Another Chapter Ends

 All good things must come to an end. If you’re lucky, you can choose your own ending. I chose my exit time when I left my classroom behind and now I’m choosing my time to exit the field. And that time is now.

Part of life is leaving it behind, and endings are always bittersweet. I will undoubtedly miss working with my friends and players. I have yet to address the nagging worry that with nothing to do that is exactly what I will get done. I’ll save the “inside softball” thinking about the decision and its timing for the end if you’re interested, but, if you know me at all, you know I espouse multiple causation and reject simplistic answers in favor of simply complicated. So it will not be a short section.

What I want to share today is simply a reflection on another aspect of my life where I have been blessed beyond what I deserve. I’ve detailed elsewhere the accidental/serendipitous path I took to becoming a coach, a path I’ve traveled for 35 years now, a path that has afforded me true, lifelong friendships, joy and purpose. 

And hope for the future of my community and nation. I’ve been touched by so many remarkable young women, been privileged to share a segment of their lives that reinforces my faith in humanity and the future. No matter what was happening in the world around me, I always had “my girls.” As politically incorrect as it may be, they will always be “my girls” no matter how successful and accomplished they have, or will, become.

Thank you ladies (and your parents), for allowing me to share with you this small part of your life journey. I love you all.

Why now? 

• Although not identical, the reasoning behind my departure from a regular classroom is parallel to my decision to give up my own classroom. (Click here to read that analogous piece.) 

• 2020 – For better and (maybe) worse, my style, such as it is, was up close and personal. I like to think my most effective coaching (softball and otherwise) came on the bus rides and conversations from the games. My girls tolerated sharing a seat as we talked about their game that day, and anything else that surfaced. Obviously, 2020 precluded that; we didn’t TAKE even a single bus. Close-in conversations were rare to non-existent. (I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a special note of thanks to my last squad for their compliance with masking; I took their care and concern personally and appreciated it accordingly.) While the thought of retiring had been percolating for some time, 2020 was certainly a disincentive to continuing.

• I was blessed to have been befriended by Tim Cerutti and to spend five years working together. Being in the same (age) cohort and sharing a philosophy of life and temperament made the relationship special. His death this spring created an unfillable void. Tim was actually the third coach/friend/mentor to die during my career, but I’m following his (and our shared) mantra of “Choose Happy” – my Rule #1: “You don’t get a discount on the Happy Meal just because you’re not.” But it just wasn’t as much fun without him. That was no surprise.

• Thanks to the leadership of our head coach, Bryan Gibson, and the commitment of many community leaders, Webster has built a softball program that expanded to 3 full teams even as other communities were and are struggling to field even a JV team. 2020 also shelved the WGBSL rec league this spring and the “Feeder” team that funneled girls into the program. I feel safe in predicting we won’t have sufficient numbers for three teams next year (I’d love to be wrong about that). We’ve recently added some new, young, female coaches who may represent the future of the program. It’s time for me to get out of the way and not block their development and connection with the program.

• My wife and I have things we want to do and places we want to go that are best done either during the Fall softball season or the Summer pre-season. Not that we didn’t know it before, but 2020 has reinforced doing what you can while you are still physically able. 

• We’ve been making a conscious effort to de-junk, even before the inspiration of the COVID-quarantine. I’ll be passing along most of my coaching wardrobe, thus freeing up significant closet/storage space, because Bryan Gibson and WG always reinforced the belief that looking good was part of good performance). 

• But mostly I’m tired, struggling to summon the energy the prepare for games and practices. To be clear, it was never the kids, never the parents, never the administration, never the varsity or JV coaching staff that wore me out; on the contrary, it was those groups that energized me to continue as long as I did. In many ways this was the longest short season, but even last year Tim and I both were forced to admit that our energies were not always sufficient to meet the demands to do the job in a way that would live up to our standards. As those who know me can attest, modesty is not a dominant quality for me. I know what I can bring to the party on any given day. While I might fool some people with my 80%, it’s not good enough, not good enough for me to be satisfied and continue. Even if I still have (or ever had) an “A Game,” I can’t always bring it. Time to move aside.

I may not have been all that mindful when I started the job, but the least I can do is make a mindful decision about when it’s time to go. So it’s time to say good-bye, and thank you, thank you for 35 years and close to 50 different teams in two school districts, Hancock Place and Webster Groves.

Apropos of nothing, as I typed this I realized that every school with which I have been regularly associated had at least two names.

