As told to Little League International
Of course, baseball was going to be ingrained into our kids.
When my oldest son was little, I was still playing softball. Actually, he’s right-handed, but he swings left-handed because I’m left-handed. He just thought that’s how you hit.
For the first four years of his life, all he did was watch me playing softball. So, he wanted to play baseball from the very beginning, and my husband and I were like it’s okay, let’s find the right league and the right organization.
When we moved to Bend, Oregon, signing the boys up at Bend North Little League was a no-brainer. My sister had her two boys in the league. And she was like, just a heads up, though, this Little League program is a whole different level.
I obviously knew Little League, but I didn’t know what Little League was like at this community’s level. Everyone shows up to your games, not just the coaches and parents. It’s really something that the entire community comes out for.
Bend North Little League has meant everything.
Since we moved to Bend, I have balanced my schedule with volunteering, coaching, and supporting the players in the league. And you get these kids that are being introduced to the sport for the first time and the moments that have brought tears to my eyes are when it clicks. They get their first hit, or they make that great catch. Things that are so simple when you’ve been around the game, you’ve been playing the game, you’ve been coaching the game, you’ve been commenting on the game – you forget about your first hit, right? These kids might not play again next year or ever again, but they’ll never forget this moment.
And now, when I look back on my youngest son’s 12-year-old season, it’s the definition of bittersweet. There’s a lot of sadness because you really realize how important and pivotal it has meant to all of us to experience Little League. And this is coming from someone who covers baseball, is around baseball, but the experience of Little League, is such a special time.
During our regular season, we had a kid that had been bullied at school and had broken his wrist.
It was really a sad story and his mom reached out to our Little League to explain the situation. He was one of our own. The whole team went to the house, visited him, and just lifted him up.
His hope was to get back out on the baseball field. Sure enough, three or four weeks later, he gets cleared to play. He rejoined the team and talked about us being his family. No matter what he was struggling with, he had his boys on the baseball field.
Sure enough, first game back, he’s playing right field, and the ball is hit to him. And of course, just like the baseball gods write it up, he puts out his gloves and does a total Sandlot move and catches the ball. His teammates just rushed out and dog-piled in right field. I get choked up just thinking about it.
This kid had been in tears; he’d been in the hospital. And that’s to me, like literally, it’s such a beautiful gift for these kids that they can learn how you can support people and how you can be there. And there are so many more life lessons within it.
There’s always a story like that, stories of what baseball or softball means to them. And I think that’s the beauty of Little League, not being travel ball, not being the elite of the elite. Because you get everybody in Little League.
Last year, my sister helped coach her son’s team all the way to the Little League Baseball Northwest Region tournament in San Bernardino, California, and this year, my husband and son were hoping to follow in their footsteps.
Our team wasn’t the big team. We were the scrappy team. A group of kids that have been together for three or four years.
We started district play against Bend South. It was one of those big rivalry games, because we’re all from the same town and know each other. It was such a well-fought game. And when we won that game, it was something special. This group of kids might not be the most talented in the district – and we talk about it all the time in sports – it’s how you’re able to come together.
I really believe the camaraderie of playing together and understanding each other helps so much.
A few games later, we were down, maybe 3-1. But, our boys fought and came back again against a team that all of their players seemed like were two feet taller than our team.
Coming back like that teaches so much. Yes, we won, but it was also the understanding that we can hold our own against a team that seems like they might be better or greater. It’s believing in yourself. A lot of times, when you’re behind or you fail or things aren’t going your way, you tend to kind of give up. You’re like, okay, like I’m done. They’re better.
So when you do see that fight – and we see it in Williamsport and at the next level – but when you see it in the very beginning stages of this run in All-Stars, it is such a special thing to see these young kids, 11 and 12 years old, find their belief in themselves.
We ended up finishing third in the state, and suddenly, our last 12-year-old season was over.
Little League holds on to that special, special time. It’s just kids being kids.
I understand that, for a lot of families, it doesn’t end after that 12-year-old season. But you go to that bigger field, and you feel like you’ve grown up, even as a parent.
And now, I look back at playing in the state tournament, winning districts, the whole run that you hear about. I get the privilege of calling World Series games in Williamsport, but it just doesn’t even begin to describe how special it is to represent your area from a district level, from a state level, from a regional level, all of these things. And I couldn’t have more pride for the area and the team that we had.
I had a moment this year where I was like, we’re never going to step on that field again. I felt like I was playing. But you do, as a parent, you feel like you’re going through this together as a family.
If I had advice for any parent in the program, I would say to just really enjoy it. It transforms after this. Enjoy having kids on your team that have never played before. Enjoy a passed ball, and the runners are running around. Enjoy all the things that make Little League special.
I certainly did, and now that it’s ended, I’m grateful that I did.
The story above is shared as part of Little League’s #LLProudParent content series, sharing first-person reflections on their experiences with their child in the Little League program. Have a story you’d like to share? Feel free to share it, along with any photos that help tell the story, to Media@LittleLeague.org.
The post “Our Last 12-Year-Old Season,” By Jessica Mendoza, U.S. Olympic Softball Gold Medalist and ESPN Analyst for the LLBWS appeared first on Little League.
