What We Learn On and Off the Field
Little league. Been there, done that. I played little league baseball from the age of 6 until the age of 14. I played every position except for 1st base. (I have no idea why I never played first base) My fondest memories were: hitting my first single, double, triple, homerun, and grand slam; striking out my first batter; diving catches in the outfield; stealing 2nd base, 3rd base, and home plate; throwing out a slow runner at 1st base from left field, and going out for ice cream after the games – win or lose.
Looking back now, I find it easier to appreciate the things I learned from playing baseball as a kid. First, I realize that my Mom did a lot for me that I never appreciated, until now. She drove me to every practice and game. She sat in the bleachers and cheered for every swing, hit, miss, catch, or dropped ball. She cheered the loudest when I made a great play or big hit. Win or lose she was there to support me, encourage me, and remind me that winning or losing was part of the game.
Second, I realize that winning and losing are two sides of the same valuable coin. Confused? Hold on, I’ll explain… To be a winner you have to have a passion for winning. You need a burning desire to be number one, the best. Until you’ve had a winning experience you really have no idea what is so great about it. Sure, you may have raced your friends around the playground or had bragging rights for eating the most hotdogs at the school picnic, but that’s not REALLY winning. Winning is knocking in a two-run homerun in the bottom of the last inning. Winning is the feeling of absolute elation you feel as you jog into home plate, crowded with your teammates cheering, knowing that you made the difference between winning and losing. That is a feeling that will never leave you and you might just crave it in the other things you do in life.
So too is the feeling of losing. Losing sucks. Let me repeat that. Losing sucks. As someone else once said “2nd place is the first loser” and I believe them. Once you’ve dropped a fly fall in deep center field, only to watch the winning run tag home. Seen your teammates turn away from you in disgust and curse you under your breath. Then you know the brutal sting of defeat. But there is an upside. Losing is when your true character is tested. Succumbing to defeat, assuming it is what you deserved, is never the answer. Resolving to practice harder and never drop another fly ball again, that’s the right answer. Despite the downside, losing shapes your future just as much as winning, its all in how you respond and react. Like making mistakes, losing is a learning experience, as long as you take the time to look back and try to understand why you lost.
Finally, I learned to have fun playing baseball. On the baseball field, my friends and I were the playing for the fun of the game and nothing else. We had nothing else on our minds except playing baseball in that moment. We were playing a game that our fathers had grown-up playing on the streets of New York City, Boston, or Philadelphia. It was time away from the rules of school, chores at home, and the pressures of growing up in a world that was changing faster than we were.
This was before professional scouts were watching Pee Wee League games looking for the next George Brett, Derek Jeter, or Alex Rodriguez. Now it seems, in some places, the emphasis on winning, and only winning, has overshadowed the fun factor. I feel sorry for the kids that taught that winning is the only reason to play. Hopefully someday they’ll have a chance to look back and see that they learned more from the whole experience than just how to win or lose.
I know from watching the t-ball games at the local multi-sport field that fun is still alive and well on the baseball field. I see the joy in the eyes of every boy and girl as they approach the plate and take their cut at the ball. I see their coaches and parents cheering for them, hit or miss, catch or drop. I see the teams cheering for each other, happy to be away from the classroom and their chores at home. I salute the parents that work so hard to bring the joy of baseball to their little boys and girls of summer. You’re doing a wonderful thing. Parents and players - have a great season!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
2008 Commencement Speech
“Be The Change”
I never gave a commencement speech. I wasn’t the Valedictorian or the Salutatorian in high school, and I’m glad I wasn’t. At that point in my life I was only concerned with two things – hooking up with parties and girls, preferably at the same time. I had limited “life experience” and very little wisdom to share with my classmates. What did I know! Now that I’ve made a few mistakes, learned from my mistakes, and taken the time to understand and grow from my experience I feel the time has come to give a commencement speech that might actually be worth listening to. If it sounds like a sermon, I apologize, but I did recently become an ordained monastery minister with the
“To the Class of 2008 - high school, middle school, and kindergarten graduates. As you move on from one school to another, or into “the real world”, I want you to remember just one thing – you, and only you, can be the change that you want to see in the world. Nobody is going to do it for you. As the great Bill Murry said in classic movie “Caddyshack” – “Be the Ball”. Think about that for a moment while I ramble on...
