It’s game day, and I have to admit I’m a tad nervous. Colton and Ethan have to sit today’s game for their behavior, and I’m hoping this doesn’t cause problems in the dugout. Not to mention I would love to see us win without them. Maybe that will bring their egos down a few notches.
DJ comes into the living room as I’m finishing the batting order for today. “Hey, Trystan.”
“What’s up, kid?”
“Am I starting pitcher today?”
“You are, unless you have a problem with that?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
“You look nervous. I thought after pitching last week you’d feel better this week.”
He sighs, “I want to win today.” He shrugs. “Like you said, it would put Ethan and Colton in their place.”
I close my eyes realizing the pressure I’ve now put on DJ “Listen, kid. I really shouldn’t have said that to you, and I’m sorry I did. It wasn’t fair for me to put that kind of pressure on you. When I said it I meant for it to be more of a bonding moment between us, but I really wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
“But you’re right. Maybe if we show them we can win without them then they’ll stop being such jerks.”
“You know, Ethan is going through some stuff right now, and I think he’s doing this stuff for some attention. I think Colton does it because he thinks Ethan is cool.”
“Yeah, I saw what happened at the cookout. What do we do? Mom has never let me use losing my dad as a crutch. It was never an excuse to misbehave or get bad grades.”
“I know, kid. Your mom has done an amazing job with you, but Ethan didn’t have that until recently. His mom is the problem, and he’s been living with her. Now his dad is around more and trying to fix things, but it takes time.” He nods. “Let’s just worry about having fun today, and whatever happens at the field happens at the field, okay?”
He chuckles, “Okay, but I really want a win.”
I laugh. “I’m sure you do, and we’ll get one. We just have to keep encouraging the entire team and if we do, we will get there.” I slap him on the leg. “Now go get your stuff. I’m going to see if your mom is ready because we have to get going.”
“Cool.” He runs off to his room to get his bag and, as he does, Stella comes into the room.
“You are amazing with him.” She steps up to me. “Thank you so much.”
“I take it you heard our conversation.”
She nods. “I did.”
“I figured you would be mad at me for telling him I hope we win today.”
She shrugs. “Why? You discussed it with him and apologized. What more could you do?”
“I don’t know, but clearly I have to remember his age and be more careful about what I say.”
“Are you guys ready? Mason just sent me a text saying he’s on his way to the field.”
“Let’s go.” Stella pulls the house door open and DJ steps through, hurrying to the truck.
When we get to the field, as with last weekend, the younger teams are still playing, but the three of us head over to the shed. This is our team meet-up spot, and I want to get over there before too many team members show up. Misty, Briggs, and Mason are already here. I shake hands with Briggs and greet them good morning while we wait for the remainder of the team to show up.
“Are you really making Colton and Ethan sit out today?”
I nod. “I am. Vincent will be in the dugout with them. Billy will be here. He’ll take first and you’ll take third. Vincent will be sure the two boys behave.”
“You’re brave. I don’t trust that kid.” He leans in staying quiet so the boys don’t hear. The kids are starting to show up, and I’m glad because it’s almost time to start warming up. We stand around watching the little ones while our boys fool around. I try to keep them under control but, let’s be real, they’re kids and they’re excited.
We’re supposed to take the field for warm-ups any minute now, and I noticed that Ethan and Colton still aren’t here. I figured Vincent would’ve called me if there were an issue, and I haven’t heard from him. I’m not going to be happy if they don’t show up. I made it clear they were to be here for the team.
The game before ours is done, and the entire team is here except them. “Okay, boys, take the field to start warming up.” The boys grab their stuff and run over to our dugout to start setting their stuff up.
“Line it up,” Briggs calls out. The boys spread out on the field. “Ten jumping jacks, go,” he calls out, and the boys count in sync doing them. I’m watching the boys as my eyes are scanning the park for the last to members of our team. “Two laps, go,” Briggs shouts.
My eyes link with Stella. We know each other so well, she can see the worry on my face. She winks at me, and it settles me slightly. I have a game to coach, so I can’t stress over these two pulling a no-show right now. The boys come back around, and I stop them. “Nice job, boys. Let’s throw the ball around in the field. DJ and Sam take the mound and take turns throwing to Mason.”
Everyone does as I instruct. Briggs and Billy hit the field and start working with the kids while I’m watching Sam, DJ, and Mason.”
The game is just about to start when Vincent, Ethan, and Colton come running over. “I’m so sorry, Trystan. We had some issues this morning.”
I nod. “Everyone take a seat please.” I give them a second to get settled. “Okay, the batting order is there. Billy, you’re on first. Briggs, you're on third and, Vincent, you’re in here with me today.
You all know your field assignments for the game. Let’s go out there and have some fun.” The boys start to clap and cheer. “Okay, hands in, everyone.” The boys all put their hands in. “You know what to shout, on three. One, two, three.”
“Refuse to lose,” They shout and the boys all run to the field, leaving only Ethan and Colton in the dugout.
At first, they’re joking around, but Vincent puts a quick end to it. He tells them to pay attention to the game and to cheer their team on.
The first inning goes quickly with both teams getting an easy three outs. Though I notice Ethan and Colton snickering in the corner, I say nothing. I have faith in this team.
