Every year is a great year, but lets take some time to reflect on some good things that happened to you or someone you know.

I certainly wish everyone much success in 2005.

Al McCormick
www.mostvaluableplayer.biz

To start it off, 2004 was a great year for me. Although I have been blessed with good health and great family, I will keep this focused around baseball.

I was driving by Gambrills, smiling, I pulled in. I went to the big field first and parked. My mind took off. In what appeared to be a whirlwind I thought of every player I was fortunate enough to meet. Walking to the field I glanced over to the dugout and swore I saw the lawn chairs lined up. I played a mental game trying to remember where everyone sat. Headed back to my car, I laughed when I noticed I had parked in the same spot I always did.

I felt the tug and drove to the lower field. The big tree, the field adjacent that got all the foul balls, then the old guy who claimed to own every piece of land we parked on. Not wanting to be to wierd, I deliberately parked in a different spot, only to find the old card table (we used it for our concessions). Rusty and leaning against the old fence that had been there forever. I'll take a grape soda and bar-b-que I said underneath my breath.

The field looked the same to me. Man I loved coaching there I thought to myself. Startled by the words, "Can I help you?" took me away from my day dreaming. It was the guy who I noticed earlier mowing the grass on the 12U field. I just told him I was reliving some good times. It was then I realized these memories were mine.

St. Exupery said, "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret, it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."

For all the Joys and Memories you brought me, I Thank You. They are invisible, yet I want you to know they will always be in my mind and my heart!

I organized this thread, as I am sure there are parents, coaches, and players, who at some point in their lives, have done the same thing.

Lets hear about them...

Al McCormick
www.mostvaluableplayer.biz

Hi Al, I also like to stop by a field where my son has played a game and think back to the game. I would suspect that most of us here on the HSBBWEB do.
The trick is to stay away from the field's where my son got ruffed up.

Al, great topic and a great post.
2004 as it pertained to me, my son, and his baseball...2004 was a year of high and lows. A year of accomplishments and a year of sacrifices. But best of all it was a year that allowed him to realize he could fall short. I think he matured more in 2004 than any other year. It was a year that he realized his health and his future are dependant on many things and a positive outcome is not always guaranteed. It was a year that created a certain distance between my son and me but at the same time it drew us closer together. It was a year that I could admire certain aspects of his character but also a year that I had to accept him as he is.
It was a year that he stared asking a lot of questions and actually listened for my advice. They were man-to-man talks initiated, not by a concerned father, but by a maturing son. It was also a time that he ignored some of my advice and I actually felt proud that he did. As 2005 draws near and he enters his junior season in college he is anxiously awaiting the pro draft next spring. We both fully understand this is a major fork in the road of his life. He took out his watch given to 2003 SEC tournament participants and starting wearing it for the first time yesterday to remind himself of the rewards for a good season. He’s talking about his goals and his approach to his future. What will happen? He doesn’t know and I don’t know. I think 2004 instilled in him that he must stay focused and control what HE can...and hope for the best.
Fungo

Al,

Since Brian left the nest this year you have become quite the writer of some great post.

I bought my wife an SUV last year and could not bring myself to sell the old Chevy wagon due to the fact it's been from one end of the east coast to the other hauling my son and his fellow teammates to ball tournaments.

Every time I get in the old wagon the memories start flashing before my eyes and all of the fun we all had. It actually smells like pine tar inside. I just refuse to sell it for that reason.

2005 will be a year of new challenges as mine heads off to College in the fall as a Freshman and starts a new chapter in his life, which I am sure will leave a void in his mother's and my life, but will likewise introduce us to new adventures and create new interest for us and for him.

As our children grow and mature, we too as parents grow and mature (whether we want to or not).

From the T-Ball years, Babe Ruth, Legion Ball, Travel Ball, High School Ball, Tournaments & Showcases it's has been a blast and the new adventures ahead are exciting to think about. The only thing I think I will really miss is seeing him play and myself sitting in one of those lawn chairs eating a hot dog and being part of it all.

I now find myself looking foward to the holiday breaks as my former players come back to Town and hang out at the old building we rent to work out in, in the Winter. Listening to the college baseball war stories and watching the younger players expressions on their faces when they hear them.

It's OK to reminisce good things and I would suspect healthy to do so.

Have a healthy and safe New Year.

CV

Dick Schoonover, a Pitching Guy whom I respect, is in his 70's, told me through his smiles and and eyes how fun it is to reminisce, especially when your focus is to develop talent versus living off of them.

The greatest joy is having a top quality player seek you out just to say, "hi coach!" It's more special when it is your son.

Thanks for your kind words. There is no doubt my youngest moving on makes me appreciate things, but the opportunity to work with kids through Most Valuable Player, as one parent said, gives me a whole lot of grandchildren.

Yeah, I think it is healthy to reminisce.

Lets hear more!

Al McCormick
www.mostvaluableplayer.biz

2004...hmmm...2004 has certainly been a time of reflection for me. After guiding the 17-18 Columbia Reds for 15 years, I hung up the spikes after my dad's death in 2003. I really miss it, and I know my dad would never want me to stop coaching. He coached me the first 8 years I played baseball. He taught me to keep it fun and that the team and people are the most important thing.

I found that as I got into my 10th and 11th year of coaching, I was a better coach because I focused on learning from my experiences of the past. I would frequently slip, but would get back on track almost as quickly.

I really miss being out there with the guys. All those golf matches and nickel card games we (coaches, players, parents) enjoyed while at tournaments...boy they were fun!

I think of the countless hours I spent at night, away from work, away from my family...all to coach baseball. It was a great time, but in retrospect I really feel like my family suffered for it. I didn't have the time to go fishing with dad on Saturday or Sunday mornings as much. I look back, and even though my dad would say he was happy because I was happy doing something I loved, I have many regrets now that he is gone.

Due to a terrible injury to my foot, I had to give up playing football, baseball and basketball in my early 20's. I got an opportunity to coach both football and baseball, and it helped me deal with my competitive fire that still burned inside. That fire went out the day my dad died. I hope I get it back some day. It helped me overachieve at every level of sports I ever played.

2004...it was a good year for reflection. I hope 2005 is even better!

Happy New Year!

Thanks guys for giving me a chance to reminisce. 2004 has been good to me and my family. Baseball and softball have always been a common bond for us. Not just dinner talk but the sacrifices we have made for eachother through the good and bad times. Whether my kids have been terrific baseball or softball players or just great Yankee fans, baseball has been the tie that binds us. So I remember one kid's first homerun at the field down the street, the day my daughter threw 55mph and the day my oldest came up to the Stadium from Virginia to see Game 7 of the AL playoffs against the Sox. It's nice to think back to all the great times we had. I rememeber going over to the little league field at dusk after the last game a zillion years ago and thinking how beautiful the field looked. So Al,it sounds like it would have been an honor to have had my son play for you. You really care about the kids. And Larry, I remember when my mom died in 1979 that I thought the love of many things would not come back. It took time but it did. I would never give up all the wonderful memories associated with baseball. My middle kid will start D-1 baseball next year and my daughter is only a highschool freshman, so I have a number of years left as a dopey fan. When that time is over, it's back to coaching! Go Yankees! Thanks again.