guys that are AAA level and up to 4 years older than him. He did a good job.
Also, he made new pals in various grades at his new school.

The 2012-2013 hockey season was a wild ride. For the most part the boys had a good time and made more new friends.
These things are good for Cheryl and I as well for meeting new folks and making new friends.

One really cool thing during the season was that the coach of the Fredericton AA Canadiens saw B play and asked him to be an affiliate of the team for the season. This would allow him to play on that team if they ever needed a spare player for a game.
As it turned out they only called him up for one regular season game and the Provincial playoffs series.
Keep in mind that B had NEVER played in a game before that had bodychecking in it. The recreational levels don’t allow checking here.

He held his own pretty well though and wasn’t hurt at all. He gave some decent checks and took some doozys.
During the final Provincial playoff game a kid from the Oromocto team came over when B wasn’t paying attention and smoked him with a dirty shot to the head that put B on his back on the ice. It still hurts to watch the video I have.
Amazingly though, B stood right up and skated along as if nothing had happened and wasn’t injured at all!
The Oromocto kid got a major penalty for the headshot though.
Oh, the Canadiens won that game and became the Provincial champions!
What a great experience. That was the biggest sports victory our family has been involved in to date.

This spring B tried out and made the AA Bantam Royals team again.
T decided that he would play the summer hockey at Base Gagetown again but would sit the baseball out.
He did this a few years ago and came back to baseball so I wasn’t worrying about it. If he decided to come back to the game that would be great but it’s up to him.
As a matter of fact, T was dragged around all summer with us watching B’s games and decided that he will try out for the Midget AA team with B as well as the FHS team. He said that he had to go to the games anyway so he may as well try to get on the team to play.

This year the Bantam AA Royals came even closer than last year to winning in the Provincials.
Close doesn't count though and it doesn't make a kid feel better to tell him that “close” is pretty great too.
As the expression goes close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades.
Holy cow were we busy this summer though! We were everywhere.

I don’t know how or why but it seems that we had so many more teams to play against than last season. We played regular games in Taymouth, Miramichi, Saint John, Moncton, Sackville, Lancaster, Oromocto as well as tournaments in Sackville, Nova Scotia and Oromocto. I can’t imagine how much more travelling we would have done if the weather hadn’t been so lousy this summer. It seems that we were getting rained out constantly.

This year's Fredericton High School ball team was fantastic. There were a few of Grade 9 and 10 kids but unfortunately much of the stronger players were Grade 12 guys who will be leaving the school after this year.
This season was the last kick at the can for these guys and we were really hoping it would be the season they went all the way.
To tell you the truth, the division that FHS is in is very mismatched.

The strongest team for the last few years has been Leo Hayes High School which is in Fredericton as well but is across the river on the north side of town.
The rivalry between FHS Black Kats and the Leo Hayes Lions in everything has been thick for many years now.
Matches between the two schools are affectionately known as "The Battle of the Bridge" events.

We had a very difficult time against them last year. I don't believe we were able to beat them at all.
FHS didn't make the playoffs in 2012 but Leo Hayes went all the way to Regionals where they were beaten out.

I'm pretty certain that they were following the same path this season and won every game they played.
They beat us pretty soundly a few times.

When it came time for our division playoffs this year the games were to decide which two teams from our division would be heading to Saint John the following weekend for the Regional playoffs.
Leo Hayes being the division leader played the 4th (last) place team from Woodstock.
Woodstock didn't put up much of a fight. We beat them in every game we played against them.
It was sad to watch really. Woodstock would start off a game pretty solidly but when it came time to move into other pitchers and switch they just didn't have any real depth in their bullpen.
A game would just fall apart after a few innings for them.

We had a tougher time on our plates.
FHS was 2nd in the division over Oromocto but not by much.
In fact, last season Oromocto beat us in the playoffs and went to Regionals where they were beaten out in the first game.
One nice thing about these playoffs is that there was no "best of five" or "best of seven". The season is too short for all that and the weather is always a challenge.
When a team lost out they were done for the season. With the exception of the second Regional game. Both teams in this game were already heading to Provincials in Moncton the following weekend but the game would determine where each team would be placed in the ranking.

