Our season is over :(. We came one game short from reaching our goal of making it to the championship. The only loss we had and it happened in the semifinals. Our defeat came to the Cardinals from St. Roberts. We could not have lost to a better group of kids, parents, and coaches. If we had to lose to an organization I'm glad it was to one from our same parish because I believe that we have the classiest organization. Yes I might be biased but you can find out for yourself by becoming part of it next year. Bookmark this page http://www.bplbaseball.com and get ready for sign ups during the last weekend of September and first weekend of October.
The Mets still ended the season as division champs but as we kept on winning during the season we started to focus more and more on the championship and winning rather than having fun. I wrote about these kids last year, http://mariovillagransmind.blogspot.com/2009/03/2009-st-robert-bellarmine-mets-t-ball.html. What they accomplished from last year to this year is amazing. I can honestly say that we started out the season really focused on learning, trying our best, and having fun. We taught the kids that winning would be a result of putting those things together. As the season went on and we continued to win games we started to lose focus. As manager I take sole responsibility and I am a little upset with myself for not controlling it more. I knew we were out of control once I heard parents complaining about the changes I would make so that I can get all the kids involved. We forgot that we were dealing with 4 to 8 years old kids. The pressure really started to build. I could only imagine what my kids were feeling since I was also having a nervous breakdown on the sideline. The winning is everything mentality did us in and because of it I had kids that were crying in the end instead of smiling and it was honestly heart breaking.
In the end the children had a great season and we were all brought back down to reality. The focus of t-ball is to teach, have fun, encourage children to try their best, and hopefully they end up loving the game. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to teach these kids because they in return have taught me so much. The friendships that were made by these kids and the parents also will last a lifetime. I know I'll see most of these kids playing all through their childhood and having fun along the way. This is why they will always be Champions. Below is a letter from me to the Cardinals wishing them luck. I included this cause I want to show what kind of sportsmanship is taught in the Parochial league.
Dear Cardinals,
Hard fought game tonight between two teams from the same Parish. I've written before about how t-ball in the parochial league is no laughing matter. It's a competitive league and tonight's game proved it. The undefeated T-ball Mets took on the Cardinals. Some would say it was like David taking on Goliath.
The pressure really got to some of the Mets players. As their coach I was a very upset with myself and my inability to get them to focus on having fun. Seeing these 4 to 8 year old kids cracking under all the pressure put on them to win was disheartening. This isn't to take away from the Cardinals cause they played some awesome ball tonight.
The Cardinals batted first and were held to a scoreless first inning. The Mets scored 2 runs in the first inning and the Cardinals hung in strong and kept themselves in the game. I would recap the rest of the game but I was so nervous that I lost track. In the end the Cardinals were the hungrier team and won by 2 points. If we had to lose a game I'm glad we lost to the Cardinals and that SRB will be represented well in the championship. You guys are led by 2 great coaches in Tony and John. The Cardinal parents were also a great crowd.
I know there might have been talk about SRB stacking a team since the Mets had such a great record but tonight showed that SRB always puts teams together that can beat each other on any given night. I'm so happy to be part of such a great organization. I wish the Cardinals lots of luck in the championship versus the SFX Reds. The Mets will be there to cheer you guys on. Go Cardinals!!!
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