Guelph Coed Slopitch League

Hey Louise & Mike:

Here's a story for your newbies or any underdogs.........

It's a short story about a new team that was participating in the Guelph Co-ed Slo Pitch League of 2011. A team of some talent, of little experience, but looking to have a lot of fun.

Under the leadership of 'Feisty Fiona" the new baseball team Braving the Elements started practice on a cold spring evening looking for talent. A bunch of lab geeks from Wellington Laboratories, spouses and friends gathered and went through the exercises of hitting, catching and throwing in hopes a superstar would emerge. But alas our talents were average, our optimism low and the idea of superstars just a dream. But we will still have fun trying!! The season starts and some games are won and some games are lost. We learn quickly which teams are going to be a challenge to play. And teams like us who want to get better and survive! As summer comes and goes Braving the Elements does have fun and makes new friends with the conveners Louise and Mike. But our playing attitude has changed. Now experienced players, we start to feel confident in our skills, and have come together as a team!!! "we think we can"..."we think we can".

The playoffs are now upon us. 2 days of back to back games leading up to a championship! Can we survive? Can we beat teams that have beat us during the summer? Will our bodies last???? The first game is played and wonders of wonders we WON!!!! The pitching was perfect and the fielding fantastic. A spark of hope and optimism ripples through the team. We walk off the field that morning a different team that started. A feeling of "we think we can" is now in our heads. Bring on the next team!!! Game 2 is played and the Elements now have a second notch on their playoff belts. With 2 challenging teams behind us our confidence soars! And now the other teams look twice at these former basement dwellers..."who do they think they are"..... Now Sunday morning we arrive for game 3 tired and sore but ready for action. We are informed that win or lose game 3 Braving the Elements will be in the semi finals!!!! Game 3 starts off slow with both teams making good plays and some errors. It's now time for our bats to do some talking. With a few runs each inning and some spectacular outfield dives the Elements have won Game 3. Holy crap....we can win this thing.....we can do no wrong. "we think we can"...."we think we can".

Game 4 and as it turns out our final game is played out with the eventual champs The Brewjays. A team made up of a few different families and friends and a lot of talent!! A team I might add that skunked us during the season. The game is tight and both teams have runs on the scoreboard. We are really doing well! But as fate rears it's ugly head their home run hitter tags one over the fence and with that some wind is taken out of our sails. The Brewjays go on to win the game. We have a very respectable score against them and feel no shame as we leave.

It was a good season, we played a lot of teams and had fun with everyone of them. We started as rookies, green as they come. But with a little confidence and some hard work........"we think we can" became "We know we can" and we almost did. From the bottom almost to the top. The photo say's it all.....

We had fun Louise and Mike!! Thank you for your hard work and giving up your summer weekends.

Braving the Elements

Steve & Dar