Our game against Oromocto was a close one and a tough battle.
One thing I find about most Oromocto teams we come up against is that they seem to be somewhat abrasive. There is far too much heckling and trash talk from their bench than I feel is warranted in these games. This has been in the AA summer ball as well as hockey too.
Thankfully, our guys don't retaliate. Rather than chirping the other team in a bad way our guys yell support to their own players. I've always been very proud that all of the teams our boys have played on have usually been this way.

In the playoff game Oromocto was loud and obnoxious for most of the game.
It made it that much sweeter when we beat them. They became pretty quiet after that.

So for the first time in several years the Fredericton High School Men's AAA baseball team was heading to the Regionals.
What would happen there was anyone's guess really. There were going to be two other very strong teams from the other Division to battle. It was not going to be easy.

On the Monday before the Regionals I was at a Parent School Support Committee meeting at the school.
I mentioned to the school principal how exciting it was that the baseball team was heading to Regionals!
He didn't have a clue what I was talking about. He, like most of the people at FHS, didn't pay any attention to the baseball teams. I should also mention that the school has a pretty great girl's softball team on which B's girlfriend is a player. They also headed to Saint John the same day but unfortunately were beaten out.
If it wasn't hockey or football most people in FHS didn't have a clue.
Which prompted me to send this tongue-in-cheek letter to the Editor of the Fredericton Daily Gleaner.
I tell people that I was "seriously joking" or "jokingly serious".

YES, FHS HAS A BASEBALL TEAM, AND THEY ARE AWESOME
THE DAILY GLEANER
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
03 OCT 2013 04:32PM
Re: FHS baseball

Here is a conversation with almost every student/staff/administrator at Fredericton High School.
“Hey! Great news about the FHS baseball team!”
“Oh yeah! Everyone at the school is totally thrilled about our football team.”
“No, the baseball team. After all these years, the FHS AAA men’s baseball team is going to the regional playoffs in Saint John this weekend!”
“No, you’re mistaken. They can’t be going to the playoffs already. The hockey season is barely getting started.”
“Baseball! I’m talking about baseball!”
“Ohhh right. Baseball. Yeah that’s awesome... Uh, FHS has a baseball team?”
Sigh...
Good luck guys! We’re proud of you no matter what happens.
I am a proud baseball dad.

Tim Scammell
New Maryland, N.B.

So off we went to Saint John.
Our game was against the Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders.
Just like the game against Oromocto, it started out very close.
Fortunately, our pitcher was a grade 12 guy who had been playing on the NB Selects for a few years as well as on a AAA team plus, had pitched for New Brunswick this past summer in the Canada Games.
He pitched a solid 6 innings but reached his pitch limit and had to be pulled out. We were well ahead by this point and it looked in the bag.
The reliever came in and everyone became a little nervous when he started out by walking several batters.
Eventually he settled into his groove and took care of business.
We ended up winning 7-2. B had a hit and an RBI.

I was wondering if B would perhaps consider pitching if it ever looked like the team would be strapped for pitchers.
He said that he would probably not and was happy being a great first baseman.

A strange thing happened with B this year with his pitching. I don't mean good strange either.
He had been a pretty solid pitcher for several years.
While playing for the AA team in the summer one of the coaches told us that he was going to have to change his pitching style or he would never last to pitch in Midgets next year.
He told B that he was going to have to change certain things in his pitching technique.
He told us that there was most likely going to be a rough spell where B would probably not throw very many strikes. It would get better though.
This didn't really happen. B had his rough spell but it didn't seem to ever end!
Even when B tried to throw his usual pitches as before he was not having much luck.
I'm afraid that this period has made him gun shy and he has lost his interest of pitching. I'm not going to force the issue with him. It will be a shame if a great leftie thrower like him never takes the mound again but if he chooses to hone his skills and be the best first baseman he can be then good for him. As long as he enjoys himself.

Anyway, we had locked in our spot for the Provincials in Moncton!

Leo Hayes played their game against a team that was lower than us in the ranking and actually came close to losing to them. The other team was starting to roar back with a nice rally before Leo Hayes managed to finally shut them down and win.

