A baseball game can provide adventure in so many ways for everyone involved from the first pitch to the final out.  Depending on the level of the game, the adventures can multiply in ways that you might not even consider.  For example, I was approached by the Athletic Director of the local Parochial School to see if I would be interested in being a coach for their baseball team.  I coached there for a run of about five years over ten years ago and things were much different at that time.  There were three different teams back then which were designated as “A, B and C” squad.  The “A” squad was primarily 8^th graders with a couple of 7th graders to round out the team.  The “B” squad was mainly boys in 7^th and 6^th with the “C” squad being a mix of 5^th and 6^th graders.  One year, there were even two “C” teams.  This year, our team is classified as an 8^th grade team even though our roster only has two 8^th graders on it.  We have one 7^th grader, six 6^th graders and two 5^th grade athletes to round out our team of eleven.  Coaching a team with this broad base of age, youthful energy, and on occasion straight out squirrely behavior is an adventure just by itself.  So far, the experience has been awesome.

                Another thing that makes baseball adventurous, especially in the months of April and May is good old Mother Nature.  The constant change to scheduling is a given and coordinating cancellations, rescheduling, field availability, will the changes that work for us fit the other teams plan, and everything else that comes with rainouts is nothing short of frustrating and not just for the athletic directors and coaches, but for the parents, players and school staff that must become adaptable.  You really have to become good at juggling, and one thing I have never been good at is juggling.  I am very good at dropping.  Thankfully, this type of juggling is figurative in nature.  So far, the experience has been awesome. 

Back to the weather… If it is nice enough to get out on the field and play a game or practice, the wind can really cause havoc for the players.  It can make the ball move like a couple dancing to a polka at a wedding dance that might be a couple beverages deep into having a fun time.  You know the ones I am talking about.  They are the couple that is bouncing all over the place and not with any real specific direction.  They zig and zag as they hop and bop somewhat to the beat of the music and somewhat to, well… it is hard to say what.  They are THE couple that turns the dance floor into a scene like the bumper cars at Valleyfair.  They are that fly ball in the wind to one of your players who has a tough time tracking pop-ups and you are fearing he does not take the ball in the face.  So far, the experience has been awesome.

The games are full of adventures with every pitch thrown, ball swung on and hit occasionally, fielding attempt made and often successfully turned, the so far infrequent fielding errors, runners stealing bases because their coach is very aggressive on the basepaths, and just everything that is baseball.  As a coach, I love the strategy involved in the game from making the line-up to the peptalk at the end, win or lose.  From my perspective on the bench and down third baseline, the opportunity to be part of these young people’s lives, to pass on something I love to another generation, and to give back to the community is so much more important than the game.  I hope that they see it the same way, either now or down the line.  I hope that they realize that the game is just a game, albeit a very fun game that can teach way more life lessons than how to throw a ball.  I hope that they can look at our practices, our games, and the time we are all together and see the overall experience, and I hope they can say that so far, the experience has been awesome.

There are some many outdoor adventures that we can participate in and if we look at the experience first, our lives in general might be more pleasant, positive, enriched, and fulfilling.  For example, Minnesota Fishing Opener is on the doorstep and next week, “Outdoor Adventures” will be focusing on it.  For many, hammering a limit of walleyes with at least a couple in the high 20” to those elusive 30” class hogs are the only way they seem to measure success.  Sure, if you are catching fish left and right, the experience is going to be fantastic and, in the end, the fish are just fish.  Some may end up in the freezer and then be feasted upon (yum) and a few might end up on the wall.  Want to really create the value in that fishing trip… talk about the experiences you had with the people you were with.  Talk about the positive things that happened.  Tell us about how funny it was when Terry went to grab the net and almost fell in.  Make the experience awesome.  Now Get Out and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.