"You are Not Coming out of the Game!"

                                                                                                           
                                                           

   Tyler Lee High School Baseball Team 1965 

It was a pleasant spring day in April that our high school baseball team prepared to play the Longview High School team. We, the Tyler Lee Rebels, were a young team that started several sophomores in a strong district. Our  AAAA District was part of the highest Texas classification in 1965. Most of the teams that succeeded in those days were led by seniors and some juniors. So it became apparent as I watched them taking batting practice, that I, as the starting pitcher, a sophomore, had a great challenge before me. 

The Lobos were hitting balls on top of the field house in left field and into the woods in right field during pregame batting practice. They also had three superstars who led them. James Street was one, who later excelled at the University of Texas in football as quarterback of the 1969 National Championship Longhorns and as an All-American on the Longhorns baseball team which reached the College Baseball World Series that same year. Another player was Ron Cook. He would play major league baseball with the Houston Astros. And finally Rusty Musser, a multi-talented athlete who was a Golden Gloves boxing champion and who would also play professional baseball before his athletic days were over.

As if that didn't completely stack the deck against us, notice what happened at one point in the middle innings. A few runs had already scored against me, and it was becoming apparent that I was struggling to get outs. Under those circumstances, Coach Hall came striding out to the mound. Whew, I thought, good. I'm about to be relieved.

Oh no. Rather than bringing in a relief pitcher, my coach proceeded to tell me that I was staying in and that I was going to finish pitching that game. He said, "I want you to learn how to compete." I don't remember exactly what I was thinking at that point, but, regardless, they run-ruled us and finish the game I did. We lost 16-0.

It wasn't as though Coach Hall didn't know baseball. He had played at Baylor University and served as captain of the team in 1960. And with that experience he also brought a head full of sense to his job as our coach.

That season our young team would go on to win only two games and lose thirteen. However, many of our games were close. During the late 1960s, schools did not play that many baseball games. We went 6-9 my junior year and 8-7 my senior year. Six members of that senior year team would go on to play college baseball.

As I was sharing that story with Rosalind, my wife, she seemed rather critical of Coach Hall. But times were different then, I told her. Today we see parents coaching their children from the stands or telling players that they do not need to listen to their coaches or they are consumed with concerns about playing time. Some care only about their child and not the team. Athletes sometimes make excuses, blame others, and quit because they are getting beat. They haven't learned how to compete when they are getting beat decisively. Quite a contrast in April 1965, my parents were not even at the game. I didn't go home and complain about the umpires, coaches, or teammates. I simply got beat and our team kept playing and trying to get better.

Upon reflection, I am convinced that we can learn in defeat as well as in victory. I would encounter many ups and downs before I finally played my last game in college. But Coach Hall may have had it right after all. His simple message evoked courage and strength-- keep on competing regardless of who the opponents are or what the score is. 

 He passed away in June 7, 2020, after an accomplished career as teacher and coach in the Tyler Independent School District. 

This experience is a memory I carry with me to this day. Keep on pitching regardless of the score. How do we handle defeat? Perhaps he did not do the best thing for me that day in the spring of 1965, as some might think, but it has been a positive for me through the years and still serves me today. Keep on competing even when you are down 16-0.

Leadership can be taught through struggles as well as triumphs.  Leaders understand that when you get knocked down, you simply get back up. Maybe the lesson he was trying to get across to me is stated in Proverbs 24:10," If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small." 

Incidentally, I would pitch a no-hitter against our crosstown rival, another senior-laden team, as our team continued to play American Legion baseball in the summer of 1965. Success came for me during my junior and senior seasons, followed by the awarding of a baseball scholarship and an accomplished college career. 

But sometimes it may take years before we truly understand what we have been taught through difficult experiences. Such was the case when Coach Hall told me, "You're not coming out of the game. I want you to learn how to compete!"

Remember, I believe we are all leaders regardless of our position.