Today is the 2nd anniversary of the Concord Choppers’ Knox County Championship. As their coach, I’m taking just a moment today to remember that great occasion.
Last year, we really did a big commemoration for the one-year anniversary. The team’s championship banner had hung at Farragut Baseball, Inc. ballpark - over by Field 6 - for a year. We did a small ceremony as we took the banner down to retire it and then a bunch of us went to dinner at El Mezcal restaurant to say ‘thank you’ one last time to our long time sponsors.
The next night, we had a team outing to a Tennessee Smokies’ game.
That seemed like an appropriate send off. Since we raised that trophy, many of the Choppers have gone on to achievements in other pursuits; some have moved; some are playing other sports. A few former Choppers are still making their mark on the baseball field.
I won’t spend too much time thinking about the championship today…just pausing for a moment or two to remember. I had dinner last night with Anthony, my long-time assistant coach, for example. We talked about the anniversary for couple minutes and raised a brief toast. And I exchanged emails with another of my former assistants, Jim, who now lives out of state.
Paul and I DO talk about the championship occasionally. So do Holly and I. As our official team scorekeeper, she saw all of the action up close and chronicled most of the plays pitch by pitch.
It was a magical season. The Choppers went 22-8 in route to that title and the won nine in a row to finish out the season. They steamrolled their way through that tournament, too, winning their first three games by very wide margins (outscoring their opponents by a whopping 53-9).
The championship game - as is fitting - was much more competitive. It was a great ballgame that went down to the wire with the Choppers beating Carter 6-5. And, after that final out - recorded on a strikeout - the celebration began.
That season is inspirational, in a way, because that group of 12 young men had set that championship as a goal early that spring and they worked hard to achieve that goal. They overcame injuries, illness, busy schedules and fatigue to get that spirited celebration on the field at the Knox County Sportspark.
Their accomplishment shows that if you set a goal, and work hard to achieve it, great things are possible.
JG
(Source: knoxnews.com)
Originally posted 6/22/2012
No comments:
Post a Comment