That meant that we had to play Leo Hayes that afternoon to determine where we would each be in the Provincial's ranks.
You know what? We almost beat them! We were ahead for most of the game when an error in our outfield allowed them three runs to take the lead. In the end they won 6-4.
We gave them a nice scare for the first time that I had seen in our games against them.

The Provincials the following weekend in Moncton were a Fredericton vs. Miramichi battle.
The ball field was the nicest one we have ever played on. I was very impressed. It's the field where Moncton's senior men's team plays their games and was completely renovated and refurbished fairly recently.

We played against James M. Hill in the first game of the day.
We had another of our grade 12 pitchers who had also played in the Canada Games. He did a great job.
Unfortunately we had six errors which ended up hurting us. There were also a few calls which raised many eyebrows and several tempers.
It was a really close game but we couldn't quite pull it off. We lost 5-4.
Of note, Leo Hayes ended up playing James M. Hill if the final game and lost 7-3.
What a great job our guys did though! For the first time in 14 years the FHS Black Kats went to the Provincial playoffs.
That's a heck of a lot to be proud of.
B played a great game and had the best baseball experience of his playing career.

That's B in number 6 heading to the plate.

This year for the first time we were still involved in a baseball season in the middle of October and enjoyed it!

Next year T has said he wants to try out again for the AA summer team and the FHS ball team. I was glad to hear this.
This will be very important since so many of the team will be graduating this year. We will need a few players to make a proper team. At least Leo Hayes will be in much the same boat with their senior players so hopefully the season will be a close matched one next year for FHS.

By making it to the Regionals and Provincials I am hoping that the school awareness of the baseball teams has increased and next year more people will show an interest in them.
B has just played his best season with the highest caliber of players that he has ever played with and against. He rose to the occasion and although didn't pitch he was the best first baseman out there.
He made a bunch of new friends and played for a great coach.

Plus, it's looking hopeful that next year I will finally get to see both of my star boys play baseball together again. I've missed that so much.

That's not bad at all, is it?

Stay well,
Tim

Wait! What Summer?

I can't believe it.
When we were driving home from Moncton the other day I glanced over at some trees near the highway and saw a whole lot of leaves that were already changing colour.

For crying out loud. There are still 2 weeks left in August! The boys are still on summer vacation.

I have to say that this summer has been one of the more disappointing ones in terms of the weather.
The sun would be out on days that we had nothing in particular going on but many days that the boys had a baseball game the rain would blast down and ruin everything.

What's worse is that on a few occasions it rained like crazy in the morning and stopped by midday.
By then it was too late to try and prepare the ball field for a game that night even if it could dry out enough to play a game.

Last night was supposed to be their last regular season game before the end of year tournament this weekend. But, it poured rain yesterday morning and the game was cancelled.
That sucks. We have all been very disappointed when this has happened.

As you know, we love our baseball and I REALLY look forward to watching my guys play.
On top of this, there were 2 games that we were supposed to play that were cancelled because they couldn't find an umpire!
How sad is that?

I'm ashamed to say this but there were a couple of times that I had to leave when the game was in progress in order to be at Council related meetings.

In fact, do you recall my last post? The one about that idiot spouting off at Council about what he felt was the right way to build a road?

That was one of those nights that I had left the boys' ball game to be at that meeting.

I didn't mention this in the last post but what was going through my head when that goof was talking (apart from wanting to tell him where the door was, and for him to use it right away) was that I was sitting there listening to that rubbish while my sons were playing baseball.
And that really ticked me off. The straw that broke the camel's back and provided me with some clarity, if you will.

I guess I'm mentioning this so that the blog I will be posting in the near future won't come as a real surprise to anyone reading it.
A couple of people already know what's coming but I'll leave it at that for now.

For now I'm going to cross my fingers that the weather decides to be nice to us this weekend so that we can at least have a decent conclusion to the lads' ball season.

Stay well,
Tim

Stuffing

I'm stuffing the blog with this post and our family is stuffing this week.
We are stuffed with things to do and I really don't think we could fit any more in.
I'm not complaining though. It's an awesome week.