#Blessed.

                                                          -30-

Finish Strong: WG 14, Ft. Zumwalt West 4

“I’ve been workin’ on a rewrite, that’s right, gonna change the ending….”

As we trailed 4-0 going into the bottom of the fourth inning against a strong opponent, I was composing my lead and headline, thinking about T.S. Eliot’s “This is how the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.” But the JV Black Statesmen did their own rewrite and redefinition of the Big Bang Theory, forcing me to do a rewrite as they changed the ending, racing past the Jaguars of Ft. Zumwalt West with an 8-run answer, adding 5 more in the fifth inning and sending our guests hobbling home, reeling with the mercy-rule clincher in the sixth.

Ten games ago, JV Black’s record stood at 7-7. The girls closed their season with a 16-8, mark, winning 9 of their last 10. This was truly another team win and featured contributions from 15 of the 16 players (including three from our Orange squad) dressed for the contest (and that player, Faith Lowry, was ready to go in the circle if needed). 

As Coach Cerutti headed to the bench in the bottom of the fourth he was working on his pep talk. He decided it wasn’t needed. He was right. This team doesn’t quit, not on a game, not on each other. The end-of-season celebration, moved from Serendipity to Fro-Yo, was sweet, joyous, and well deserved. In the next couple days I’ll post a season-ending wrap up, but, for now, enjoy the box score and the memory of this come-from-behind season-ending victory over a good FZW squad.

Go, go, get ‘em…. They went and got ‘em.

Soggy Weather, Crisp Game. WG 7, NW 3

Raindrops kept fallin’ on our heads, they kept fallin’…. Much to our surprise, it was “Game On!” And so the girls played on. As Coach Cerutti described it, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team do a better job of making the weather irrelevant.” When the umpires called the game (official, 4 2/3 innings) because the playing conditions had moved from sloppy to something between unplayable and dangerous, we had tamed the dangerous Northwest Lions, 7-3. 

If you can play “crisp” ball in a swamp, well, that’s what we did. No errors, only two walks by Olivia Leaver (to the last two batters of the game before the Umps called the whole thing off) who notched her fourteenth win as Nic Rikand (2 RBI) prepared to come in. Taylor Smith backed that pitching with some great work at short and Caitlyn Boyle sped past her own (JV) stolen base record, set last year, with three steals to put her at 42 with one game left to play.

It is worth mentioning, I think, as our penultimate game put us at 15-8 for the season, that not that long ago our record stood at 7-7. The girls have done a great job of improving as individuals and as a team. Couldn’t be prouder of them and I will admit they exceeded my expectations. 

No school or practice tomorrow. We close out our season (although some will serve as a “practice squad” to help the varsity prepare for districts) Monday against what we expect to be a very good Ft. Zumwalt West squad. But win, lose, or draw, we will celebrate our success at Serendipity following the game. Apologies (sorry, not sorry) if I spoil their dinner appetites. Oh, and thanks to all those who cheered us on in the rain today. Your support did not go unnoticed.

Another Unsuccessful Crusade: WG 11, CJ 0

Can you play a good game against a not good team? Yes, you can. You do it by playing your game at your speed and not playing down to their level, which is what we did today against the Crusaders of Cor Jesu. Like most of the battles of the real Crusades, the battles were kind of one-sided and generally the Crusaders didn’t fare so well. Which sort of begs the question of why pick that as your mascot….

In any case, I suggested to the girls that they should put BTO’s “Taking Care of Business” on their warm up playlist. I only suggested the song; Coach Cerutti knew the group. He also gets credit for calling the play that resulted in the defensive highlight, a “strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out” double play to end the second inning and curtail a first-and-third threat with a strong throw from Marko to T. Smith at second.

Strong pitching in the circle from O and Nic. Our biggest struggle was waiting on the s-l-o-w offerings of CJ’s (not Muggs) pitcher. Friday and Morgan (helpfully batting in the 2 & 3 holes) stung the ball all four times, accounting for 7 hits and 7 runs between. Friday was our POG.

I apologize for not getting more pix on the blog. Please check back, maybe tomorrow, for today’s game and yesterday’s, but my energy is slipping away faster than the hours on the clock. So, far now, here’s the box score and the brackets for Saturday’s Fox JV Tournament. Friday will be a short practice, focusing on hitting. Given that weather is turning cooler, it may not mean as much but the girls can wear shorts for practice on Friday.

