This summer I had the opportunity to coach a 7th/8th Grade Summer Rec Softball Team. It was a great experience to be able to share my love for softball with the next generation and I learned a ton about coaching in a short amount of time. Television overloads us with the negative side of athletics: cheating, poor sportsmanships, fights and all the other bad things we see in the news on a daily basis. Every once in a while we see a story that touches us and if we are very fortunate, we have the opportunity to be a part of that moment. I was blessed to have been able to be part of a moment that I will not soon forget.
We finished our regular season with two losses (one was a forfeit) and we went into our season tournament as the top seed. We had a bye the first round and then the other team we were supposed to play forfeited the second round. We played a poor game during the semifinals and we found ourselves down by twelve going into the seventh inning. We mounted a great comeback and were able to score ten runs before we got three outs. It was not at all how we dreamed our tournament would play out. The next night we played in the third/fourth place game.
My girls were very hyped for the game and were excited to play against a team that had cheered for us the night before. During the second inning I realized that the other team was batting eleven players. I did not know we were allowed to do this, so I asked the coach if I could add my bench player as my eleventh hitter (which also allowed me to use her without her being a sub.) The coach had no problem with me adding her to my batting lineup. Once again we struggled at the beginning and at the start of the seventh inning we were down by four runs. As my team was warming up to start the top of the seventh inning, the announcer proclaimed that we had reached the time limit and therefor the game was over. The other teams coach (we were playing at their home field) immediately said they did not want the game to be over (even though we were winning) and after a few minutes it was decided we would keep playing.
We found ourselves down by four in the bottom of the seventh inning. After two walks and a few timely hits, we scored the tying run on a pass ball. With runners on second and third my eleventh hitter came up to bat (she is the one the other coach allowed me to add to our order.) She hit a line drive up the middle to score the winning run. The other team, who thought they had one the game just a few minutes prior, was devastated that they lost. During our quick meeting before shaking hands, one of my players suggested that we switch medals with the other team, while they let us keep playing past the time limit (they would get the third place medal and we would get the fourth place medal.) After a team vote, they decided as a team that that was what they wanted to do. As one girl told me "Coach we know in our hearts we got third, it is just a medal."
It was a great sight to see opposing teams consoling each other and telling them to hold their heads up because they played a great game. Although we were told by the announcer we could not switch medals, my girls were determined. They waited until after the awards ceremony before they walked over to the other team and switched medals with them.
Since that game I have received texts and phone calls commending my team for having great sportsmanship and for playing the game with integrity. Both teams showed why we play sports. Even though a team looses a game, there does not need to be a looser. I know it is just a medal and according to all rules my team deserved the third place medal, but the gesture was huge. In the end it is not about winning or losing, it is how you play the game. I am very proud of how both teams played that game.
Sports are the perfect example of kids being in different spots on their learning journey. Classrooms need to stress teamwork and positive attitudes. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, but we can still enjoy the journey together as a classroom family. How do you encourage your students, how do classmates encourage each other? I would love to hear how you incorporate team concepts into your classroom.
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