Best thing you ever did for the worst athlete on your team...

[sluggers]

It is cold outside, so how about some heart warming stories?

We all love to talk about winning and the kids who went on to become "stars". How about the other kids? What did you do to make "the worst softball player on your team" a little better as a person or as a player? (CANNONBALL: I especially want to hear your story.)

My story:

I had a kid on my coach pitch baseball team with severe physical and mental handicaps. He would miss the ball by 2 feet at the beginning of the season. We (myself, my AC and the child's parents) worked all season long on his hitting and my pitching. We never gave up on the kid, and we worked with him. I still remember the game when he got his first hit. He was the happiest kid in the world.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

When I took all of my DD's friends in 2nd grade - we didn't play any games. We just learned to throw, etc. There was a little girl with Down's Syndrome and I treated her like everyone else. The next year, her mom said "No." (The little girl was unable to understand when we were batting and when we were on defense.) But, I will always remember her.

 

[Greenmonsters]

One of my most rewarding experiences was working with an unathletic 12U kid on my DD's team who was afraid of the ball and considered a lost cause by prior coaches get their first hard, clean hit. And then her knowing that it wasn't a fluke, have the newly found self confidence to do it again repeatedly to the point of being selected for All-Stars.

 

[Eric F]

One of my DD's school friends was on our Fall Ball team for her first softball experience. At the beginning of the season, she didn't know how to swing a bat, how to stand in the box, how to catch, or how to throw. Her background was dancing, but when it came to sports, she was like a new-born giraffe trying to walk. She is a sweet kid with great determination and a great attitude. As is common for rec ball, weaker players rotated into the IF typically go to 2B because the throw to 1B is shortest. On the last game of the season, we put our little giraffe at 2B for an inning. With 2 outs, she got a solid ground ball hit her direction. She scooped it up, and made a good throw to 1B for the out. Her joyful leap in the air and hoot of happiness was awesome to witness. The only one prouder of her than the HC and I, was herself.

I'm not sure her mom ever bothered to look up from her iPad.

I suspect that she may not play softball again, but I'm satisfied to know that she will always have a happy memory of success connected to the game.

 

[canyonjoe]

I remember a kid when I was AC on a 10U rec team. We didn't have any great pitchers, but we were loaded with eight 10 year olds who could hit. We got a player at the start of the season who was a young and small 8 year old. She struggled with the speed of the game and didn't hit a ball most of the year. Her Mom was extremely nice and the dad was pretty hard on her. What she did do was hustle all the time. Playing right field she was always flying over to backup first on throws, She was a nice kid who would say thanks at the end of every practice and game, if we had an extra 5 minutes of BP would jump back up to hit again. Finally we are playing in a game against a team we are tied for first with. Here first time up she hits a clean single to right field against the fasted pitcher in the league. I don't think she got any more hits, but for me it was one of those hits that was truly deserved.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

I coached a girl in 5th grade basketball that didn't know a basketball from a toaster. She was in the right place, it was a rec league so I was fine with it. She went all season without scoring a basket and in the last game we decided we were going to get her a basket.

We tried the whole game to get her to score, she just couldn't shoot from anything farther than two feet out. At the end of the game with 10 seconds left (we were up by double digits, the game was over) we got the ball out of bounds under our basket and I called timeout.

The other coach was livid, I couldn't blame him. We setup our out of bounds play which always leads to an easy layup if ran correctly although it's complex. Well she didn't run it correctly and the ball got knocked out of bounds. It was our ball so I called another timeout (last timeout).

The opposing coach was screaming at me now, half of the crowd was booing. Our fans knew what we were trying to do but remained silent, unsure if we could pull it off.

We went over the play again in the huddle. I was diagramming like a madman, going over this play that we had ran 748 times prior.

So now the opposing coach knows we are really trying to score so he instructs his girls to foul any shot attempt. The refs are now becoming annoyed as well, the other teams have shown up and they are ready to start the next game.

We break the huddle and the gym has gone silent. The ref blows his whistle and my girls start running the play. The other four girls are setting picks that Bob Knight would have been proud of, it was brutal. The girl amazingly remembers where to cut and is in position for an open layup. She shoots she scores, the crowd went nuts.

That girl scored her bucket and to my knowledge never played again. We went on to win the post season tournament (without that girl, she went on vacation and I never saw her again).

Ever time I see a girl from that team they never talk about the championship we won, they talk about that play we ran so that girl could get her bucket.

