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repeat…over the course of the final fifteen days of 2009, i’m going to let you in on fifteen things that need to change in my life in the coming year. fifteen decisions that i am making that reflect things that are important to me.
i’m going to go waaay out on a limb. i’m going to give you my best shot at honest transparency, in an attempt to be held accountable. some things will be about my spiritual journey…others are simply improvements to the life i walk. either way, they are important to me…and here’s the next one on the list:
change number eight
it’s no secret to people who know me or who have spent any time with me…i love baseball. i like just about every sport, but there is nothing that compares to baseball.
my dad took me to san diego padre games back in the 60’s when they were a real minor league team…not the faker one they impersonate every third or fourth year nowdays. i can remember seeing some of the most famous baseball players of that era play at old westgate park in my hometown.
i played little league in the days of heavy cotton uniforms and wood bats and stirrups and the original flat bills.
i collected baseball cards in old cigar boxes and used some of favorite ones…mickey mantle, pee wee reese, stan musial, harmon killebrew, juan marichal, and others…to clothespin on the spokes of my schwinn stingray with the banana seat, to make the clicking sound as i rolled down the street.
man, would i be rich right now.
when chris was young, i tried to teach him what i knew about the grand game. how to throw…how to hold a bat…and to discover the strategy of the game. i coached his little teams for six years, from the time he was seven. he was always my coach on the field.
i only coached corey’s team for a couple of years, before i hung up my coaches hat and picked out the most comfortable lawn chair to watch him play.
my proudest moment was being able to watch them play together on the lewisville high school baseball team, when chris was a senior and corey was a freshman. i was the dad of the farra boys. unbelievable. i don’t deserve to have such amazing memories.
i got to watch corey play for four years during college and now to watch him continue his love of the game as a coach and instructor. chris stepped away from playing, but picked up umpiring during his college years. what kind of dad cheers for the umpire? passion for the game lives on.
so here’s what i’m thinking. i need to get back out on the field with young guys, again.
the game is that important. the relationships are that important. the lessons kids can learn from the game are that important. the joy i receive from giving back to the game and to boys is that important.
the other day, i spent time with a young guy from north point who is going to be trying out for the freshman team at lewisville high school at the end of january. i just wanted to help him a little and give him some insight into the process and maybe give him a tip, or two, on his swing.
we went out and threw a ball for a while. it was last friday. my arm is still sore! rotator cuff problems in my shoulder and bone chips all through my throwing elbow…years and years of pitching batting practice and bad church softball. it was an awesome pain!
so i decided last friday that i’m going to carve out some time in my future to get back into the game. i’m not exactly sure what i’m going to do…maybe i can help coach somebody’s team…or maybe i’ll offer to give some hitting lessons to kids who don’t have the money to pay for private instruction…or maybe i’ll see if i can do a little umpiring. i don’t know.
what i do know is that there aren’t many things i can do that will keep me fresh and focused like spending time with kids and spending time with baseball.
ahh…the smell of spring training is right around the corner.
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