Fielder’s Choice

It was another sign of things proceeding somewhat toward normal. And it was a beautiful sight.

Wednesday night of last week, on the way home from Bible Study at Holly Springs Church of Christ, my riding partner, Lee Hastings, commented on the lights at Sam Coopwood Park.

“I haven’t seen that in over a year,” he said. “That’s a good feeling.” I agreed, and then agreed again.

Kids taking to the baseball fields during the spring of any year is special. But this year, it’s much more special.

Last year, in Holly Springs and Marshall County, youth T-ball, baseball and softball didn’t exist. Like pretty much all other activities, the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was sad, for lots of folks, but particularly the youngsters themselves.

They didn’t have the opportunity to get their baseball pants dirty ­  either from sliding on the base path or perhaps while playing outside the fence, before the game.

They didn’t get to be a part of a team.

They didn’t get to learn new skills.

They didn’t get to meet new friends.

And they didn’t get to go spend the night with a new best friend after the game.

They didn’t get to high-five their coach after scoring a run.

They didn’t get to walk to the plate with a bat that looked twice as big as them.

They didn’t get to just have some good fun at the ball field, whether it was while playing the game itself or just hanging out with and cutting up with their buddies.

Selfishly, too, the cancellation of the season was sad for this longtime lover of youth sports. It really put a damper on my March, April and May.

I didn’t get to photograph a single game last year.

I didn’t get to see the joy on a 5-year-old’s face as he ran the bases.

And I missed that.

My love for youth baseball started as a small boy, getting that first glove and fielding grounders when I threw the ball and it ricocheted off concrete steps.

I really didn’t know if I’d ever get to play the game. I lived in the country. Making it to practice and games was going to be a tough task. But between my mother, my sisters and myself, we made it work.

I will never forget driving my small Honda motorcycle on the back roads, about 15 miles or so, to some practices. And I wasn’t really old enough to be doing that.

God bless my mother for understanding my love for the game. My dad died when I was 10.

I loved baseball as a participant, all the way through high school, and I still love it today as a journalist and a fan.

I had the joy of coaching all three of my children in youth sports — be it baseball, basketball, softball or soccer. Those are days I will cherish forever. The memories are the best.

I would never have fathomed a spring and summer without youth baseball — until last year.

To see the lights back on in 2021, that’s true joy.