For the high school graduates – whether you are going to college or starting a career, the hard work is just beginning. Now that you’re all grown-up and you finally know everything, nobody is going to remind you to do your homework or put in the overtime to be recognized as a standout employee. How hard you work at your studies or your job will determine your future opportunities. It is that simple – the effort you put in determines the results, plain and simple. You are the motor and the transmission for your life. Sit on the couch all day waiting for someone else to do something for you and you’ll get lapped in no time. Don’t get me wrong, you also need to get out and play, see the world (or at least
For the middle school graduates – get ready to rumble! If you thought the pecking order in middle school was rough, just wait until you start your first day of high school and discover that you are the lowest of the low. Don’t panic! Rent a copy of “The Breakfast Club” over the summer and all will be revealed to you. Be true to yourself and you’ll make friends faster that you know. Better yet, make a difference by helping someone else more nervous than you about entering high school and you’ll have a friend for life. Just don’t hit on the girlfriend of the captain of the football team… that’ll hurt you every time, trust me.
For kindergarten graduates – you have it easy. You still have a long way to go (probably a few years at least) before mom and dad kick your butt out of the house. Milk it!! Enjoy every day that you go to the fridge and it is stocked with food that you didn’t have to pay for. Thank your lucky stars for every trip to Chunky-E-Cheese that you don’t have to shell out big bucks to fill the gas tank. If you keep your room clean and don’t forget to help around the house you will be golden for the next few years… until you discover that you know more than your parents and tell them so in a furious rage over which way the sun rotates around the earth. You too can make a change – stop being a sullen little brat and thank god that you have people in your life that love you for who you are.
As I was saying, you are the change. Want to be start your own property management company, start one, it doesn’t cost a dime and you have nothing (literally) to lose. Want so see better recycling services in your county, call your Commissioners and tell them what you think. Think you have what it takes to play varsity football, basketball, or oboe? Go out for the team and see what happens. Ready to move-up from “Goodnight Moon” to “Hop on Pop”, grab a different book from the library the next time you’re there. It is all up to you!
It was Gandhi, not me, that first said “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Even if your world is just between Black Hawk and Ward, it is still possible to make a change, any change, and live your life without any excuses. Now go do it!!!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Lingo Bingo
When I lived in Boulder (yes, its true, but I’m feeling better now) I worked for a video game company that developed games like EverQuest or Worlds of Warcraft. I’d still be working there if it wasn’t for the fact that the games we made we boring and nobody wanted to collectively pay us millions of dollars every month to play them. So, to be more precise, our games were not like EverQuest or Worlds of Warcraft – they were far from it.
As the head of the testing department I had a staff of recent college graduates and nearly-college-graduates to do my bidding. They were a great group of guys and my buddies. As part of the techno-game culture, there was always a discussion at lunch over the latest and greatest gadgets, gizmos, and techie toys. Most of the time the discussion centered on the newest 3-D graphics card, the hottest game controller, or the best CPU to build a computer around. Believe it or not, it was possible for us to waste an entire lunchtime debating the merits of RAM speed, cache size, and bus speed. (If none of this sounds familiar to you, count yourself lucky.)
I’m telling you about this because now that I live in the mountains and my hobbies have changed, I have other lingo to throw around besides RAM, CPU, megabits, and Ethernet.
Now, in my free time, with a different group of friends, I talk about aperture, field-of-view, eye relief, muzzle velocity, and caliber. Hopefully, as a mountain living person you recognize those terms from your last hunting trip. They are the various terms used to describe a scope and rifle, as well as the behaviors of those components.
This past weekend I went down to the Boulder Rifle Club (in Boulder, no less) to get a head start on my shooting practice for next fall’s elk hunting season. I noticed that over the past couple of years (I’ve only been hunting elk for a couple of years) I waited until a few weeks before the season opened to zero my rifle and get in some practice rounds. As any seasoned hunter, probably someone with more than two years under his belt, will tell you, that amount of practice just doesn’t cut it. I know that, so I made a promise to myself that I’d shoot my elk rifle at least once a month, every month, from May to October. My goal is to be a crack shot by the fall. So far I’m pretty happy. At 100 yards my second shot from the bench was a dead-on bull’s eye and every shot I took off-hand from kneeling position was on the target. If I stay on schedule and practice with the kids’ BB gun in the back yard, I might be ready for something more than a 50 yard shot this year.