I'll start with Sunday. Even though the weather wasn't the greatest it was a great day.
Coincidentally, it was Father's Day.
I don't think that I have mentioned this but the boys have started their summer hockey league and have already played 3 of the 10 games.
I'm the main coach of the team.

This is the league that mixes all levels of boys and girls from beginner to Triple A. The biggest rule is that they have fun. Another rule that I greatly admire is that any one player is only allowed to score 3 goals in a game. If they score 4, they get a penalty and the goal doesn't count.

Our team hasn't started off so well. We've actually been pounded in each game so far. We're trying to be positive about the whole thing but I can't help but notice how mismatched the teams are.
I won't dwell on it but there was some shiftiness when the teams were being selected by some who have been doing this for a while and enjoy winning more than some other people do.
Not to worry, we were told that if the teams are eneven that there will be a realignment soon. We'll see.
Honestly? I don't care. I like the kids we have on our team and would prefer not to lose any of them for the sake of a few more goals.

Anyhoo, the kids played a game on Sunday evening and I enjoyed it. Even though we lost.

My father and step-mother made it out which was great.
They are very busy folks and don't really live very close to us so it becomes difficult for getting together.

After the game the boys, Cheryl, my dad and step-mother and myself headed over to Swiss Chalet in Fredericton for a late dinner.
We were pretty hungry by this time and fortunately the Father's Day mobs were long gone when we arrived. We practically had the whole place to ourselves. Sweet.

The next item of awesomeness (awesomeality, awesomeivity?) is that our Baseball season started last night! I'm an assistant coach this season.
It feels like so long since we last played. Actually it has been a long time.
We've been having practices but gametime is where it gets good.

The team that we played last night was actually the team that we beat in the final game last season.
They were pretty good but didn't seem to have what they had last season. Not yet anyway. The season has just started and much can, and likely will change.
Our guys won 14-4 which set a good tone to start the season off.

As always, we were very proud of T and B.

The pitching duties were divided into two innings each. B played first base and was the second pitcher on the mound.
At first he let a couple of pitches get away and seemed to be getting a little upset but managed to rein it in and bring his focus back all by himself.
He pitched two solid innings.

T was outstanding on third base and center field.
One huge shot was smacked out toward him and would certainly have been a triple. That is, if T wasn't on the job. He made it look easy as he jogged over and pulled the ball out of the air to make the out.

How did these guys get so good? I don't remember being that good. :)

Continuing in my awesome week, TODAY is my birthday.
I know that you Facebook pals out there already know because I spent quite a while this morning thanking everyone who posted birthday wishes on my wall.
Thanks again everyone. I have the best friends in the world.

For my birthday present, I want a nice sunny day outside and to watch my sons play baseball again.
What luck! It's a lovely sunny day out right now. I hope it stays that way for another 7 hours or so.
And look! There just happens to be a baseball game scheduled for tonight in Nackawic. Nice.
We have never played against a team from Nackawic before and have no idea what to expect. Nackawic is a mill town and for all we know the baseball players will all be lumberjacks built like Paul Bunyan. :D
It will be fun no matter what.

Nackawic is about halfway from my office to Fredericton so I will be meeting my crew at the ball field near the big axe.
It's true! Go here and see for yourself! It's the world's biggest axe. It's huge.

Town of Nackawic

After the game if all goes well, we'll be celebrating the victory and having birthday cake at my dad's house a short distance along the river from Nackawic.

That's a pretty amazing week isn't it? And it's only Tuesday. :)

Tomorrow we just happen to have another hockey game at Base Gagetown.

As thrilled as I am at how this week is working out but the boys are more thrilled than I am.

This is their last week of school.
Grade 7 is a wrap.

Holy moley, wasn't it just recently that I posted about their first day at Middle School? Two years can't be done already can they? They are? Wow.

I distinctly remember asking very politely for time to slow down just a little bit to let me keep up.
I suppose that's not going to happen.

I'll just try to enjoy the ride then.


Stay well,
Tim

We had a ball

This is very exciting for us.
Last weekend the boys' baseball team won the championship in the Pee Wee Rec division. This was the first time that they have been on a team that has gone all the way to win the whole thing at the end.
And what a strange and amazing season it was.
Our son T actually gave up baseball a couple of years ago and decided to focus on tennis. His brother B has stuck with baseball the entire time but has also enjoyed dabbling in tennis as well.
What's amazing is that both boys have always been quite good at both sports even though they were each only really involved in one of them.


