DailySusan Humor Blog

METRO CHAMPIONS, HOPPING HAPPY

Our daughter Eden’s softball team won the Omaha softball championship this past weekend in the 18 and under bracket. They outscored their opponent Sunday by 13-0 in two games. It was especially sweet because the Firestix had been slumping over the past few weeks. But now, when it counted, they snapped out of it and played some great ball.

Their coach, however, had been kicked out for inadvisably overstating his case to an ump on Saturday night over a contested call. He was dead right, of course, though he let his belly bump the ump’s in his passionate appeal, and you can’t do that. His zeal inspired the girls, though. They won, and moved on to the championship round Sunday morning.

He was not allowed in the ballpark, though, for the two championship games. He had to content himself with standing in a ravine area a long way away, watching with binoculars and talking to the assistant coaches on a cell phone.

The girls love him. It was obvious that they were going to win and that he was getting excited. In the last inning, the players in the outfield decided to play a trick on him. When they got the second out -- not the third one -- they were going to jump for joy, as if in victory, to see what he would do.

The second out came. The girls leaped. ‘Way across the field, they could see their coach had gone for the bait. He was hopping, skipping and jumping . . . and boy, was he confused when the next batter came up to the plate.

But he could never be ‘’hopping mad’’ at them, not when they played so well.

Ah, youth: ‘’coaching’’ adults on having fun is one of the best things about sports. In fact, it’s the whole ball game.

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Prayer request: A very beloved and talented preschool teacher named Jen lost everything in an apartment fire and has to start all over. She is a strong Christian. Oh, Father, thank You for sparing her life. Fill her heart with perseverance. Inspire those around her, including our family, with ways we can be of help. (Ephesians 6:18)