Surfin' Safari, Riding the Waves to an Easy Win: WG 21, Festus 3

It’s JV Softball and the one thing you know is that you never know. We travelled south to Festus down a player (freshman 3B Morgan Lawrence, who was ill), prepared to try to cage some tough Tigers. 

The safari ended quickly, if not officially, when we put up a 7-spot in the top of the first and Olivia Leaver, with defensive help from Taylor Smith who slid over to third from short, put up a quick zero. We added on each inning, and except for a field goal in the second quarter, I mean inning, clamped down on defense and walked, ran and hit our way to a 21-3 win, as Nicola Rikand threw two hitless innings to close things out. 

With hits up and down the lineup and speed putting pressure on the Tigers’ defense, it was just a matter of time before we decamped back to STL with our eighth win and pushed our record back over the .500 mark.

Hazelwood West comes to visit Tuesday and we head over to Affton Athletic Association to take on Cor Jesu in what we expect to be competitive games before prepping for the Fox JV Tournament next weekend. But the girls get this weekend, a long one because we’re including tomorrow in it, off and resume practice on Monday. Lots of noise and energy today as the girls cheered and supported each other and made Coach Kate’s bus ride a worthwhile trip.

The camera never escaped the backpack today, so the only pic we have is from a warm up game the girls invented (to practice their ABCs) as we waited for the bus.

This game, getting all the way through the alphabet song before the crumpled paper bag hit the ground proved slightly more challenging than our opponents today. See you at the field on Tuesday.

Five in a Row -- Hancock Tournament Champs

Looking at the brackets for Saturday’s Hancock Tournament there was some hope that both Orange and Black would be playing for plastic in the final game. We didn’t play each other, but Orange did have a shot at the Consolation Bracket trophy. Unfortunately, the host Tigers came back to score four runs (with two out) to snatch that plastic.

Our road was smoother, although it looked fraught because Notre Dame had salted their roster with a varsity pitcher. I thought that our second game would actually be the championship tilt because of that and because I doubted Valley Park, a small school with a pretty good program, could have enough to compete.

With Nic Rikand in the circle, we made short work of the Lady Gators from Gateway Science, a (relatively) new school and nascent softball program, 17-2. Taylor Knapp muscled up with her first home run and catcher Sarah (Sockeye) Sammon cleared the bases with a triple to close out the scoring in the bottom of the second in this mismatch.

For the first inning and two outs into the second, the game against the Notre Dame Rebels (who apparently have no understanding of irony in mascot choices) the game was as advertised. Then Myah King, to paraphrase that famous country western song, “ripped out their heart and stomped that sucker flat” with a monster HR well over the 215 foot fence. There was no rebel yell after that. We added five more runs in the third and Notre Dame surrendered. Six runs each in fourth and fifth shut the door behind the combined shutout of Taylor Knapp (who picked up her 16^th win) and Nic Rikand, 18-0.

In the championship contest we faced a school we’d never seen, the Hawks from Valley Park. Although we were initially told there would be no time limit, that was contradicted by the umpiring supervisor when we were briefly delayed when one of the Blue became ill. That rule reversal seemed to discombobulate the VP coach, although by that time it seemed to me she needed to worry more about the run rule than the time limit; a line drive double play with the bases loaded prematurely ended the second inning, but our run total was still 14 after three innings. The Hawk pitcher struggled with the strike zone which slowed the game to a crawl. In any case, the final closed after three and a half innings, 14-4, and we had our fifth straight Hancock championship.

It may be time to move on, although I expect we will come back to the pack next year, but if we continue to have 3 teams, this tournament probably makes more sense for Orange, which showed it could compete. Just one of the many decisions we need to make about the program in the weeks and months ahead.

A couple more notes before sharing box scores (including, New This Year! a composite box for the three games) and some more Karen Smith pictures. As is our tradition, our lineup is statistical, not strategic. The girls with the fewest plate appearances over the course of the season bat at the top and the girls with the most at the bottom. That has been questioned in the past, but one of the reasons for our success has been that we have a depth to our lineup that few JV squads can match. Game after game we have generated offense from the bottom of our order – no easy innings for the opposition. Our other advantage is that we have catchers. It's one thing to have a pitcher, but catchers who can save wild pitches, avoid passed balls, and throw out runners trying to steal is a tremendous asset. Marko and Sockeye provided that for us, and Emmy Gary showed she’s much more than competent as an emergency #3 receiver.