Over the past couple of years I watched T whenever the three of us would throw a ball around or do some hitting for fun. What a great little player he is! I always thought it such a waste it was that he wasn't on the team with B.
I would comment to him here and there that he should reconsider and play baseball in addition to his tennis. He didn't bite.
T was always an awesome supporter though. He was always at the games with us and constantly calling support to his brother and the others in the field. I was very proud of this.


Then something happened a couple of months ago.
My wife was the team manager and persuaded T to come out and participate in a baseball practice. She told him that over the course of the season there were going to be several occasions where some other team members were going to be on holidays and unable to play in games leaving us short of players and possibly risking forfeiting games.
It would be great if he could play at these times to help the team out.
That week he went out to practice with the team and played like an all-star! He was smoking at bat, firing the balls on target when he blasted them from the outfield and snagging almost everything that came his way!
It was amazing to watch.
This certainly did not go unnoticed by the coach Pierre.
At the end of the practice a few of the team members and coach asked T to please consider playing on the team full time.
And then our second baseball star was back. Cheryl and I were so happy.
I know now that T is happy with his decision too.


This may sound a little dramatic but if T didn't come onto the team they may not have won the championship. This was also pointed out by one of the coaches.
It's a long story but I'll try to explain.


The tournament consisted of 2 games on Friday, 2 games on Saturday and the Championship game on Sunday between the top two teams of the tournament up to that point.

Before I do this I have to mention something called the "pitch count". For those unfamiliar with it this is a rule of baseball that restricts the number of pitches a player is allowed to throw within a certain time frame.
I'm not certain of its origins but I know that when I was younger there was no such rule. When a good pitcher was found they were kept in the game and threw until they couldn't throw anymore.
As a result many young players suffered injuries and premature deterioration of their arms and shoulders.
This is a pretty good website of the American Sports Medicine Institute which explains it pretty well. http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/usabaseball.htm
The league that the boys are in uses Baseball Canada's pitch count rules.
For their age group (Pee Wee - age 12-13) if the pitcher throws 30 or less pitches in a game they don't need any rest before pitching in another game.
For 31-45 piches they must have a full days rest before piching again.
46-60 pitches requires two days rest, 61-75 requires three days rest, 76-85 requires four days rest and states that they are not allowed to pitch more than 85 pitches in a single game.


This would turn out to be a critical factor in the way the tournament played out.


I should mention that B has been a solid pitcher for a few years now and I am proud to say that quite often he was the one the coaches have turned to for turning the game around or shutting down the other side to seal the win.
This didn't come without effort on his part. Almost every day he comes to me asking if I want to play catch in the backyard with him. T joins us quite often.
Some days I am so tired from the day or in anticipation of a Council meeting or event of some kind that I have coming up that I can barely lift my glove.
But I think of that scene in "Field of Dreams" where Kevin Costner asks the ghost of his father " Hey... Dad? You wanna have a catch?" and I choke up and get my glove on.
No meeting or work day is worth missing that, is it?


The coach told B a long time ago that throwing a ball as often as he can would improve his pitching. He was quite right and everyone noticed.
B is also a terrific first baseman but I think he prefers being a pitcher.


T tried his hand at pitching a couple of times earlier in the season but was somewhat discouraged when he didn't do as well as he would have liked. As a result he played in the infield and outfield where his rocket arm was put to good use.


Back to the pitch thing.
You can understand the predicament that coaches are often faced with with a smaller stable of pitchers to choose from in a game when their best arms are forced to rest.
I have to give our team's coaches a ton of credit for planning the tournament pitching the way that they did although I think some of it was a roll of the dice.
Realizing on Friday that the team would need to keep their best pitcher's counts low in order to blast on Saturday as well, Pierre called T in to the mound in the first game.
I don't think T was too pleased about it initially but it soon became clear that he had a made a good choice and T was certainly up to the task.
He ended up pitching most of the game and almost the maximum number of pitches allowed and shut the other team down!
Imagine our surprise! And his too. :)
This made an enormous difference in the way the rest of the weekend went. Here's how it played out.


