Little League Coach Says Thanks For the Memories

Submitted by Christine Liu

Editor's Note: This note was composed by Coach Jack Lamm after the Lake Forest Little League AAA Super Stars, comprised of 9-year-olds, were eliminated from their baseball tournament. The season over, the coach reflected on what had just happened.
 
What began 19 days ago on a spectacular June afternoon, ended this July 3rd beneath a sultry solstitial sky. From a morning whose break was thick with the dispassionate sloth of humidity, through the mid-day's resurrection of mercurial heights, on to the afternoon's rapture of solar intransigence, and into evening's leisurely submission, the day belonged to baseball. The strategies laid bare, the preparations completed with repetition, the uniforms laundered and the anticipation exaggerated.

Late lunch, cages, pep talk and on to the ballpark, the caravan of painted SUVs serpentined toward Aliso with hopes of bringing the Forest one more win. This night, filled with the spectacle and song of pinging aluminum and snapping leather, would belong to the opposition in score only—for every heart in the home team bleachers had been won long before the umpire would call strike three.

The final score matters little at this hour, the statistics have been folded away in a quieted binder. The soft, beckoning glow of Woodfield's lights have slipped silently into the obsidian valley, and the bleachers have begun to chill beneath the Witching Hour's cooling kiss. Pillows have greeted restful heads, sullied green jerseys have been tossed into laundry baskets, dusty white ballcaps have been placed on cleared dresser tops, and muddy cleats catch their breath on a cordial back porch mat. Long ago the scoreboard dimmed and reclined into grateful repose, what there was captured remains only a chapter in a much greater tale.

The story I know is more rich, more gratifying and will resound more voluminously than a flickering bulb over the left field fence.

The story I know is full of the uninhibited joy of youth, the laughter sung carefree in the dugout, the pure spirit of a boy giving his best to the game, and the pride in a smiling face having crossed the plate safely. The story I know is of 13 kids believing in each other, in themselves, and in the thrill of playing ball.

The story I know will live in me far longer than the now distant and fading cheers of the crowd.

I will remember this night not for the outcome, but for the journey that led us here. I will remember Tyler Bartlett, Brandon Eneim, Max Lowrey, Logan Huynh, L.T. (Logan Thomas), Kai Rodriguez, Noah Lamm, Zach Regan, Michael Hampshire, Daniel Guzman, Joey Claycomb, Michael Dobbs and Zach Zalfa. I will remember the privilege of being your Coach. I will remember our humble beginning and the incredible advances our boys made. I will remember you.

One final thank you to my friend and Manager, John Claycomb—another great ride I am grateful to have been part of. To Coach Rob Regan I am glad to have come to know you and proud I shared the dugout with you. To our Team Mom, Dawn Zalfa, enough cannot be said for everything you did—we have been spoiled. To our resilient parents, you are the backbone, the spirit and the soul of our team and I am grateful to have been entrusted with your faith. And to the boys, be proud of what you accomplished, hold your heads high, and keep those smiles shining—you will always be All-Stars to me.

Coach Jack Lamm