 

[chinamigarden]

The best thing I ever did for the worst player on a team?

probably this year in my 1-3 grade basketball team I convinced the best player on the team that passing the ball to the other kids is a good thing. Last couple of games he passed up on shots he would have taken in the past, and gave other kids a chance at making a shot. And as it would turn out, the worst player on the team ended up with a wide open layup that he converted for points. And of course that success encouraged the best player to continue to pass the ball. Which is a good thing for him and the rest of the team.

 

[Cannonball]

Sluggers, I could tell you a bunch of stories. I'll start with a girl who was a good athlete until injuries happened. I coached a girl in girl's basketball that was tough as nails and a good rebounder. She played good defense as well. However, she tore her ACL in the second game of her sophomore year. It was a bad one so she had to have reconstructive surgery. She sat out her Junior year but was on the team. She shot tons of free throws on the side baskets but could never get cleared to play. We have a week left in her Junior year and finally she was cleared. To reward her for all of her hard work, I put her in a game. She was so thrilled until she tore her other ACL about one minute into her playing time. No one could believe it. Heck everyone was crying. So, her senior year, she comes out again. Can't get cleared. Her parents come to me and beg me to put her in. She does dress every game. My AD looks at me. I take a time out and go to the other coach. I tell the other coach what is going on and that I'm putting her in to the game. She will not dribble the ball. She will not pass the ball. I will take a time out after she catches the ball. As things often work out, the other team's coach didn't have time to get the message to his players. So, we inbound the ball. Robo-doing (Pronunced Robo -doe ing) can't catch it. She hobbles down the court. The other coach is yelling at his girls to fall back. Finally, they do. Robodoing catches the ball, takes a dribble and we take the time out. Again, tears everywhere. Her Mom and Dad walk out on the floor and give her a big hug which was then followed by a team hug. By now, I have had time to tell the Refs what is up. We award the ball to Robo-Doing who then was wearing 2 CTI braces. One on each knee. We lost that game but won in so many other ways.

 

[Cannonball]

I was coaching LL 10 year olds and the kids no one else wanted from the player draft. This team did not have a coach and so, even though I was only 3 years older than them, I was asked by our Park Director, Jerry Clapsaddle to take the team. We were terrible. We had a special needs child on the team and his older brother asked me if he could assist me because of his brother. This young man not only was special needs, he was severely overweight. What a great kid who could make me laugh so much. Scotty didn't get a hit for a couple of years. Scotty's brother and I coached this team until they were all 17. We won our league every year after the first. It wasn't that Scotty did anything special but rather his love of the game and to be playing. I don't know that he ever caught a ball hit to him. I know he got one hit for sure. He would show up every game and ask, "Coach am I starting." Again, the smile on his face will forever be with me. Scotty died of a heart attack when he was 20. That was the first of many funerals I have attended of my former players.

 

[Cannonball]

One year we had a young man tryout for the HS team and it was apparent that he was not skilled. As we went through our typically stuff, this young man headed for the dugout to get his socks and shoes off. He was saying his feet were hot. So, we were jokingly calling him hot feet. It didn't take long to see his urgency. He had Epidermolysis Bullos. His feet were blistering as fast as he could get his shoes off. Man was it bad. He was so upset because he loved the game. Naturally, he didn't have any skills because he never played. When we made the list of people who had made the team, we put at the bottom for Michael to see us. We wanted to talk to his mom. She told us about the disease and that she had been told to let him live his life but to know that he is going to be in pain and miserable all of the time. When he had blisters, they had to be popped. It would be a terrible thing to cut a kid like this. We kept Michael under special conditions. He had to know that we could never play him. He asked if he could practice bare feet. So, we laughed and said sure. So, his nickname became "Feet." We kept a medical kit with stuff our trainer said we needed for "Feet." One day, I was throwing BP in a cage and he came over and asked me if I needed a break. I told him I could use a drink and walked out. "Feet" got a chair and sat in it. He located the bucket and chair so that he was protected and then threw overhead. He had to have ointments and special clothing to do anything. So, "Feet" turned out to be really good at throwing BP. He asked me if he could throw in the cage while I threw live on the field. Wow, did our practices become efficient. That team went 40-0 and won a State Championship. If you ever saw the team picture, "Feet" is sitting in the front row with shoes on and as miserable as can be. He and I are still close and I still call him "Feet."

As an FYI, please look up Epidermolysis Bullos. I want you to see what Michael lives with. I love that kid! One other thing, Michael experienced a milder form (Weber-Cockayne type) that mostly attacked his lower body. I only recall a couple of times where he blistered on the arms. He did blister on the face if he was not properly shaded. We put a tarp over the cage to protect him some but never enough.

Edited to add:

Michael threw BP with batting gloves on and so, he seemed to be able to do it. Of course he could not throw day in and day out.