We still have two games to go, including the season finalé against the Pioneers at Kirkwood on Tuesday, but this team has been remarkable. Not just its 19-1 record, but in their support for teammates and cohesion, their love of the game and each other. It’s been a remarkable year. I’ll revisit this in the season wrap up, but this also seems an appropriate time to mention it.

Nicola Rikand won her second game, makes the throw to first on a tap back to her.

Welcome back, Zoe Weik. This is how a bunter/slapper gets that run home from third -- and herself to first.

Myah King's bomb (her fifth overall, fourth over the fence) broke a scoreless tie and Rebel Hearts.

When you're happy for your teammate. Love those smiles.

No option to ask for the headphones and instant replay. Caitlyn was called out. She wasn't. It didn't matter.

Sockeye Sammon easily beats the throw home. Blue got this one right.

Taylor (Don't Call Me Swift) Smith continues to drive the ball. And the search for a good nickname goes on....

Sarah Sammon lays down a perfect sacrifice bunt against the Valley Park Hawks in the first inning.

Rival Redux: Webster 10, Kirkwood 9

   Darn those Pioneers! This well-coached team (we get to play them again later in the season) refused to quit, came back to not only tie, but take the lead – twice! But guess who else refused to quit – the Statesmen! Even after K-wood scored in the top of the 8^th to go up 7-6, our team willed itself to a victory.

I am tired, but not so lazy that I can’t write new copy. The above paragraph is from LAST YEAR’s game against Kirkwood’s Pioneers (which ended 8-7; this year’s score was 10-9). What’s that expression, “Déjà vu all over again”? That’s what Kirkwood’s coach thought. In many ways, this was high school softball at its finest. The umpires concurred. “Best game I’ve had this year,” said both of them. Rival programs battling it out with heart and respect for their opponent. Sportsmanship prevailing (and isn’t sportsmanship essentially respect?).

Of course, in other ways, this was our most poorly played game of the year (I was going to say “arguably” but there really was no argument when I opened the post-mortem with, “Nice win, ladies, but we kind of sucked.”). Lots of mistakes on the field and on the bases (and one could argue in the 3^rd base coaching box). But the character of this team was revealed by its attitude (r-e-s-p-e-c-t) toward each other; no slumped shoulders, no pointed fingers, no recrimination, no cliquey huddles, just whose turn to pick us up? What fun to watch, what fun to coach.

Highlights? You want highlights? Yes, there were a few, and, then again, not too few to mention. Caitlyn Boyle (Yes, I’m going to bunt. What are you going to do about it?) had four hits and made two nice catches in RF (plus always being in the right place on throws to 1B). Alyssa Moran added a double and a triple to her extra base hit collection. Myah King cleared the fence by plenty for her third HR – no pressure, just the bottom of the seventh down by a run – which generated her third intentional walk (that HAS to be a JV record) when she came up in the eighth. Get used to it Myah. That loaded the bases, thanks to two well-worked walks by our 8 and 9-hole batters, “Lids” Beggs and “Friday” Graning.

Intentional walks don’t work if there’s protection behind the hitter, and for the second game in a row, “Marko” made the opposition pay, this time with a bases clearing bolt to the right center gap to drive in the walk off winner (It would have been yet another triple for her, but we only needed two runs, and I would guess she’s probably pretty happy getting credit of a double.) Shortstop Nicola Rikand made an eye-popping dive and throw to get the Pioneer leadoff batter in the top of the eighth, helping to limit their damage to just one run. And TK notched her 13^th win in the circle, keeping her composure (and helping her teammates keep theirs) despite 6 unearned runs.

Another team win. Going into “Sophomore Day” next Tuesday against Pattonville, our record stands at 13-1. We also have Lindbergh’s Flyers at home on Wednesday and travel to Bug Heaven (Northwest Cedar Hill – scouting report says, “Pack the Deet”) on Thursday. The latter two games are both winnable and losable and each should provide another good test. Whether we prevail or not, we now know this Statesmen team will not quit. And thanks to Karen Smith for these great pix!

That score is about to change in the bottom of the seventh. A no-doubter, "She Gone!" (apologies to the Hawk Harrelson)

Myah King gets her deserved Hero's welcome after belting her third home in two games.

What happens when you walk Myah King? Marko happens -- to the fence in right center for a walk off winner!

And another deserved hero's welcome. But these girls also know that none of this happens without the work of their teammates who created the opportunity for victory.