I just found the speech I wrote for our Rotary Club last year:
As you can see the Hamilton Rotary Club have invited the entire Tee Ball team we sponsored this year for lunch. We did so at my request but with full support of President Keith, the directors and the membership. Sponsoring a Tee-Ball team may not be as “romantic” or as “worthy” a cause as feeding or clothing children in desperate need in remote corners of the earth, but I believe it is a very worthwhile contribution to our community.
Every Saturday during March April and May you would have seen a veritable bee-hive of activity down at the Southampton Glebe School. Cars going in and out, kids wearing baseball uniforms walking to and from the fields and teams battling it out on those fields. The kids are from all walks of life in Bermuda. There is no segregation of any sort. No racial segregation and no economic segregation. On Southampton Glebe School fields during this time what you will see is a bunch of kids having a great time and a bunch of parents participating in the athletic and social development of their children. It really is a microcosm of what Bermuda’s youth development should be and it is all about INVOLEMENT. From the organizers, to the coaches, to the parents and to the kids..everyone is involved.
The kids that join up to play Tee Ball are, for the most part, just starting out with hitting, catching and throwing. The rules, such as they are, are designed to ensure that the kids have fun without the stress and pressure of having to WIN. There are no winners in these games as far as score is concerned. The kids stay at bat until they are able to hit the ball, there are no strike outs. If a child hits the ball and thrown out at first base, although they are “technically” OUT that child stays at the base. The real winners are each and every child on that field. They are active, they are having fun (hopefully) and they are involved.
I have to be honest that I wasn’t keen on this concept when I first started to coach last year. The competitive streak I have in my body demanded that someone should win and someone should lose. That is the way life is afterall. But gradually I have come to realize that these kids need support, they need help and what they certainly don’t need at the early stages of their athletic development is a bunch of pressure from coaches, parents or even their own team to win. That comes later. In fact it begins immediately upon their “graduation” to rookie league baseball which is the next level up for a child who plays baseball. Tee ball gives the kids a chance to learn. If the coaches do their job right the kids are prepared to perform the very basic physical aspects of the game, hitting, catching and throwing. The rookie coaches then must prepare the kids for the other part of the game. The winning, the losing and hopefully a sense of fair play.
But having said that there are many aspects of Tee Ball that does indeed mirror real life. It’s true!
Ask the kids…what 6 word phrase are you sick of hearing from your coach?
“KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL”
It is an absolutely vital part of the game…and life.
It seems simple enough. All you have to do is look at something. But, whether you are hitting, catching or just trying to stop a hard hit ground ball you will not be able to do so with any degree of consistency if you do not keep your eye on the ball.
The ball in life can be many things. It could be your job or business. Taking your eye “off the ball in this scenario is a recipe for unemployment or bankruptcy.
It could be your family. Taking your eye off this ball can lead to divorce and estrangement from a person’s children’s lives.
It could be virtually anything.
So kids…you have heard me say “Keep your eye on the ball” about a million times. Just as you have started to do very successfully in Tee Ball I would hope that you take what I have just said about that phrase and apply it to your everyday life.
I’d very much like to thank a few people who have played an important part in these and hundreds of other kids involvement in baseball this year. First I’d like to thank the BYSP for all their hard work in organizing the leagues. It is a very difficult job just coaching a TeeBall or baseball team. Organising the leagues is a thankless task that could only be done by a very dedicated and INVOVED group of people. My direct contact with the BYSP has been with Dominic “Buggy” Powell who, along with his wife Tori, have really made baseball a possibility for the kids you see here and all of the kids playing Tee Ball.
Secondly, I’d like to thank Arnold Manders for helping out with the kids at practice and for taking over for me at one game when I was off-island. Arnold impressed me so much at our first practice when by the end of it he was able to call the kids by their first names. I’m terrible with names but due to his experience in coaching cricket and teaching he has managed to master this ability.
Thirdly I’d like to thank the parents of the kids you see here today. Without them rushing madly to get their children to games and practices, we simply would not have a team. It is not easy, as I can appreciate…having three of my own. Thank you for your help and your support.
Lastly, I want to thank the kids.
You guys have provided me with a great deal of enjoyment, satisfaction and pride. You have worked hard and you deserve to be honoured today by our club. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As I call your name I’d like you to come forward and accept a small token of my, and the Club’s appreciation, for being so INVOLVED this year.
Najiyah Raynor. Nijiyah didn’t make all of our games but was a fantastic contributor when he was able to attend.
Ryan Manders. Ryan is Arnold’s son and the youngest member of the team. He like to watch butterflies a bit too much but at the last game of the season this guy made a play at shortstop that impressed everyone. He takes his time while batting but sure lets it rip once he is committed to swing.
Yusef Bushara. Yusef is a great little hitter but my favourite memory of his performance this season was a play he made in the infield stopping a massive hit by the other team and duly throwing the ball on to first base. It was text-book stuff. Now he just needs to do it every time.
Lilly Barboza. Lilly was one of our best players this year. She is a great all rounder. She hits well, catches well and throws very well…not “like a girl at all”. She also has a great understanding of the rules of baseball. This is defiantly her last year of Tee Ball. She’s off to rookie league.
Cory Booth. Cory was “my little Cal Ripkin. This kid just looks so good out there. At the end of one game the opposing team coach tried to convince Cory to be on his team. I intervened and told him that I was Cory’s agent and that all negotiations for a trade would have to go through me….at my standard rate of 25% of any cash proceeds of course. Cory will be heading to rookie league too.
Jesaiah Talbot. Jessaiah is also a great little player. If anyone was going to win the $20 prize for hitting the ball into the playground that I offered it was going to be Jessaiah. Fortunately for me the season ended before he got one out that far…but it is just a matter of time.
Hannah Beek. Hannah is a great little player. She completely overcame her inability to make contact with the ball in her first game and in very short order. All she needed to do was KEEP HER EYE ON THE BALL. Once she figured that out she was incredibly consistent and a picture on our Club’s website shows her determination as she slid in safely to first base.
Rhyn Bearden. Rhyn is a great hitter catcher and thrower. He is also a rascal! Another great contributor whose greatest love was to play backstop. He has the ability and tenacity to be a great baseball catcher.
Zidane Ming-Wilson. Zidnae, like Jessaiah, was also in the running to get $20 out of my pocket. He isn’t a huge kid but he has a huge swing and lots of power. He was an integral part of the team, always at practice and always at the games.
Dimitri Gugliemucci – The smiler. It was an absolute pleasure having Dimitri on the team this year. I don’t think it is possible to keep a straight face around him because he is always smiling himself. It’s infectious. I saw tons of improvement in Dimitri this year and hope to see him again next year.
Andrew McCarney: Andrew did really well this year and I think has a great deal more confidence in his ability than when he started the season. I watched him at one practice and saw what I would describe as a “light going on” after he hit a ball particularly well. Once he got the hang of the game he was off and running.
Sam Morris: I purposely left my son Sam for the end. The reason for this is because while all the other kids would rush to be first in line to bat, Sam would hang back and if asked would request to be last to bat. I couldn’t figure it out until he said that he gets to run around the bases without stopping. This is a TeeBall rule that the last batter just keeps on going around the bases regardless. He figured out that he would get the attention he wanted this way…a true rascal. Sam is doing well but has another year of Tee ball next year.
