Pardon My Interruption: Craig's Thoughts About This And That
I was intimately involved in the activities of the Israel Association of Baseball for twelve years: umpire, umpire trainer, club team coach, national team coach, fitness instructor, board member, peace envoy, guidance counselor and who knows what else. In 2009 I was honored to receive the IAB’s Outstanding Achievement Award.
Mine was an unlikely beginning: As I was walking down King David street, I heard the sound of a ball hitting a bat come from behind the YMCA. Curious about that sound, I went around the building to see, to my utter surprise, a baseball practice. I stood around watching, making mental notes of things that could be improved, and when the players took a break, I asked the coach if he would mind if I made some suggestions. He was receptive to my input and asked if I wanted to umpire the scrimmage game that was about to start.
That’s how it started. A twelve year relationship that took me to places like Cyprus; Moscow; north, central and south Italy; and Philadelphia, Omaha, Kansas City and Pittsburgh for various competitions. A relationship that gave me the opportunity to participate in two Jewish Olympics; once as an umpire, once as a coach. A relationship that gave me the opportunity to travel to Jordan as a peace envoy in a failed effort to forge a relationship between Israel Baseball and Jordan Baseball. A relationship that gave me the opportunity to meet Major League Baseball owners, players, scouts, and executives.
But most importantly it was a relationship that gave me the opportunity to invest in the lives of young men, to see boys mature into men who would one day move beyond baseball to be soldiers and university students and build careers and families. And hopefully do those things better because of something they learned in one of my programs.
I’m thankful to those who offered any type of support to my efforts whether it was a financial gift, a kind word, friendship, a word of wise counsel, or by running interference for me with my adversaries.
I’m particularly thankful to Colleen who literally labored side-by-side as we built the best field in the country at the Baptist Village; traveled with the team in the early days; then, after Grace was born, waited up countless nights for me to come home after practice or games. Only a few realize how much she invested in Israel Baseball.
Good leaders enhance T.E.A.M. spirit by surrounding themselves with competent people. This is not to say that every member of the team is a “number one draft pick.” Rather, it is to say that leaders recruit people who have skills and a proven track record.
Competent people are encouraged and energized in the presence of other competent people. And this energy is transferred into the work environment and typically enhances output. An additional bonus is that competent people are more easily encouraged to volunteer for or hire into an organization that emphasizes competence and excellence. Notice that this principle is true for both non-profit and for-profit situations.
People who are competent in their field lose confidence in a leader, and thus the team spirit diminishes when incompetent people are regularly hired or recruited. And this is particularly true when incompetent people are brought in (or promoted) as a favor to friends or cronies. In other words, nepotism will destroy team morale.
A clarifying word is in order here. I am not suggesting that no one should be given a chance to learn, therefore, beginners need not apply! However, the chance to learn starts not at the top, or even mid-level. It starts at the bottom, and for reasons of prospect not favoritism. As the prospect increases in knowledge, skill, and expertise, he/she should rise in responsibility and seniority.
When beginners are brought in this way and work their way up, veterans respect them and the leadership. This results in increased T.E.A.M. spirit.
Last week, Zach began his baseball “career.” Well, it’s baseball of sorts. The Arlington Southwest Little League has an introductory program for 3-4 year-olds to get acquainted with baseball. I’ll let ASWLL explain “Bubba Ball”:
What exactly is Bubba Ball, you ask?
It is designed for 3-4 year olds who are just not ready–either physically or socially–for team sports. You take an oversized plastic bat, a squishy ball, a mat that shows them exactly where to stand, and one base…first base only. Put the ball on a tee, let them give it a whack, and teach them how to run to first base. After they touch first base, they give every family member they can find a hug.
The other team?
Well, they “look” like they are playing defense. They are really just chasing that squishy ball and handing it back to an adult (or one of the many older ASWLL players who are helping their siblings on these fields) so that they can hurry up and put that ball back on the tee so the next kid can give it a whack.
Six players per team, six whacks with the bat, several hugs and high fives later, then you switch sides. It really is a sight to behold.
Here are some pics from Zach’s first day of Bubba Ball (all photos courtesy of http://www.saenzofthetimes.com/):
Zach and his Cubs teammates warm up.
Zach is being chased by a teammate as they learn what to do with the ball.
Zach at the plate.
On the way to first, trying to beat the throw!
He made it!
Post game cheers!
Colleen and Craig at the top of the World Trade Center in 1999.
Many, if not most Americans from the generation immediately before me seem to frame time around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Over the years, I’ve repeatedly heard others ask and answer the question, “Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?” Now, it seems that question has been replaced with “Where were you on 9-11?” So, for all of those who will ask …
Colleen and I, and our friend Bill had just picked up an Israeli diplomat’s son at the foreign ministry in Jerusalem and were driving to a baseball game at Gezer when he received the initial news feed via a pager that each diplomat’s family members carry. But what was coming through the pager was incomprehensible for all of us in the car: A plane flew into the World Trade Center? As we continued to drive, the reports continued to come in with more details. But, more reports didn’t make things clearer; the story was so bizarre that we couldn’t understand what was going on.
After the game, we returned to Jerusalem and stopped over at Bill’s landlord’s apartment where the large screen TV was tuned into the news feed. Bill’s landlord was an elderly gentleman who had been a taxi driver in New York City in his earlier years. He was in shock as he was glued to the video footage, and kept muttering, “I’ve been there thousands of times; right there.” Over and over, he kept repeating the same thing, “I’ve been there thousands of times; right there.” Like everyone else, we were stunned and simply couldn’t believe what we saw on the television screen.
During the rash of suicide bombings in Israel (1990s-2000s), people frequently measured their closeness to the latest bombing by recounting the last time they had been in that location (sometimes only minutes prior) or by predicting the next time they would have been there. I think that is a fairly normal response to a momentous event, particularly an overwhelmingly life threatening or negative one.
We, too, have done that regarding 9-11. Less than 3-weeks prior we had passed near the World Trade Center with members of the Israel National Baseball Team on my birthday, August 26. Several of us were ending our first US baseball visit by going to see the Staten Island Yankees. We took the Staten Island Ferry to the game and then returned to Manhattan the same way, passing near the WTC once again.
We were also in the area shortly after the attack. After things were somewhat sorted out and flights were resumed at Newark International Airport (where Flight 93 originated), Colleen and I were on the first flight from Israel to arrive at Newark on the morning they re-opened for international flights.
On the separate, though semi-related matter of security post-9-11, we had an interesting view. We had been blessed with the rare opportunity to fly back to the States in business class. It was strange to see the other passengers receive their wine in clear plastic cups rather than the traditional wine glass, which had been a staple of flying up front. When the flight attendant brought our silverware for dinner, the fork and spoon were typical metal airline cutlery. The knife, however, was the cheap plastic picnic variety.
After arriving at the international hall we went through customs and then walked around to the domestic side where we had to return through security once the gates were opened. We were among the first people in line waiting to get through the security checkpoint, and our early arrival gave us the opportunity to see close-up how unprepared security was, even after implementing a new protocol. It was an absolute train wreck. The security agents didn’t know the answers to simple questions like, What do we do with our computers? What about our cell phones? The agents outside the security gate were literally hollering across the line, “Hey, what are we doing with computers and cell phones?” We were shocked that the security agents, in spite of a lengthy shutdown, had no idea what they were doing.
