"It's not what you say...

...it's what people hear." Have you ever heard this phrase?

I learned a valuable lesson a couple nights ago that illustrates the truth of this statement.

On Monday night, I had a baseball game and YoungLife club after work. I needed to leave the game early due to YoungLife so in the middle of the game I told my kids that I needed to leave early to attend an "engagement." (Now don't ask why I used this huge word with 8-10 year old kids, but I'm synonymous for stuff like that -- stupid me) One of my kids -- let's call him "Nails" because that's the nickname I gave him -- only heard the word "engagement" and popped up in excitement and asked me "Coach B, are you getting married?" Without having time to respond, "Nails" proceeds to shout (very audibly) to the rest of his teammates -- "Guys, Coach B is getting married!" At this point, the dugout is in utter chaos. After a few minutes I was able to calm them down and, unfortunately, had to squelch their excitement over me getting married.

But it reminded me why I do what I do.

This is why I love coaching baseball. This is why I love working with kids. It's because they see life through another set of lenses. It's because they see life through the past 8-10 years, not the past 26 like me. It's because they cling to huge hopes and big dreams and in the process give me the courage to pursue my hopes and dreams. I don't remember much about being 10 years old, but I do remember growing up on the baseball diamond and learning many of life's important lessons under the hot Texas sun playing America's pasttime. What a true joy it is to teach the game of baseball to the generation of tomorrow!

This year's baseball season draws to a close tonight, but the memories of these 11 kids will not quickly fade. Each one of them has deeply touched my life in their own special way.

Through the eyes of a child....

Sometimes I wish I saw life through the lens of a child. I love being around children, in particular teenagers (I know....call me crazy!!). I talk a lot about my involvment in YoungLife and coaching Little League baseball. Because of these experiences, I have the chance to escape my "grown up" world of Blackberries, weekly status meetings, busines trips, starched dress shirts and ironed slacks. Don't get me wrong, being a grown up has it advantages and I need to make some money so that I can be responsible and pay my rent. But I'm often stopped dead in my tracks by the kids in my life and challenged to take a look at life through their eyes.

Here is an example from this week:

An exchange with one of my baseball players (age 8) after the game - Please keep in mind our team got beat badly (11-2) on Wednesday after our first victory on Tuesday.

G: "Did we win Coach B?"
Me: "No, G, we came up a little short."
G: "Coach B?"
Me: "Yes, G."
G: "Do we still get tickets (basically money) for the snack stand?"

He was not playing to win a world championship at age 8. All he wanted to do is play the game to the best of his ability knowing there was a "treat" to look forward to in the end.

What if I/we approached life like that? What if we lived knowing there was a "treat" at the end -- spending eternity with our Heavenly Father?

Will the Giants WIN the West?

When you think of the Giants what is the first thing that comes to mind? You might think of Barry Bonds, HGH/steroids, tainted home run records, etc. But I'm here to tell you that the Giants this year are a different team. They picked up some highly touted prospects in this year's draft like Bronson, Austin, Shane, Alec, Jonathan, Jeremy, Dominique, Austin, Conner, and Grayson. With all of this young talent, I think they are going to take the Mustang divison (8-10 year olds) championship in Arizona this year. :) Yes....the Giants I'm referring to is the youth baseball team I'm coaching this year. We had our first two practices this week and I'm pumped about the season. I have some great kids who are excited about learning how to play baseball. I'm sure I will have several funny stories to share throughout the year.

Boys of Summer

The Boys of Summer are back again!! This is one of my favorite times of the year, especially since I've moved out to Arizona. It's about 70 degrees during the day, dropping to around 50 at night. You better believe that I'm outside as much as possible. But aside from the nice weather that I'm soaking up, I'm also enjoying the return of our national pastime. Baseball is one of my favorite sports -- probably because for as long as I can remember my dad has made sure a baseball is in my hand. I particularly enjoy college baseball. College baseball has not been tarnished by steroid scandals or testimonies before Congress. It's entirely the opposite. For the most part, college baseball is made up of a bunch of guys who enjoy playing the game. They play the game for the name on the front of their jersey more than they play it for the name on the back and I really like that. This past weekend, I watched ASU, Miami (Ohio), Vanderbilt, and Oregon State battle it out in the DeMarini Invitational here in Tempe. It was baseball in its purest form (with the exception of the aluminum bats :)).

Here is a couple of pics from the weekend:
RALLY TIME: Vandy mounts a 9th inning comeback to beat Miami (Ohio)

SAY HELLO TO MY LIL' FRIEND: ASU's Brett Wallace goes deep in the 1st inning against Oregon State