These are the faces...
...of the Co-Ed Softball champions for the spring season, 2008 !
It was a well-deserved honor, but it did not come easy.
In our Fall season, we tore apart our division, going 9-1 in the regular season. However, complete inattention to detail, and perhaps some cockiness, led us to be knocked out in the first round by the last place team. We were embarrassed, understandably, but that only strengthened our resolve. We were determined, this time, to atone for our mistakes.
This spring, we solidified our sometimes-spotty defense, and gave our bats a long-overdue workout. While we went a respectable 5-5 in the regular season, we were still not satisfied. We were better than a .500 team. We knew it, too.
In the first round of the playoffs, our third baseman made a comment that it should be easy to beat the team we were playing. I cautioned the whole team not to get cocky again, and to learn from our mistakes last season. We played a solid game, advancing to the semi-finals with a decisive win against our opponents.
The semi-final round pitted us against a team that had had our number for the entire time we'd been playing together.
We had never beaten this team, so far as I could remember. We came within a run one game, however, that was as close as we could manage. They were a solid team all around, with a relentless style of play that we simply could not break through. In the end, it came down to which team could execute at the critical times, and which could not. Against all odds, but not completely unexpectedly, we were triumphant, and moved on to the finals.
Against yet another team that previously had kicked our butts every time we faced them.
We could have given up. We could have buckled under the pressure. But we didn't, and because of our tenacity, our strength, our near-flawless execution and our passion, we emerged victorious, champions, for the first time in 3+ years.
We are the champions. And we now have the shirts to prove it.
We celebrated that night, with coach (me) supplying pizza, the same pizza that we have nicknamed "crack", because it is just that good. And beer. Must always have the beer.
We cannot bask for too long in the afterglow, however. Next week, we start the summer season, and our quest begins once again.
Go team !
It was a well-deserved honor, but it did not come easy.
In our Fall season, we tore apart our division, going 9-1 in the regular season. However, complete inattention to detail, and perhaps some cockiness, led us to be knocked out in the first round by the last place team. We were embarrassed, understandably, but that only strengthened our resolve. We were determined, this time, to atone for our mistakes.
This spring, we solidified our sometimes-spotty defense, and gave our bats a long-overdue workout. While we went a respectable 5-5 in the regular season, we were still not satisfied. We were better than a .500 team. We knew it, too.
In the first round of the playoffs, our third baseman made a comment that it should be easy to beat the team we were playing. I cautioned the whole team not to get cocky again, and to learn from our mistakes last season. We played a solid game, advancing to the semi-finals with a decisive win against our opponents.
The semi-final round pitted us against a team that had had our number for the entire time we'd been playing together.
We had never beaten this team, so far as I could remember. We came within a run one game, however, that was as close as we could manage. They were a solid team all around, with a relentless style of play that we simply could not break through. In the end, it came down to which team could execute at the critical times, and which could not. Against all odds, but not completely unexpectedly, we were triumphant, and moved on to the finals.
Against yet another team that previously had kicked our butts every time we faced them.
We could have given up. We could have buckled under the pressure. But we didn't, and because of our tenacity, our strength, our near-flawless execution and our passion, we emerged victorious, champions, for the first time in 3+ years.
We are the champions. And we now have the shirts to prove it.
We celebrated that night, with coach (me) supplying pizza, the same pizza that we have nicknamed "crack", because it is just that good. And beer. Must always have the beer.
We cannot bask for too long in the afterglow, however. Next week, we start the summer season, and our quest begins once again.
Go team !
posted by Andrea at 13:35
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