Chris Masse on sports: A quick note to the players: just have fun
Trending
Variations of this column have run before. And that is because it's important the players competing at this year's Little League World Series heed the advice each year.
Stop. Look around. Savor the moment.
All you players have worked hard the entire summer--maybe longer--dreaming about reaching the Series. Now you're here. Forget the cameras and the scoreboard. Look at where you are.
You are living the dream.
Maybe if you are 11, you could earn this opportunity again but if you are 12 this is it. And this is an opportunity so many countless players wish they could earn. You are the chosen few.
Think about all the current Major Leaguers. Less than 1% of them reached the Little League World Series. For the next 11 days they are the ones looking up to you.
Look at the fields you are playing on here, too. Unless you make it to Division I baseball and/or professional baseball, you may never again play on a field as pristine as these. And unless you reach those levels, you will probably never again play in front of millions watching worldwide while cheering you on.
Now is not the time to get caught up in winning and losing. Play hard, play to win, but enjoy the moments. They are ones you will never forget.
As times goes by, the scores will fade from memory. It is all the other moments you players will remember. It will be the practices, the bus rides, the jokes, the autograph signing, the fan support.
Really, that is the case with any youth sport one plays. It's all those little experiences shared with your best friends that carry on longer than the game results.
Just two weeks ago, I ran into two former high school baseball teammates. Most of the time we spent talking that night centered around our former playing days. And rarely did we talk about games we won and lost. It was not about the at-bats we had and/or the plays we made either.
It was about all the other good stuff. After the restaurant closed we continued talking long into the night, laughing about those happy memories.
Sure, we did not play at the Series, but the story is relatable. Because when you players grow older it will be a similar story. You may all go your separate ways after graduating high school, but you will always share this bond and these times. When you grow older the fun times shared here will come rushing back to you even if it happened decades ago.
I literally had not seen our former left fielder since we graduated high school. But once we met, it was like nothing had changed. We were right back in that moment, enjoying all the times we created together.
Times like those and a time like you have now do not come back. That is why it is so imperative to grasp that reality and savor every bit of this incredible journey you are on. Do not take this time for granted.
Sometimes the term "once in a lifetime," is a cliche. Here, it is 100% accurate. Give it your all and exhaust this opportunity, getting everything possible out of it. That goes in terms of pursuing victory, competing hard and enjoying every wonderful moment which comes along.
When you grow older you want to be able to know you did everything possible to help your team win. You want to know that you could not have embraced the moments any more than you did. You want to know that you exhausted this opportunity and have no regrets.
Do that and I promise you that, no matter what the scoreboard says, you cannot be beaten. And, oh, the stories you will be able to tell.
Chris Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse.