The next morning the following email awaited the Heads Up leadership team:

I would just like to say Thanks! Last night's opening ceremonies were wonderful and what a joy it was to watch my son strike out, make a poor throw from left field and lose the game by one run in extra innings--and still be cheering for his team and having fun and coming away feeling good not defeated! Thank you so much. God is truly using you in a great way with these impressionable young people. Thank you and if there is anything I can ever do, please ASK! Heartfully. Thankfully. A Proud Parent. Fare thee well.

Opening night was indeed memorable. No, we weren't celebrating errors or strikeouts, but we were championing team spirit. There were home runs, walks, wild pitches (more than a few), excited parents, the smell of hamburgers on the grill, field lights, the Mayor, brothers, sisters, grandparents, dogs--it was fun. Baseball fun. Inherently good entertainment--and it took more than a joystick or a remote control. Several teams of 13 players played into the sunset. It left an indelible impression.

Some of the Heads Up High School Team before the '98 State Tourney.

Kids play hundreds of hours of video games and will remember few actual moments in front of the screen. Opening Night was different. They had traded the joystick for a bat and a recliner for the bench. An unannounced errant ball could make them a hero. They would trade the limelight for cheers from the bench when their teammate hit an RBI. Even the best of players became nervous as the game wore on. Extra innings for 11- and 12-year-olds-what a script. Every kid, in his or her own way, could identify with the passion and dedication of a Cal Ripken, Jr. To be in the game, inside the fence, was to write a page of history that will be read many times during the next 50 years-sometimes in personal reflection and oftentimes to teammates (and eventually to grandkids). Scratch singles will become line drives. Unearned runs will become RBIs. That buddy on the bench will become a life-long friend.

The excitement was shared among players and fans and only possible through team effort--on both sides of the diamond.

Every time you go to the ballpark, you have a reminder of teamwork-your mitt!

Have you ever wondered why the fingers and thumb are tied together in your mitt? Can you imagine the difficulty of golfing, bowling or playing basketball with all of your fingers and your thumb tied together? When you look at your mitt you'll notice that a leather string weaves through the fingers, and a series of strings adjoin the fingers to the thumb creating a "pocket." Some of the older mitts have a fifth finger where the pocket is today.

Place your hand in your mitt and attempt to move one finger independently from the others. Unless you break the string--impossible! The mitt is designed to force the fingers to work together. This strengthens the hand and it allows it to accomplish what a single finger cannot-stop a hardball! Besides the sting, and possible broken bones, and the bruises, the ball would still get past most fielders. In the inner cities some leagues play 16" softball, or what is called mush ball. Due to the lack of diamond space they use a larger ball which is more difficult to hit long distances. Most players do not use mitts. It's very common to see jammed fingers, and athletes with large hands have the advantage in stopping the ball. I had a high fly ball (routine in regular baseball), go through my small hands and pummel my face. I gave up the sport until rejoining a hardball league with supporting mitts.

Another feature of the mitt is its size. Infielders use a small mitt that will allow the shorter fingers to stop the hard hits. The first baseman has an elongated mitt that helps with wide throws and its special padding helps to dig throws from the dirt and gives a bit more protection for receiving numerous hard tosses per game. The outfielders have huge mitts that at times look like flags in the wind. These mitts become special tools for covering a few more inches on long runs, and a little more area for snagging a ball within range. And there is the catcher's mitt. A hunk of padding with a sweet spot. The catcher gets a workout just squeezing the pitches for a game--often over 150.

Regardless of the size of a mitt and its specific field function, it's always designed to strengthen and to extend the capacity of the hand by enabling the fingers and thumb to work as a unit. If the leather weaving breaks, eventually it will render the best-designed mitt useless. But working as a unit requires some flexibility. When a new mitt arrives a coach or player will go through a "special" routine to soften it and to fit it to his or her hand. Usually the player will rub it down with mink oil, soak it in water, and sometimes microwave it to soften it for use. A new catcher's mitt is especially unwieldy. Too stiff--it's like catching a bowling ball with a firm mattress! But given the right attention, the padded shield becomes a special friend with a soft touch.

The Bible speaks often about working as a team, and especially about being unselfish. Once the hand is placed in a mitt the fingers have little choice but to work together. This is where the analogy breaks down--God gives us a choice. We can try to do it all ourselves, or we can concentrate on playing our position to the best of our ability and relying on our teammates to do the same. A good coach attempts to develop a team spirit, and the more mature players at all levels realize the necessity of helping teammates to develop as well. One of my sons played infield during his Little League years. Although the shortest kid on the team, he was like a vacuum, an "all-star" from the first game to the last. But he had a problem to overcome in order to become a true "all-star," one worthy of being on a well-oiled team--he did not trust the abilities of his teammates.

After a couple of games, Joshua realized that the other infielders dropped most of his throws. He simply threw them too hard, or, they had undeveloped skills and could not catch properly at nine and 10 years of age. One throw bypassed the first baseman's glove altogether and struck his face. So, as the games progressed Joshua began running down more and more batters. Whether he played shortstop or third, he would sprint the ball over to first, usually before the runner. By the end of the games he had single-handedly recorded most of the outs. Because he was the team's leading batter, and was among the hardest working, his coach tolerated his actions at first. But the principle of teamwork was violated and most of his teammates began feeling unimportant. Joshua would even run batters down from the outfield. What at first was cute became an important teaching moment. As the season progressed and batters improved, Joshua began to realize that the answer was not in running down batters, but in helping his colleagues to catch the ball. Sometimes the coach encouraged the players to trade their unfriendly black mesh mitts for softer leather ones. Usually, Joshua was encouraged to throw more gently to the base. He could no longer do it all, and he began to see the wisdom in teamwork.

Joshua played in that great "Opening Day" game in the 11-12 division of Heads Up Baseball. He hit a couple of homers, but was the losing pitcher-and could still smile. His team had played admirably, and they had all contributed. He realized that he could no longer run batters down from the outfield, let alone from shortstop and rarely even from the pitcher's mound. That Little League coach helped him to learn a valuable lesson-A good team has well-defined goals and it takes teamwork to accomplish them. Yogi Berra was wrong-winning isn't "the only thing," especially in sports (games). An interesting thing occurred in the overtime inning-the opposing team held a conference on the mound and decided to "intentionally walk" Joshua during his last at bat. As a team, they worked together and their strategy paid off. The pitcher (himself a great athlete) realized the possibility of Josh clearing the bases and decided to rely on the defense of this teammates rather than his own arm. Although Josh's teammates came through with a walk and a single they would lose in the bottom of the seventh amidst cheers and excitement. After the game Joshua, the losing pitcher, and Gabe, the winning pitcher, were seen sitting together on top of the dugout chatting about the game. Both had won. Like the strings through a mitt their teams' orchestration of plays had produced noble performances-that required teamwork.

The Bible speaks clearly about teamwork and God's divine plan in giving each of us different gifts. Some are pitchers, some outfielders, and others catchers-all important and working together, like the fingers in our mitt.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. I Corinthians 12: 4-6