What a season!
As usual, St. Tim’s entered a team into the Korean Christian Softball Association league.
This was a “rebuilding” year of sorts: a lot of the veterans of past glory retired or moved onto other pursuits. A few old-timers remained to convince themselves that they still had it. But in their place, a whole slew of youngbloods came in to develop a passion for the game.
At first there was uncertainty about how things might play out.
There was apprehension among some of the kids.
Parents had concerns about whether their kids would have fun.
In the end, it turned out that all such worries were unfounded. This ended up being one of the most fun seasons ever!
Young meshed with old.
Fan support was unprecedented.
We saw the emergence of the “crazy baseball dad” syndrome.
In the end, it became about so much more than winning or losing.
Not that the team was a bunch of slouches: they did pull off a respectable 5-5 record in the regular season. After a slow start, the team pulled together, and da youts utilized their raw athleticism in picking up the skills of the game to finish the season strong.
In the playoffs, we encountered a strong team from Hanmaum Catholic Church, who ended up outhitting us.
But that didn’t dampen the spirits, as the entire team went for a season-celebrating dinner at the Wild Goose.
Everyone is surely looking forward to another great season next year!
Some Important Shout-Outs:
Jonathan Cho: for being the spiritual leader as the team Governor. His weekly emails and post-game devotionals kept the team spirits high and flowing. He also sacrificed his time by taking on most of the umpiring duties (something that the younger generation will soon take on!)
Dennis Liu: thanks Coach for all your pre-game and in-game pep talks and focus on game strategy! The kids learned a lot under your tutelage.
Stephanie Cho: she took one for the team when she tore her achilles heel. But that didn’t stop her from being an integral part of the team as our Assistant Manager. She kept tidy stats and provided a great presence in the dugout.
Lily Ko: she became the defacto GM of the team, being the ultimate recruiter of new players and getting their parents on board. I’ve never met such a salesperson with infectious enthusiasm as you, sam-wo-nim!
Parents: the parents were the backbone of the team’s fan support. Now we know why the pros love playing in front of big crowds – it really revs you up and takes you to another level! We saw the emergence of some passionate baseball dads as well who never missed a game.
Some Quotes to Cap the Season:
It was a fantastic season to have shared with you all and I can’t wait to do it again with you all next season!
– the Governor, Jonathan Cho
We had so much fun!!
Thanks St. Tim’s!!
– proud new baseball mom, Darlene
Thanks to Dennis and our young adult leaders for our hi-c’s!
– veteran baseball mom, Veronica
Yes – what a faaantastic season indeed!
Thanks to each and every one of you who made the team what it was – wouldn’t have been the same without all you there!
– eternal team enthusiast, Michelle
Even though I wasn’t able to play, seeing the growth & development in each of you every week really made things a lot easier to handle… Kinda… Haha
My favourite part about this year was seeing the love & passion for the game come out. I will never forget that our hi-c boys could’ve played any sport/activity at our picnic, but chose to play softball. It’s so easy to forget why we play, but I think our younger players reminded us “seasoned folks” what its really about!
– our “Assistant Manager”, Stephanie
And now for the ultimate quote:
“we’re making memories”. That’s amazing! You writing that really struck a chord with me right now when I read it. almost brought tears to my eyes. Seriously. That is what epitomizes this. Are you sure it wasn’t me who said it. sounds like something very impactful that ****** would say.
I looked at the other teams and see that they take this seriously. They try to stack their teams with mature, experienced players. Our team is more about giving the young ‘uns a chance to live those experiences in a supporting environment with a few older, more experienced players. Ok, I have to stop now. I’m tearing up. This is just beautiful stuff.
– from a newly converted, proud and passionate baseball dad (who remains unnamed)
Thank you everyone for a great season!!
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