| Softball Diaries....... Tim Husted - Head Coach Thursday, November 1st Finally get out of work and drive forever to get to a Best Buy in Arlington Heights (IL) where I can switch out my new cell phone that didn't work with one that will...finally leave Best Buy and hopt to God this one will work...pack my clothes while watching the World Series Game 5...at midnight Yankees win....go to bed...nervous about the trip ahead. Friday, November 2nd It's 4:15am and I wake up...check in for my flight, meet a guy named Irv and two couples heading to Key West. I'm nervous about flying alone, it's my first time without my parents. Irv's a nice guy and talking to him keeps me calm. We end up at the wrong gate, Spirit Air I guess does not have to announce when they switch gates....my flight leaves on time. I read the book, "Everything I needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulgham. Great book...arrive at Fort Lauderdale Airport. Hang out at airport bar until Mal, Gumness, Maves, Hoyt, and Dave arrive. I meet them with a sign that says, "Wanted: Pitching Staff, Speedy IF/OF"...Gumness loses her luggage, I am not surprised one bit. We drive to the hotel, check in and prepare for the evening, a trip to the beach. We go to an open air mall on the beach. Wind is blowing harder than anything. Maves, Gumness, and I walk down to the beach and put our feet in. We then end up hanging out on the 3rd story open air passage between HOOters and some other bar as I call about 20 people on my cell phone to tell them I am moving to Florida...We talk about how cool it would be to go to the top of Marriot Towers, the tallest building in the Fort Lauderdale skyline, which is attached to the mall. We get into the Marriot and go to the 19th story and hang out on the balcony. Wind is almost too strong to stand, Mallory says, "I'll never forget this." Weekend is a success. I take a picture...Dinner is at LuLu's, a cajun restaurant/bar. Hoyt and I split our meals, both are hot but real good. I sit next to Jenna Wilke and Gumness....Jenna is Jess Wilke's way cooler 14 year old sister. It si raining now, we are convinced we won't play a single game this weekend...go back to the hotel for a team meeting, talk about Beethoven, Hide n Go Seek, and our nervousness about the games ahead of us...we try to stay up as late as we can, it's hard but finally I go to bed listening to music..... Saturday, November 3 I wake up early as I'm meeting Coach Cole (Garner Webb Univ.) at 8:00am to watch the first games. I shower quickly and drive to the fields where I realize it is 7:00am, not 8:00. I watch warmups....Coach Cole meets me to watch Flash D'Gold, they are REALLY FREAKIN' GOOD, and I'm glad we don't play them. I also get to see the Virginia Lady Eagles play and since they are our first opponent I am interested to see how good they are. We can play with this team in which I am suprprised. I leave Coach Cole to head back and wake the team up. The morning, although it started too early, is building my confidence. Warmups go like a FUNERAL, the Danes are freaked out, including Maves who isn't even playing in this game. We play scared and lose a game which we probably could've won. Jensen goes 3 for 3 but our pitching staff walks EVERY SINGLE BATTER. Wilke makes a great catch in CF. Game 2 is right away so we switch fields and get set to play the Middlebury Flames....this team is really good at hitting the ball and they go ahead and hit every single ball they can. We get whacked again...Maves gives up a HR which may be still going...and going....Game ends, thank God, and we head to Applebee's for dinner. I sit next to Jenna Wilke and Maves at the head of the table. We are laughing about how bad we played but we're starting to relax. We go back to the fields to watch a few games and relax before game 3 at 9:00 that night. Maves heads back to the hotel to get extra rest as she will pitch the 8:00am game the next day. The coach of the Lakeland Rage (our next opponent) gives us about 30 minutes of softball standup comedy....he is HILARIOUS!! His team beats us on a HR (I called a fastball right down Broadway) that clears the CF fence by a good distance. I go to the mound where my team is laughing in awe...we lose again. Gumness ends up cutting a ball she should've let through and tries to make the pivot to Wilke at the plate. Instead of Wilke catching it, it ends up hitting the umpire in the general groin area. He groans in pain and the entire field (players, parents, fans, coaches, the other umpire) are laughing hysterically. Duff is struggling to stand up at 2B because she is laughing so hard....for some reason there was something poetic about the ending to that night.... Sunday, November 4 Whoever designed this schedule is killing me, I wake up at 5:45am....game one is at 8:00 against a Canadian team....we start warmups and the game starts out really well....runner on 2nd in a 1-1 tie and Hoyt is up to bat. She goes to switch from lefty to righty, does not call time and steps over the plate and the umpire calls her out....I go BALLISTIC because this is a showcase event and that is outisde the spirit of the games....this ump is a JOKE, a REAL JOKE, and I let him know it. I then go into the dugout and get out the rule book...I read and read and can't find it and fire the book down into the dirt. Game goes into the 7th tied. I explain to the team that we don't want to go to International Rule since these kids are International....they seem to understand my logic (right) and we win the game on a double steal on a 1st and 3rd play. This is the bravest call I've ever made as a coach and it probably should not have worked but Danielle Melchert is a great athlete who finds a way to win. The team is pumped as we go to take on the biggest challenge of the weekend...the HOUSTON POWER. We take the dugout and it starts to rain, an omen I believe. It stops raining (another Omen) and we start the game. Mallory pitches well and we lose 3-1 on a few hits here and there. All in all we play a great game...especially Hoyt. Jensen draws the interest of a coach who asks what she is like in the OF....I move her to LF for 2 innings and 5 balls get hit to her (an Omen I say!). After the game we talk a little and in general are all real happy about the day and weekend. We then head back to the hotel to get ready to go shopping at Sawgrass Mills. Penza spends $700 at the mall, I buy a pair of pants at Brooks Brothers ($20 discount) and two long-sleeved shirts. Maves buys her boyfriend a sweatshirt and then wears it that night. Gumness and I split cheese fries and onion rings for lunch. Wilke is the master of the mall, she can never be in the same store as the rest of us. Dave is bored out of his mind but smiles because ....well....he's a nice guy like that! We then head back to the hotel where we are going to order food and watch the World Series. As a diehard Yanks fan I am mistreated to signs that decorate my room claiming the D'Backs Rule, except for Maves' which says "Sup Dog" as always. Once the game starts Hoyt steals Penza's key, hands it to me, I hand it to Gumness and four hours later Penza is still searching for it! Pizza shows up and we eat, the Yanks lose, I go to bed. As I fall asleep I think about how lucky I am to have such a great group of girls to coach and how far we've come as a program. If I was ever burned out previously, my love of coaching is back! |