Team Photo

Coaches Brian, Art, and Tony; Scorekeeper Jackie, and Manager Terry

Caroline, Natalie, Ali, Bre, Amber, Toni

Sammi, Ashley, Hanna, Coral, Kenzie, Hunter

2008 NSA World Series

There's so much to talk about I know I won't get to everything, so I'll just start babbling.

We left for Columbus, OH at 8:20 on the morning of the 19th and arrived right around 3 o'clock. I was amazed at how well the kids behaved during that 470 mile long trek westward. We stayed at Embassy Suites, which is designed so that all rooms face a large atrium. After stressing for weeks about the cost of this place, I'm glad we decided to stay there. The whole team stayed there, and the kids could have some freedom while the adults socialized in the atrium area. In other words, my twins couldn't escape my sight, at least when they changed locations. We all had some issues with some of the things hotel management did, or didn't do, but at least the physical space was ideal for us.

We didn't know what to expect from the teams we were to face this week. All of them had to qualify for this tournament by playing and, supposedly, doing well in local NSA tournaments. Apparently, some teams got there because all the other teams in their area already qualified (thus the berths move to the next teams down the line) because the first team we played were not that good, at least on Monday when we played. LSL won that first game 23-1.

The second game, on Tuesday morning, was against the Indiana Dreams, the Indiana state champs, I think. They were a tougher challenge, but we beat them by a score of 4-0. On Tuesday afternoon we played the QC Firebirds. These girls beat LSL and sent them home on Wednesday last year. We beat them 7-1. On Wednesday we played the Delaware Magic, who we've played several time in local tournaments. They tied us once, but usually have not been that hard to beat. This time we beat them 10-0 in four innings.

Thursday is when you start seeing the harder competition. The teams still in town have been winning their games. Our first game of Thursday was against the IN Diamond Chix. This was almost our worst game of the tournament. Most of the girls were playing very flat, not hitting the ball, and making errors. We wound up wining 2-1 but everyone was very worried that the girls were taking this tournament as seriously as they should.

Our worries were justified in the next game, Thursday afternoon, against our arch-rivals (and off-the-field-best-buddies) the Philadelphia Spirit, who also happened to be staying at our hotel. With a shared record of 3-3-1, the Spirit wanted to tip the scales in their favor more than our girls did, at least until the chips were down. In the first inning, compounded by a lack of offense and an abundance of defensive errors, Philly scored six runs. We were in a giant hole. Apparently that's where our girls wanted to start from because they came back with a big, five-run inning of their own and only lost by a score of 9-7. This was our first loss so got bumped into the Loser's bracket, meaning we have to win five straight games on Friday if we want first place. It also means that eventually, we'll probably have to play Philly again.

Friday morning, 9:45 am, starts a string of games that defied all expectations. We faced the Indy Dreams again and shut them out for a 10-0 win. Then the Ohio state champions, the Ohio Ice, were beaten by a score of 6-2. While we were playing the Ice, the Spirit were experiencing their first tournament loss to the KY Diamond Cats.

Our third game on Friday was for a shot at the championship game with the Diamond Cats. We had to even the score with the Spirit first. And we did. With a score of 7-4, we beat them and were guaranteed at least a second place finish. This was about when I got that priceless hug. As soon as the game ended, after the usual ecstatic cheering, both teams met on the pitcher's mound and danced and cheered together. I was dumbstruck (a very unusual occurrence) at how the girls instantly forgot they were softball rivals, trying to pulverize each other on the diamond, and became the friends that we've been watching play together all week at our hotel. They even stayed for the next game to cheer LSL on in the contest between us and KY.

Now, Ali Caulkins, our pitcher, is just someone who is so special I have to take some time out right here to gush over her. So far this week, she had pitched almost every pitch in the nine games we'd played. She had overcome probably a dozen errors in the previous three games in a row to get us to this next game. I don't think I'll ever meet another ten year old with so much heart and ability as this girl has. Now she has to face the KY Diamond Cats. On this Friday, KY had only played one game to our three and were well rested. Ali pitched a game that was 3-2 (KY) until the very last inning. A few fatigue-induced fielding errors led LSL to a loss to only the second team to beat them this year. They took second place in a national tournament, an accomplishment matched only once by the LSL 10U organization.

In the end, the Philadelphia Spirit players were with our players, in the dugout and celebrating on the field right along with their softball rivals and friends. They spent one last night at the hotel together, playing and enjoying themselves before they go back home to start a whole new season of girl's fast pitch softball.

The new season, by the way, starts with tryouts on Aug. 9. Have a good two weeks off, girls!

Priceless

Gas to Ohio and Back: $200

Food for a week: $350

Hotel expenses: $1300

The hug I got from my little girl when her team took second place in the NSA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ohio: Absolutely, positvely, without-a-doubt... Priceless.

More to come as time allows.....

Packing Up

We head out to Columbus, Ohio tomorrow for the NSA Eastern World Series. I'm not looking forward to the 8 hour drive. Six of us; Kenzie, Alex, Connor, Taylor, Tyler, and me; will be packed into the minivan when we leave early tomorrow morning. I don't know how many of us will walk out of the van in Ohio. The way the kids have been getting along this summer, I predict ugliness, tears, and maybe even some bloodshed by the time this trip is over.

At least I should be able to get some of it on film. Vicki's dad bought a nice HD camcorder and is letting us borrow it for the trip. I haven't used a video recorder since Alex was two years old, so I won't promise any Hollywood productions. I was playing with the camera at practice last night and discovered a really cool slow motion setting. I can't wait to use that feature to show the kids how they can improve their swings, kicks, etc. (in their sports, that is...they don't need any help in the sibling disputes). Here's a sample of what it can do. The quality has been reduced to make the files small enough to download before next year.

