Selfless Always Plays (Bot9 #349)
Moving into a position where I get to “coach coaches” has a number of benefits. I got to experience one of those benefits on Friday. Through 20 years of coaching, I’ve had the opportunity to coach right around 100 athletes who have gone on to play baseball or softball at the next level. The challenging part of that has been that I’ve never, to my recollection, ever been able to go see one of them play a game at the next level. I’ve always been so busy with the spring season that I’ve never been able to break away. That changed this past Friday.
As Colorado Mesa traveled to Denver to take on Colorado Christian, I made sure to go see the first game of their weekend series. Two of my former players play for Mesa and I finally had a chance to see them play collegiately. As it turned out, I also had a connection to the starting pitcher for Mesa. His dad and I went to college together. He played quarterback for the football team while I was in the broadcast booth doing play-by-play. I texted my college friend to see if he was in the stands. He was not (he was watching the stream from a flight) but he did make me aware of that game being a potential milestone win for the Mesa head coach. Chris Hanks, the legendary Mesa coach, was looking for his 1000th win. It just so happens that’s where the story becomes even more interesting and intersects with one of my former players.
Declan Wiesner is Mesa’s starting catcher and he’s tearing it up. Four bombs, batting average above .450, handing the pitching staff beautifully. Not a surprise by any stretch. Declan’s a dude. But it was what he did quietly, selflessly, that no one probably noticed other than me.
Late in the game I stood with Declan’s dad, Dan, up on the concourse at All-Star Park. Dan knew about Coach Hanks’s impending milestone. As Declan’s turn in the order came in the top of the eighth of an obvious win, he pointed out a substitution Coach Hanks was making in Declan’s spot - Coach Hanks was putting his son into the game, also a catcher for Mesa.
I want to interject here for a minute. Working in sports with the high school age group for as long as I have can leave you jaded and wondering about the current state of humanity. I can’t believe some of the things I see and hear across high school and club sports. It’s vile. Anyone who is in it or whose kids have aged out of it are reading this and shaking their heads. I can’t believe the level of “me” focus and self-centeredness at the core of so many complaints and decisions. It’s hard to accept sometimes.
But there I was on Friday, one of my former player’s dad’s standing with me as his son got pulled for the coach’s kid, who said, “How cool is that? His son is going to get to be on the field as his dad clinches his 1000th win.” Talk about rekindling your belief and faith in humanity! We all got sucked into the moment, celebrating Coach Hanks and the team as they put the finishing touches on the win. And, in a moment that probably only a few people saw right after the game-ending play, Coach Hanks’s son pointed and winked at his dad right after the win was secured.
Here’s the lesson - selfless always plays. Stepping aside and allowing yourself to be a part of something way bigger than you is always the right thing to do. When you turn your focus away from self and onto all of those around you, that’s when you begin to walk closer to the Almighty. Good work, Declan and Dan. It may have been a small thing in your mind or even just the right thing to do, but this is the kind of moment that gets to live into eternity.