Winning isn't everything. Everyone's heard it. We all say it. Even those who believe it still want to win. But winning isn't anything if you can't do it correctly. On Saturday the La Costa North Running Rebels 7U All Star team won in the most spectacular fashion you could imagine as a fan, or hope for as a parent and member of a civilized society.
Five wins. That is what it takes to emerge from the 2012 San Diego Pinto Section Tournament as Champion. That is unless you face Tecolote in the third round after they've had a bye. Lose that game and it's a tough road back against three teams fighting elimination, just for the privilege of facing an undefeated and hungry Tecolote again in the finals. Somehow beat Tecolote twice in the same day, then you will be Champs. The Running Rebels did just that in a manner difficult to believe, which will be impossible to forget.
Success in sports is tied to talent, obviously. When the level of talent between two teams is reasonably similar, you rely on coaching. When the Coach has delivered his best pep talk and done all imaginable lineup tinkering and the team still emerges from the second inning down 10-1, then it all comes down to heart and a big bag of Skittles.
Ten to one. That was the score as our boys came off the field in the bottom of the 2nd. Tecolote had scored the maximum in both of their at bats and looked well poised to continue the trend all morning. Even our imperturbable cheering crew behind the outfield fence was dreading the specter of Tecolote's half of the open inning. What we fans failed to appreciate was how poised Tony, Mike, Darin and the kids were.
The team was fine. Whether it was the incredible comeback against La Costa South on Wednesday, a surfeit of coaching competence or the confidence inspiring, if nutritionally dubious, dugout snacks, the Running Rebels could have been playing just another game of pickle. Well, perhaps a game of pickle where they'd been unfairly tagged out by an older brother, but they certainly weren't sharing our sense of foreboding.
The nine-run deficit quickly and steadily shrank as our offense perked up and the defense intensified. We probably shouldn't dwell on the mid-game lineup shift as the Rebel coaches are humble men who would rather we focus on the team, but the realignment was brilliant and, alongside Braedon's hitting exhibition Wednesday, was the difference in the tournament.
Tecolote only managed two runs in the rest of the game, while our boys found themselves within striking distance in the home half of the final inning. In the type of unlikely scenario you hear about, but don't entirely believe, Anthony stood at the plate with the bases loaded and the team down by three runs. In a flurry of swinging bats, flying baseballs and running Rebels that is now difficult to remember properly, Anthony was soon back at home plate in the arms of his father, surrounded by jubilant teammates and a stadium full of stunned onlookers.
The reward for this success: a Game 2 against a wounded Grizzly bear of a Tecolote team that had averaged twenty runs a game and certainly had no patience for losing. Again, the parents bore the brunt of concern. The coaches were not-so-cautiously optimistic, while the boys themselves were undaunted. Bless their little hearts, between games they wanted to play pickle.
What's the best way to approach an unexpected second sectional final game against a team you aren't supposed to beat? Go into it with the attitude that you are supposed to win, and that you totally expected to be there. That's what the Rebels did, players and coaches. While the parents spent the next half hour trying to shuttle the boys between the bathroom and the snack stand without losing them to a pickle game, Coach Tony did his best to move the game's start time up to immediately. Not that Tony was nervous; he was likely running out of motivational snacks.
Game 2: the Running Rebels were once again the home team, and once again found themselves in a significant hole in the second inning (1-9). Several of us fans made halfhearted remarks about having Tecolote right where we wanted them, and maybe a few of us weren't losing out minds with worry, but there weren't more than sixteen people in that park who were truly expecting another Rebel miracle, and all of them were wearing Rebel uniforms.
At some point the human brain endures all the excitement it can stand and begins to misfire. The details of the second match are certainly cloudy, though I believe, in short order, the Rebels tied the game, and perhaps even took a lead. I have some memory of the open inning ending in a tie, and then extra innings. If my memory serves, though I doubt it does, Tecolote scored a run in their half of what turned out to be the final final inning, leaving Ian, Jack O. and, once again, Anthony to decide our fate.
It is difficult to describe this next bit in a way that is believable, but also coveys the true drama of the experience. In mere words, can we capture the frustration of yet another fielder who misjudged Ian's effort, only to watch him beat out the throw? Can we communicate the elation of Jack's triple that drove in Ian and left him a mere base away from the Championship? Anyone who wasn't there might not grasp it. Tell anyone who wasn't there how Anthony was once again standing at the plate with the opportunity to win the game and they'd think you were making it up. Tell anyone who has met this extraordinary young man that he did indeed get a hit, did indeed drive Jack in from third, did indeed walk off with his teammates and the 7U title, and they'd say it couldn't happen to a better little human. Even Anthony's older brothers were beside themselves with merriment.
None of the coaches accept the praise they deserve. Tony even goes so far as to credit mid-inning candy dissemination with lifting/maintaining the boy's spirits. What we have here is an incredible collection of quality human beings who all warrant acknowledgement. Players, coaches, families, friends, heck even Ron the umpire, have come together to achieve something far bigger than the game. What just happened does not happen without the positive contribution of each of you.
The La Costa North Running Rebels 7U All Stars: Team. Family. Champions.
No comments:
Post a Comment