While I was there I took the opportunity to practice a few shots with my pistol. On the pistol range I was surrounded by all kinds of gun geeks. I say that with great admiration and appreciation for their skill and experience. These guys (and gals, there was one!) obviously knew their gun stuff. One gentlemen I talked to told me how I could modify my pistol by changing out all kinds of parts I didn’t know my pistol had. When I looked at him like he had two heads (the same way my wife looks at me when I try to wake her up early on a Saturday morning) he knew immediately that I was only a newbie, not a master like himself. Without blinking an eye he offered to buy my pistol, probably hoping to give it a better home with the love and attention it deserves. I said I’d think about it and give him a call later in the week.
I guess I find it pretty funny that even though I left the “big city” over 10 years ago I can’t get away from technical lingo jingo. Pistols or computers, everything has it’s own dictionary and the more you learn the more there is to learn. For what its worth, I’m happier talking about calibers than clock cycles any day of the week.
P.S. – To all the new folks that moved to the high county this winter (above 8,000 feet), the missing pet signs you post on the telephone poles won’t bring back your little “FiFi” or “Mr. Snuggles”. Your missing pet has taken their place in the circle of life and provided an easy meal to the neighborhood coyote/bobcat/mountain lion. Say a little prayer for them and contact the local humane society to see what bigger, faster pets they have available for adoption.
As the head of the testing department I had a staff of recent college graduates and nearly-college-graduates to do my bidding. They were a great group of guys and my buddies. As part of the techno-game culture, there was always a discussion at lunch over the latest and greatest gadgets, gizmos, and techie toys. Most of the time the discussion centered on the newest 3-D graphics card, the hottest game controller, or the best CPU to build a computer around. Believe it or not, it was possible for us to waste an entire lunchtime debating the merits of RAM speed, cache size, and bus speed. (If none of this sounds familiar to you, count yourself lucky.)
I’m telling you about this because now that I live in the mountains and my hobbies have changed, I have other lingo to throw around besides RAM, CPU, megabits, and Ethernet.
Now, in my free time, with a different group of friends, I talk about aperture, field-of-view, eye relief, muzzle velocity, and caliber. Hopefully, as a mountain living person you recognize those terms from your last hunting trip. They are the various terms used to describe a scope and rifle, as well as the behaviors of those components.
This past weekend I went down to the Boulder Rifle Club (in Boulder, no less) to get a head start on my shooting practice for next fall’s elk hunting season. I noticed that over the past couple of years (I’ve only been hunting elk for a couple of years) I waited until a few weeks before the season opened to zero my rifle and get in some practice rounds. As any seasoned hunter, probably someone with more than two years under his belt, will tell you, that amount of practice just doesn’t cut it. I know that, so I made a promise to myself that I’d shoot my elk rifle at least once a month, every month, from May to October. My goal is to be a crack shot by the fall. So far I’m pretty happy. At 100 yards my second shot from the bench was a dead-on bull’s eye and every shot I took off-hand from kneeling position was on the target. If I stay on schedule and practice with the kids’ BB gun in the back yard, I might be ready for something more than a 50 yard shot this year.
While I was there I took the opportunity to practice a few shots with my pistol. On the pistol range I was surrounded by all kinds of gun geeks. I say that with great admiration and appreciation for their skill and experience. These guys (and gals, there was one!) obviously knew their gun stuff. One gentlemen I talked to told me how I could modify my pistol by changing out all kinds of parts I didn’t know my pistol had. When I looked at him like he had two heads (the same way my wife looks at me when I try to wake her up early on a Saturday morning) he knew immediately that I was only a newbie, not a master like himself. Without blinking an eye he offered to buy my pistol, probably hoping to give it a better home with the love and attention it deserves. I said I’d think about it and give him a call later in the week.
I guess I find it pretty funny that even though I left the “big city” over 10 years ago I can’t get away from technical lingo jingo. Pistols or computers, everything has it’s own dictionary and the more you learn the more there is to learn. For what its worth, I’m happier talking about calibers than clock cycles any day of the week.
P.S. – To all the new folks that moved to the high county this winter (above 8,000 feet), the missing pet signs you post on the telephone poles won’t bring back your little “FiFi” or “Mr. Snuggles”. Your missing pet has taken their place in the circle of life and provided an easy meal to the neighborhood coyote/bobcat/mountain lion. Say a little prayer for them and contact the local humane society to see what bigger, faster pets they have available for adoption.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)