They ended up winning the first 2 games on Friday against Minto Heat and the Fredericton A’s and a Saturday win against the Fredericton Blue Jays and loss to the Fredericton Red Sox.
However, the number of runs against them resulted in a first place finish going into the Championship game on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the other teams, the run count ended up with a tie for second place between Minto and Fredericton Red Sox requiring a tie breaking game to be played that morning before the Championship game.


I can only imagine the frustration of the coaches of these teams trying to figure out what to do.
Do they put their strongest pitching in the tie-breaker game which would limit or eliminate the ability to pitch in the final?
Or do they hold back the strongest arms and run the risk of losing and not even making it into the last game?
The Minto Heat opted with the first choice. They have one kid who is almost unbeatable. His arm is amazing. If they could have used him in both games it's possible that they may have won the whole thing but rules are rules.
Our coaches moved around players and planned the pitching in a way that B would be able to go the distance in the Championship game.
T wasn't able to pitch again after the first game but that didn't matter. He had done his job and earned the rest. What a guy. :)


Even without Minto's strongest pitcher the outcome of the game was uncertain.
Another of our lads started as pitcher and did a good job of keeping the game close.
B came to the mound and threw everything he had at them.


I want to mention something here. B can be very hard on himself at times.
On several occasions you could see the tension building in him if he threw pitches that weren't too good.
Often this would lead to the pitches getting worse and the frustration increasing. A vicious cycle that a kid can't get out of if he gets too far into it.
In fact, last season I almost blew my top at the coaches for their habit of stranding a poor kid out there on the mound until he was beyond recovery.
They wouldn't say anything or do anything or even show emotion to him. Just let him get deeper and deeper into despair.
In my opinion, all a coach has to do if he sees the cycle starting is to walk out to the mound and just have a quick chat with the pitcher. Get his mind away from the bad pitches. Ask the kid how he feels, how his day is going.
Heck, even tell the kid a joke!
Just let the kid know that your on their side and you believe in them no matter what.
That's all it takes and I believe that wholeheartedly.


What I found with B was that if I just talked to him from whereever I was and offered words of encouragement he could pull himself back and fire heat right into the strike zone.
I just say "That's okay pal, you're doing great", "Just pretend that we're throwing the ball in the backyard", "You're doing okay pal, just focus on your spot and try to hit it" and "No pressure at all. It's all good" and he seems to relax a bit.
Last year when I did that the coach said "Don't say anything! You're making him nervous!"
I almost lost it! But T and I both continued with our words of encouragement to B as he did his best out there.


Anyway, this is how it worked on Sunday. A couple of times B would throw a ball past the catcher and a man would steal home and score. B looked upset at things but came back to the task at hand.
It was supposed to be 7 inning game where their usual games are only 5.
However there was a rule that if one team was beating the other by 10 runs the mercy rule came into affect and the game was over.
Also, innings 1-5 had a limit of 5 runs per team. When that was reached that half of the inning was done and they switched.
Innings 5, 6, and 7 were open ended meaning a team could score as many as they could except if the 10 run mercy rule applied.
Thankfully, our guys went up 25-15 in their half of the 5th inning and were declared the winners.
I say thankfully because Sunday was so hot and sticky and uncomfortable that every living creature was looking for shady relief.
Those kids did a heck of a job out there in that heat.
Our last run was gained by our guy stealing from 3rd base to home.


What a happy little bunch of monkeys those guys were! Even though they were almost totally drained from the heat.
And we were all so proud of them for an excellent season well done.


Later on that evening I was chatting with B and asked him "When you're out there pitching and I say something to you, do you hear me?"
"Yep", he answered.
"Does it help you?" I asked.
"It sure does. I'm really happy that you say things to me when I'm playing."


There you go. Through all the noise he can hear me talking to him.
That made me pretty darn happy to hear.


I'd like to imagine that if they face a time in their lives that things aren't going so well and they start feeling down that the boys hear me saying "That's okay pal, you're doing great!" to them and it pulls them back up to get the job done.


Now, on to hockey! :)

Stay well,
Tim