Snappy's Gettin' Big

While draining and refilling the pond today, trying to clarify the water a bit, I found Snappy, our quasi-pet snapping turtle. Kenzie found him back in September '06 and introduced him to our pond. He seems to be quite happy, with plenty of stuff to eat (including the occasional goldfish) in our entropic pond over the the past two years. He has grown quite a bit, as you can see from these pictures. Notice how Kenzie and I both keep our thumbs away from Snappy's mouth. He may be small, but we don't trust him with our fingers too close to his beak. We had one of these guys, much bigger than Snappy, almost take off the nose of a curious puppy a few years ago.

Entropy

The process of something progressing from a high state of organization to chaos has been demonstrated in my back yard. In 2002 I built a small goldfish pond in the back yard. It had two levels with a waterfall connecting the upper and lower ponds. It had goldfish and flowers. It had clear water and was pleasant to sit beside and listen to. Here's a picture of our infant pond.



The following year, I added a G scale train that travelled around the pond and over a bridge, across the pond. There were a few more plants, especially aquatic plants, and lots more rocks. The water was still clear, the waterfall did not leak, and now we could play with trains. We even had lighthouses representing two of my favorite Chesapeake Bay lighthouses. And we had frogs.


Over the next few years the waterfall sprung a leak; the top pond stagnated because water could not be circulated through it. The Lily pad did very well for itself, as did the rest of the aquatic plants. The Terran plants, especially the weeds, also enjoyed their time in our yard. We acquired a snapping turtle, and a lot more frogs. The trains stopped working and the track was taken up, although the bridge remained as a decoration. The little ecosystem became self-sufficient; I even stopped feeding the fish because they didn't more food than the little pond provided. The snapping turtle ate some fish, which spawned to replenish their numbers. The frogs had plenty of bugs that grew in the stagnant part of the pond. However, without any external input, Entropy ruled. I had lost my pond.

I couldn't take it any more. I spent the day up to my knees in pond scum. I pulled out all the plants, which were absolutely everywhere. I had to cut the Lily pad into pieces just to get it out of the water, it weighed so much. The kids and I picked up every rock, removed the upper pond, shoveled dirt to re-design the landscape, chopped, pulled, yanked, and broke our backs removing weeds. Then, we put it all back together, not quite as good as new, but a lot better than Entropy would have it. We got a new waterfall. We kept the bridge, the lighthouses, small parts of the old plants to start new ones, the fish, the frogs, and even the snapping turtle. The water is not clear yet, but at least the pump is working, so maybe the little particle filter will help clarify it. Some days, that shower feels really good.

64 Days?

Can you believe it's only 64 days until the next kid is due to arrive? I can't. Time flies.

62-3-3

As best I can figure by going back to all the tournaments Kenzie has played in, that's the regular season record of the Lake Shore Lightning.

The softball season culminated in a fantastic battle of the titans when LSL met their arch-rivals, the Phiadelphia Spirit. After beating the Spirit 6-0 in a preliminary game on Saturday, the final showdown came in the championship game on Sunday afternoon. Everyone contributed to get us to this point but since this is my little piece of the Internet, I have to take a moment to extol the performance of my little #4. After a couple of scoreless innings, where both teams had runners in scoring position, but failed to cross the plate, Kenzie sent a one-out line drive into center field, earning her a single. Coach Terry gave her the "half-way" sign, meaning she should take a good lead, and she had permission to steal if the opportunity presented itself. To Kenzie, this meant she was going to attempt yet another delayed steal. I lost count of how many of those she's made this year. Anyway, after the next pitch, Kenzie took her lead, and following a lazy throw back to the pitcher, she took off. I thought she was a goner because her lead was very short, but the pitcher paid absolutely no attention to Kenzie. By the time the pitcher realized Kenzie was stealing, she had to make a hurried throw to second base that wound up in center field. This prompted Kenzie to take third, leading to another errant throw that hit the fence. And yes, Kenzie came home to score the first run of the game. All on a delayed steal. Very cool. The Spirit proceeded to get two runs to take the lead and a few innings later, we were starting to bite our fingernails. In the bottom of the sixth, our girls managed to scrape out two more runs. I am ashamed to say I don't remember who scored those runs, but I did have a ball fly at my chair at one point, knocking my drink off my little table and I know that's when the third run crossed the plate. I was in the process of getting out of the way of the stray ball and failed to see who was running the bases. After Ali shut down the Spirit in the top of the seventh, the Lightning emerged as champions once again. This kind of thing makes up for spending two nights a week at softball practice, spending 14 of the last 15 weekends in different towns and parks, spending lots and lots of money on softball stuff, etc.













Well, another thing that makes it worth it is the camaraderie that develops between the girls. There is a mutual respect that grows into friendship off the field. Between games the girls from both teams get along like they've been friends forever, even though they live in two different cities in two different states. Even after the heated battle of that final game, here's how they ended up, awaiting the trophy ceremony. The Spirit player, the coach's daughter, sitting next to Kenzie in this picture actually made someone else move over so she and Kenzie could sit together.

In two weeks, we head to Ohio for the NSA Eastern World Series. The Spirit will be there, too.

Oh, and just a note about the 62-3-3 record. All three losses and one tie were to the Spirit, one tie was with the Mystics, and the other with the DE Magic. So, the only team to ever beat us was the Spirit, with whom we share identical records, 3-3-1. I don't think two top teams could be much more evenly matched, although the Spirit did lose to teams other than us.