04/20/2026
Expect the unexpected. Our Jr Wolves team won the White Division Gold Bracket Championship. We did it with only 9 players. Hang in there cause this is going to be a long post. On the baseball side. We were missing our first basemen and best pitcher... so we had to have a back up (who has hardly played first) fill in... that same player pitched a lot this weekend and was the difference maker on Sunday. He also, hit one to the fence, 5 ft from a HR. We picked up 2 guest players, both pitched and hit really well. Their pitching put us in positions to win games when we needed it. They had great attitudes and were a wonderful blessing to our team for weekend. Our main catcher really stepped up on Sunday with great defense in the latter games getting 2 runners out at home, blocking balls in the dirt and getting multiple big hits for us. Our shortstop had to play first and made great plays there included coming off the bag to jump tag a runner. He also hit a stand up triple with a one hopper to the fence. I was most impressed with our outfield. Our centerfielder made the best diving catch I've seen while coaching. Our right fielder caught the highest and farthest hit (that stayed in the park) that I've also ever seen.... He made catches out in Right that earlier in the year he never made. Our left fielder got really good hits against ace pitchers and that is really good as he is playing up a level. Our second basemen hit the ball consistently hard all weekend and made the final play of the championship game to close it out.
Now the player's insider part of the weekend: Be careful what you say... it may come true... On Sunday, during an AB in our first game... we had a runner at third... the score was close and the player who was at bat heard his dad shout from beyond the fence... "I'll give you 10 bucks for basehit here!"- well the player hits a grounder to first base.... like right on top of first base.... for some reason, the first basemen just could not pick up the ball.... he tried multiple times... eventually our player made it to first! He looked immediately in the direction of his dad and said, "thank you! I'll gladly take that 10 bucks!" Then... I said to the team during the first of possible 3 games... that if we win the whole thing, Id buy them pizza... well... be careful what you wish for... we won... and they had a blast eating pizza and my wallet is a bit lighter.
Devotion time: The biggest blessing of the day came after the biggest challenge. Our second game was tough because it was against a team we knew nothing about with players we were evenly matched with. There were some coach confrontations and controversial calls... but we won.... so we had a chance to go be alone near the creek and have a devotional talk.. It is Sunday and we know that many of our players normally go to church then... so if it is possible we try to work in a devotion... but it's important to note that players are there for baseball, not God... so I try to tread lightly on saying things are "true" and instead tell players they must figure things out for themselves and to talk with their parents. With that said, we talked about the Bible where the New Jerusalem is basically a large Minecraft cube made out of Jasper (lol look it up). That it is a place where God wipes away every tear and there is no more crying. I said, they made it to the championship game... there is no crying there.... we made it... play free... play loose... have fun. They seemed to get it. If a pitcher started to loose the fun aspect of his pitching, Id yell "Minecraft!" and it helped him keep perspective.
Now the coach's insider part of the weekend: in the Tri-Cities, so many teams get to know each other... they meet on the field and are put in pressure cooker situations and only really get a chance to build their relationships in those settings... it can be good... it can also be really tough. Some of the toughest conversations I have had as a head coach have come from the confrontational moments. So it helps when you have a peer coach that you get to know outside of the field. A certain coach has been that for me... after a weekend tournament, I really look forward to brain dumping, processing the "shoulda woulda coulda" type thoughts with him. Us coaches can get stuck in our heads so it helps to think things through a bit with another coach who gets it. This weekend that fellow coach was in the division with us... we got a chance to play the team twice and it was so fun.... because we didn't have to worry about offending each other... we played hard... played to win... but it was fun... the kind of fun you have in the backyard playing wiffleball with the neighbor kids until sunset. I have had a lot of ups and downs as a coach and I feel like I'm still learning... but this weekend it seems like all those trials paid off, into one fantastic redemptive memory that I will cherish for a lifetime. Thank you Jr Wolves family (and extended family) for believing in me, sticking by me.. .and achieving the first ever Gold Bracket Championship in Jr Wolves history. -if you read this far... thank you for caring.
