August 12, 2017: Granola Bar Magic

We made it.  Championship Saturday was here for my 4-6 year old Cubs.  How did they fare?

Well, I was concerned; not THAT concerned, but based on our performance in 9:30am games, I feared we would be sleep walking.  I knew we were better than that.  I knew we were better than that because I saw how we played at 11:30am all year.  I knew we had it in us.  Every kid has a bad game, but collectively, our bad games were the early games.

I had to come up with something.  I didn’t cancel practice on Friday so that they can mentally prepare, although I probably could have since only 4 kids showed up.  I wasn’t going to call each of their parents to make sure they were all in bed by 9pm that Friday evening, although I’m sure that has something to do with it.  I wasn’t going to take them all to a big breakfast at McDonalds, then pour cold water over each of their heads; that probably would have been fun… the water part.  No, we went with a little granola bar magic…

My wife scooped up a big box of granola bars.  But are they allergic?  I wasn’t going to take a survey.  We got the chocolate chip kind, and hoped for the best.  She also scooped up a case of water, so they would also be plenty hydrated, although that could lead to more in-game bathroom trips…

So as the kids strolled in, and they all got some practice swings, it was to the dugout to the granola bars.  They scarfed them down.  Almost game time… but before that, since it was Championship Saturday, we lined up for the national anthem.  All the kids holding their hats over their hearts as they looked towards the flag; it was a cool moment.  Now, let’s see how quickly those granola bars kick in.

We were up first, and we did not get 1 out.  Everybody hit safely.  Everybody ran fast.  It was a perfect start.  Now onto the challenging part of the game; the part of the game that I use to keep unofficial score.  Defense.  We recorded 2 outs in the first inning, which in my mind was good enough for the lead.  In the top of the 2nd, we hit into 1 out; 2 outs for us, 1 out for them on defense.  It was still a close game until the bottom of the 2nd, when the granola bars really kicked in.
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Or maybe it was my choice of key positions that inning… or maybe it was a combination of both.  With 2 of our best fielders on the pitcher’s mound, including my son, and a kid on first base who seemingly badly wanted the game’s MVP award, we put the clamps down.  6 outs in 1 inning!  It was our finest inning defensively of the season.  My son made a grab on a hot smash that made me proud.  The other kid on the pitcher’s mound made 2 diving plays; no joke.  That kid is a straight gamer.  Then our kid on first base…

He was phenomenal.  Catching each of the throws, whether on 1 hop, or rolled to him, and hurrying to tag first base.  There were 3 close calls, and he beat them each time.  Twice he stepped on the bag right before the runner, and then there was the play of the game…  As he fielded the throw from the mound, which was up the line a bit towards home plate, and as the kid was running right in front of him, he dove for the bag, and tagged the bag with the ball in his outstretched bare hand.  Unbelievable!!!

Yeah, after that inning, it was clear.  It was clear who the champs were on this day.  So I didn’t mind that we only got 1 out the following inning.  I didn’t mind that we had 3 huge pileups in the final inning, after not having any the first two innings.  I was still very proud that all my kids could now hit pitching, and did so in our half of the 3rd.  I was proud of them period, and told them that in our final “hands in the middle, Go Cubs, team meeting”.

A couple parents asked me if I would be back next year.  I definitely want to stay involved with coaching; it was a blast.  The only question is whether we’ll be back at the same park.  The main reason I’m doing it is because of my son; he was great this year.  He got that extra “I’m proud of you” when we got home.  Before we left, I signed him up for basketball which starts in a month.  Will I try my hand at coaching basketball?  If they need somebody, I’m there.

Congratulations to all my Cubs players, and thank you for a great year!  And as always, Go Cubs!