Back At Home Plate

After a 10-year hiatus of playing softball… Minus the occasional pick up game or weekends spent umpiring with the Pops, I have finally made it back onto the field.  One may think that after playing the sport for 10-years, including Spring, Summer, and Fall ball, competitive play, local leagues, Sunday hitting trainings, and weeklong camps, that the sport is embedded in your muscles.

You’re right and thank gosh it is.

One of my main reasons to journey way up North was that I was invited to help assist in a softball training of trainer’s workshop.  Some of the Volunteer’s had started a softball team but as their service is coming to a close, they decided it is time to pass this knowledge on to the teachers so that the program can remain sustainable long after they are gone.  Hence the workshop.

Luckily the training was not until Saturday so I got a couple days to practice the moves that have been out of commission for some time.  As we arrived for practice, which takes place on the pitch (football [soccer] field) because there is no softball field, the girl’s were warming up by running the bases. 

Now if you are like me you may be wondering where all this equipment came from.  I am taking suitcases filled with mitts, 11 and 12-inch balls, whiffle balls, rope, bats, bases, helmets, and full catcher’s protection gear.  Well, Joey was an avid softball player back in the States and when she was home she was able to bring a lot back.  As you may also know, Uganda’s baseball team went to the Little League World Series this past year and one of the coaches is an American who has been incredibly generous in sharing his stuff. 

As I slipped on the mitt and started playing catch with the girl’s, memories started flooding my mind.  Early car trips with the windows painted in Novato’s Heat colors.  Weekend tournaments where our team would come back from a not so good Saturday to a first place trophy on a very long Sunday summer day.  Sneakily handing Stan a Snicker’s before going to bat.  Disneyland trips with the All-Star team. 

I was thoroughly impressed by the girl’s skills.  The quick snap and release of the ball as they relayed against one another, the sounds of  “Mine, mine, mine” when they were chasing fly balls, and the cracking sounds of mitts catching the balls that flew quickly through the air, and the girl’s informing their team of where the play is each time a new person was up to bat. 

Towards the end of practice we got to practice my favorite aspect of the game.  Hitting.  We took small groups of girls and helped them work on the basic fundamentals… Loading up, stepping forward, weight back, watching the ball, turning your back foot, and following through.  Thanks to Mike Wills, I think I was able to pass along some helpful hints and useful information.  I then had to pitch to the girls… Not my best attribute to the game but luckily everything came back.

The hours under the hot equatorial sun, sleeves rolled up, mitt on, and chasing balls brought me back to the years that I spent on the field. 

Some essential pieces were missing, including my Mama manager, my sister’s watching from the bleachers, and memorizing the signs that Coach Dad would give from the third base box.  Not to mention my awesome teammates.    

Needless to say, I felt at home.