Little league baseball is on my mind. And with that comes great memories, along with more than a few lessons influenced by my times playing as a kid, watching and coaching as a parent, and now merely watching as a grandparent.

My oldest son’s son started playing machine-pitch baseball. In my son’s youth, we had dad’s pitch and for one season I was able to serve as the pitcher. That was great fun, but I already digress. Anyway, in this, the grandson’s first season, he made the all-star team. Attending a couple of games from the all-star tournament this weekend stirred up memories.

Also this weekend, my wife’s grandson had his high school graduation party. His parents put together quite a celebration with decorations that reflected his 11 years of playing baseball. His jersey from playing ball at seven years old was the start of the multitude of jerseys, including all-star versions, that hung along the walls. A month or so ago, he was voted by the coaches in his area as the best catcher in the county. What became a significant part of his life began when he played machine-pitch ball.

Dreams

Little league inspires dreams. When I was a kid, my friend and I had dreams of playing on the same major league team, he as the catcher and me as a pitcher. We didn’t play but a few years, but dreams of youth are good dreams. We should never lose that pleasure.  I am confident that all little leaguers have dreams.

Memories

Memories from playing, coaching and watching little league, warm my heart. Memories are the mortar that holds together the years of experiences.

Connections

Dreams and memories connect us: players and friends, kids and parents, players and coaches, parents and parents, and so on.  They connect us in the moment, and they connect us over the years.

Fun

At the heart of it all is fun. The practice sessions and games are part of the process, but from love of the game comes sessions of catch with friends or parents, pitch-and-hit for good times with friends, or even throwing solo against a pitch back device.

Last but not least…

Whether playing as an all-star or playing catch with a friend or parent, whether playing for a “lifetime” or just for a season or two, whether playing on the World Series Championship team or the local equivalent of the Bad News Bears…enjoy it all because of love of the game.

…and so it is with everything in life.