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13-year-old All-Stars live up to title
Last week I mentioned that one of the things I found most refreshing about coming home to Atmore was the fact that, while a lot had changed, I found many things around town to be the same way they were when I was a kid growing up here. I’m happy to say that after two weeks of bouncing around town, I feel even more strongly about that statement. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are the ones that were made playing summer league baseball. From tee ball to Babe Ruth, every summer my friends and I fought it out on the diamonds of Tom Byrne Park. Sometimes we would end up together on the All-Star team at the end of the year and sometimes we wouldn’t. But every year we played hard, almost every year my coaches were my dad and one of my uncles and every year it was tons of fun.
I had the privilege of getting to know some of the coaches, parents and players on the 13- year-old All-Star team this year as I followed them from their district championship win in Brewton to the state tournament in Demopolis. Not much has changed since I played. What I found was a great group of kids who played hard and as a team. I also saw coaches, many of whom were parents of players, who were devoting their spare time to giving their children and their children’s friends baseball memories of their own. I also saw a loyal group of parents and fans who tirelessly went to game after game to support the team. When it was time for me to go about sorting out statistics and who caught and hit what ball, I found that when I was confused or in a jam, Mr. Murray Johnson is still the man to see and still cares enough to take countless numbers of my phone calls and emails.
As I watched this team over the last two weekends I remembered why I love doing this job. It wasn’t work, it was just fun. I too got wrapped up in the drama of the sport and had to remind myself, at times, to quit rooting for the team and start taking notes and pictures. As fun as it is to watch baseball, however, it wasn’t the sport alone that made this group of games so interesting to me. It was the specific group of players I was watching. For those who didn’t get a chance to see this year’s 13-year-old All-Stars, I can tell you that what you missed was nothing short of heroic.
In Brewton, after a tough loss, this group of players waited patiently for almost an hour as an electrical problem was resolved. No one complained. No one wanted to go home. They just waited. Afterwards, the boys came together and won the game. The next day, after dealing with the commute back to Atmore and, no doubt, less sleep than the competing team, they came back out and won again.
In Demopolis things were even harder on Atmore. Just far enough from home that they had to stay in a hotel, the team, coaches and fans, dealt with rain delays followed by intense, energy-draining heat. Still, no one complained. They just played. When their first game was stopped after the third inning, they came back the next day and finished it off with a win. They continued to play off and on until after midnight that night, before playing again on Monday.
I say all of that to say this: not only did this All-Star team play hard, they played as a team despite everything that could work against their doing just that. A lot of people don’t realize how much fun sports can be for kids. They also don’t realize how tough it can be. I was pleasantly surprised to watch as this group of kids played with grit and determination well beyond their years and as the coaches and parents helped them through it all. Watching them, I knew they would remember this for years to come. They didn’t win it all, but that’s not really what it’s all about anyway. Great job, All-Stars! Congratulations on a job very well done.
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