Family Memory (XXVII): Uncle Don changing how I viewed and coached sports

Oddly this year, I’ve been rather disinterested in watching baseball. This happened before, back in 1994 with the strike that year. This year, there was the long whining of the millionaires and billionaires (especially the billionaires) and that just has sucked out the joy of watching the game for me–on top of the in-game delays/three-true-outcome nature of baseball in 2022.

And–then I start thinking about my Great-Uncle Don, my dad’s uncle. My son is named for him because he never had children with his wife. We took Erick to visit him. I was watching baseball with him on TV (he was 95 at that point)–he was watching televised high school ball. It wasn’t good baseball. I mentioned that.

Uncle Don’s response has stuck with me for nearly 30 years: “Jimmy, it’s the game that’s beautiful and the effort the boys playing put in. I watch this every day I can.”

I was stunned–because he was absolutely, totally right.

And that changed my view on everything. I’ve had alumni become coaches and ask “How can you stand watching jr high kids play?” –because the game is beautiful, the effort of the athletes is beautiful.

I’ve found that I can watch grade school soccer, high school track, college volleyball, and pro basketball and love all of the competition. My problems are not with the game, but with the financial side of things–the need for inordinate numbers of timeouts and commercials, the bickering about money, the salary holdouts. Not one of those is about the action on the court/field.

Those words stuck with me–they were the impetus for me to become a coach, club first, then high school, then adding jr. high as well. Sports ARE beautiful. Competition and teamwork–those, too. The emotions, the personal growth, the growth of individuals into a team…all beautiful.

I never mentioned the effect those words had–though I’m not sure I realized it at the time, and I certainly would not have been able to put it into words then. Age has graced me with more wisdom than I had then.

If you read this–I hope it makes a difference for you…whether when you watch sports or how you take things told to you by others. Sometimes, there’s a ton of enlightment out there.

I hope the way I’ve taken those words to heart would please Uncle Don. He was a good man.