The game lives on

I think there a lot of things to like about men's fastpitch softball. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably think so too. 

One of the things I feel is important is the long time connections made over the years through fastball, and how involvement in the game can continue with new generations.

Consider this photo.

This picture was taken at the Bay Bash tournament up in Campbell’s Bay, QC in July 2003. That's Al Kuehl of Shawville at bat, and I'm pretty sure Chad Costello of Micksburg is catching. 

Bay Bash was a really fun tournament featuring some great softball. In the red circle in the upper left corner, you can see me in a black jacket watching Al bat. To the left of me, in the West Carleton jersey, is Don Rorwick. We were probably playing the next game after Micksburg vs Shawville or maybe had just finished.

I only knew Al a bit then, as the guy who ran the Shawville team.

If Al and I would have seen each other in the beer tent at Bay Bash afterwards (and I am almost certain we did!) we may have said a passing "hello". But we are friends now, and he likes to talk about softball as much as I do.

Twenty-three years later, Al and I play on the same Shawville Men's Fastpitch League team. 

And what's even better is this past weekend Al's son Cade played on the Tri-City Logsplitters team in the Glen tournament, alongside my sons Fitzroy Junior, the Caveman as well as Don's sons (and my boys' cousins) Matthew and Dylan Rorwick, and they all had a great time doing so.

Here is a picture from this past weekend showing the Logsplitters being half made up by our five boys.

Imagine telling Al, Don and I in that beer tent that almost a quarter century later our boys (some of whom didn't even exist then - only Fitzroy Junior and Matthew were born and were babies at the time) would be teammates in a future tournament!

Two photos, separated by 23 years, demonstrating a cross-generational connection of our game. This is something to embrace, celebrate and be proud of. Some say our men's game is dying, and while it will never will be as big as it was "in the day", it is connections like this which help the game live on.