The second inning starts and DJ strikes the first two kids out, but the third batter gets onto first. The fourth batter pops it up and Landon misses it, but quickly throws it to second for the out. “Way to go, boys.”
DJ is up to bat. He grabs his bat and takes a few practice swings before he takes home plate. The first pitch is thrown, he swings and misses. He lets out a deep breath. “You got this, DJ,” Mason shouts from behind him. DJ steps up, and the second pitch is thrown. He swings and nails it into the outfield. He takes off running full speed and makes it to second. Mason is pumped and cheers him on as he takes the plate himself.
“Okay, Mason. Come on, buddy, keep your eye on the ball,” Billy calls to him. The first two balls thrown to him are strikes. He gets a base hit with the next strike, and the boys are getting excited. DJ is now on third and Mason is on second, and we have no outs.
Landon is up next. “You can do it, Landon,” DJ shouts from third base. This is about to get real interesting. Landon lets out a deep breath and steps up. The first pitch is a ball.
“Good eye, Landon,” Billy shouts. From what I’ve heard, Billy has had a little talk with Landon. You see, Billy was the Landon on our team. He wasn’t the best at the game, but he had the love for the game that never let him give up. Landon swings at the next pitch and misses. Colton laughs. My head whips around, and I narrow my eyes at him. He instantly stops, realizing he’s busted.
Another ball is thrown, and he swings. This time he connects, and it’s a grounder toward first. They throw him out, but DJ scores and Mason is now on second. “Yeah, Landon. That’s an RBI, buddy.” I cheer him on as he runs back to the dugout.
DJ comes running at him, jumping up and down. “That was perfect, Landon.” He hugs his friend and fist bumps him. Landon has a slight smile on his face as he takes a seat on the bench. Our two troublemakers have settled down a little. I purposely look over with a slight grin, but say nothing. They know.
The boys are having an amazing game, but we’re only up by one and it’s the final inning of the game. There are two boys on base, and there are two outs. It all comes down to this batter. Sam is on the mound, and he’s done awesome relieving DJ. Sam runs his hand down his pants and grabs the ball. He looks down at Mason, who gives him a signal. Sam nods and throws the ball. It pops up into the air directly above Landon who yells, “I’ve got it.” Everyone backs off, giving him the space he needs to make the play. He backs up, and it’s like the whole thing happens in slow motion. The ball comes down right into his glove. Landon has saved the game. The bench clears, and the entire team runs onto the field to cheer him on. I hear his mom screaming from the bleachers, and when I look over she’s wiping tears from her eyes. Landon is so proud of his accomplishment, and I’m incredibly proud of the two boys who join their team and cheer him on. “Okay, boys, calm down. We need to finish this right. Line it up.”
The boys all take the white line and go through giving the other team five and shouting good game. When they’re done, I tell them to meet me at the shed. They all gather their stuff and head over, excited they won. “How’d that feel?” They all start cheering. “I’m incredibly proud of you boys. You played hard today. What’s better is you played like a team. It was a long game since we were down two players today, but you fought hard and showed us that playing like a team pays off.” I look at Colton and Ethan, who know they were proved wrong today. “I let you get a little out of control at the end of that game because Landon made that amazing catch, but I don’t want to see that at the end of every game. We need to be good sports. When you win, I want you to remember how it felt to lose last week. We don’t want to rub it in by rushing the field like that in the future.”
“Yes, Coach,” they shout.
“Good, now bring it in.”
They pile their hands on mine and on three they shout our saying, ‘Refuse to lose.’
“Coaches, do you have anything you want to say?”
Vincent puts his hand up. “Coach Vincent.”
“I just have one quick thing.” He looks at the team with a smile and says, “Pizza’s on me for all who can join us.”
The boys all clap and cheer, excited they get pizza again this week.
Most of us meet up at the pizza parlor. There are a few people who couldn’t make it, but I’m glad Landon was able to make it. He saved the game and deserves this.
When the pizza is ready, the waitress lays it all out on a couple of tables near where we’re sitting. Ethan shocks the shit out of me when he stands and stops the kids from rushing the table. “Yo, hold up. Landon gets first dibs. It’s his catch that saved the game.” Landon smiles and steps up to the table. Ethan holds out his fist, and they bump.
“Thanks, Ethan.”
He nods and takes a seat waiting, for everyone else to eat before he does. I take a seat next to him, nudging him with my shoulder. “That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever seen you do.”
He nods. “I screwed up.”
“You did, and I understand why.”
He looks up at me. “You do?”
I nod. “I do and you know what, Ethan, you have two choices. You can continue down the path you’re on and be the town bully, or you can change and be a better person. I’m not sure how being a bully makes you feel, but I’m sure you don’t like the way your mom is treating you. So what makes you think that it’s good to treat other kids the same way?”
He looks down at his lap. “I just wish she cared.”
“I know and I wish my mom had cared too, but you know what, she didn’t. I was in the same predicament you are only I didn’t have a father backing me, you do. Talk to him and I’m willing to bet if you become a better person, Colton will too. He only does it to be like you.”
“Why?” he asks totally confused.
“Some kids are meant to lead and some are meant to follow. He seems like a follower, so lead him.” I leave him with that thought and join the rest of the crew. I hope this conversation sinks in and he starts on a better path.