his armpit, an ominous signal to the rest of the team. With a “tic” sound, bat meets ball -

: T ~he-batter stands up to the plate, squints into the sun, and waits, The pitcher scratches
; ‘and the field comes alive.

> The centre field player somersaults into right field, then cartwheels back. Right field

adjusts her ponytail and kicks dirt over a large bug. .
_ By this time, the runner has stumbled across the ball and helpfully picks it up. Politely, he
_ ° hands it to the first baseman, then stomps on base triumphantly beside her. They stand
>. ..,.. together, arms across. shoulders, buddies on base. eo
day. «. . You may have guessed this‘isn’t the major leagues. It is T-ball, the smallest game in town.
ee . . ‘Soon, hoards of enthusiastic young boys and girls will
ny : | | - ~ head out on the diamond to play a ball game like
. ee you've never seen. ; os -
And. : >. Bball is a Terrace Minor Softball’s prelude to "the
T, he Way I S €eé [I tf . _ _. big leagues" for youngsters up to seven years of age.
. — . The ball is hit off a large tee. Obvious! , these players
__. are inexperienced. Some of them have only been verti-
_ cal for a few years. Their jerseys often hang below their
_. knees, and the catcher’s protective equipment engulfs
~~” him like a cocoon around a bug. The spectating crowd -
— is cheerful, sympathetic and never disappointed, In this
': game, all errors are forgiven and every player is a hit..
_ Thall is the sport of sports,
- In this game, every team is a winner. No matter
_ who's got the ball in play, the other side will help. It’s °
- , the ultimate in sportsmanship. When a player falls, |
-. Someone is there to do the dusting off, to set him back |
on coursé, So what if he was running in the wrong
direction? Every sincere attempt is recognized, each
ee _~ good move rewarded with a resounding cheer and a pat
aca _ on the back, Life should be like T-ball, Co
by Stephanie Wiebe. a, Life should be so fair that everyone gets a turn to |
aE Ce _ bat. We should all be surrounded by ateam of sup-
“porters who stand ready with a “high five" when-we've .
~ done our best, or to lift our faces out of the dirt when

~ we fall. . ,
-- "Tt shouldn’t matter that our jersey is too long, that our hat is on backwards, or that we
_... don’t quite match the others, A little individuality now and then is a good thing.
“°. And on our way to the base ahead, we should be willing to stop for valuable distractions,
“We should enjoy the trip around, keeping in mind that winning is not always as important
-... than the fact that we've played together, that we've learned something, or even that we simply
a 7 stood for a moment in the warm sun. At the same time, each of us should get a little taste of |
winning, too, a | . oo,
. Or at the very least, maybe the T-ball age maximum should’be extended beyond age seven,
_ Say, to about age seventy-three, and even that would be negotiable. Many of us would benefit
from a few weeks on the T-ball field, and some of us should be dragged out there whether we
«want to or not. : . HO
| After all, T-ball is more than just a game. It’s a philosophy. And when the season’s over, .
*°- every T-ball player gets a trophy —— a small, shiny reminder of the diy flavour of dust in.
i . _your mouth, a round softball in your glove, and the cheers of. your friends as you triumphantly _
“~~ stomp across home plate, Each player walks away with new abilities, a sense of team cooper-
ation and a little taste of winning. Oh, that we were all so lucky.

Terrace Review — April 10, 1992 25