Yesterday we won our first playoff game and it wasn't fun. The other team traveled close to 300 miles round trip to get beat 20-0. They played as if they expected that to happen. In fact they had only won one game all year that wasn't a forfeit. What were they doing in the playoffs?
The good take away from the game is the exposure of our players to another group of people. The opponents were not bad kids, just untaught in the skills of baseball. They acted and dressed liked the players at the beginning of The Rookie.
For us our players handled it pretty well. A few times they lost focus on what was important. Every player got into the game and many of those off the bench had their best game of the year. It was a team effort and I hope they understood what I was trying to do when I stopped them at 3rd base instead of scoring. The score could have been much worse.
Most bothersome to me was that the day was a near waste. We're playing in a playoff system that doesn't always promote excellence. We would have been better off practicing instead of playing. Today we will have to work at getting the team back on track mentally.
Schools are not in the money-making business, but they shouldn't waste money either. Our school lost money on this game. Our parents and community had to pay to watch this game. We don't charge admission to our games unless forced. 30% of our community's gate money went to the other school. 40% goes to our state athletic federation. Therein lies part of the problem.
We talked a bit about how our players would be just the same if they had grown up with the opponents. For most, that is when the light bulb went on. They saw that what environment does to a person. As I said the opponents weren't bad. Our booster club sent them to a local pizza place for dinner before their trip home. I was told they were polite and reserved and courteous. Seems education is part of the cure with some.
17 Days left
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