I saw something today that made me smile

I never thought about this until today. I saw about 8-10 different vehicles going to an obvious tournament. Each car was chalked with this on their windshield:

- where they are from
- what team they play for
- the # jersey of their player(s)

That was so cool. It seemed like yesterday that my family did the same thing (at least I think we did). Yes, it may be tacky...but those were some good times. When I saw those cars it made me smile

 

AMEN TO THAT!!

Those were the good ole days. I will never forget the convoys of vehicles we had going to watch our Henderson County All Stars play from 1996-2003. The parents would all meet somewhere and the kids as well as parents would write all over the cars, vans or trucks with the kids names, # and the team name. I have great memories of going to Charlotte and winning a State Championship in Babe Ruth Baseball in 2003 and driving up to Richmond, VA for the Southeast Regionals (finished 3rd).

The year before we had the state and SE regional in Asheville which was closer so we didn't meet up and convoy but we won the state and SE regional and we had to fly to Abbeville, Louisiana for the 13 year-old world series where we finished 5th. They wouldn't let us write all over the airplane or we would have. Those were great times.

My Son is still playing, He starts his sophomore year in college this fall but we don't get to write his name on the window anymore. That might embarrass the boy now.

I have a 7 year-old too who just started playing. So there is hope that someday soon we will get to paint up the cars and do it all again.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who smiles when I see those painted up cars. We had a Babe Ruth girl's softball SE regional tournament in town last weekend and I saw quite a few of them and I smiled each time remembering those good times.

 

As

we get older, we look for the happier times. Remembering the drives around the state and this Great country to play the game. Winning Championships and the rides home after a fast paced weekend of ball, ball, eating and more ball. As he fast approaches the next level (college). I too see the packed vehicles of parents and kids going with great speed to the next game. With all the recent news of the bad things that happen in life. Everyone of us need to slow down and enjoy the moment. We can only control today, for we do not know what will happen next.

 

NEXT

good advice.....as i can tell you what will happen next....it will be all over so ENJOY every inning and play one at a time.....and don't fret about anything on the ballfield as it is all a normal part of the great game. oh the memories that our children can give us....they are really awesome.

 

Memories

I remember Don Sutton's acceptance speech at the Hall of Fame... while he went through the"thank yous" to all the people that helped him during his career he paused and made a special mention of his younger sisters. He thanked them for their devotion and sacrifice (and fast food meals in the back seat, late at night) following him to games with their parents as he pursued his dreams.
I also remember when people used to ask me if it was "worth it" hauling the family all over the place when my son was playing travel ball. He also has two younger sisters who could be quite demanding in their younger years. The girls really only had a couple of concerns when we hit the road... "does the motel have a pool? And is the whole team staying there?" We all had a blast in those days. Great memories and friendships were made that will last a lifetime... it WAS worth it.

 

Man...you guys are bringing back some beautiful memories. And Plate Dad, you are right. If there was a way to put it in slow motion...I would.

Niknat- that would have been cool to paint that plane

 

Braves....

It's so cool that you bring this up. When we were in Hickory the other night watching Ryan play against the Crawdads, Red Bear and I were talking about the good old days watching our boys play in AAU tournaments and all the good times we had. I had remembered playing a Championship game on the Crawdads field and how great it was for the boys to get a chance to play on a minor league field.

After the game we were talking to Ryan and he said "Do you remember when we played GBC in the Championship game here"....then he said, "you know where we are staying, we are staying right beside Rock-Ola Cafe' where we used to eat after the games, can we go eat there tonight".....

Yeah, it's all worth it when your son has some of the same great memories that you do......Braves, thanks for bringing this up.

 

These are great post to read on this subject. I was lucky enough to coach a travel team for several years with some talented ball players but most importantly just good kids. It has been fun watching these young men grow up and play in high school and then some going on to college and play. It goes by way too fast!!!!