I’ve heard that children become more resilient when they work through disappointments. If that’s the case (which I believe it is), the boys on this year’s Mountville Indians team, along with countless other kids, are destined to become part of a generation of exceptionally resilient individuals.
Over the years, Bob and I have been surprised to hear time and time again that landing a spot on the Indians team is something many of our community’s young ball players dream of from an early age. And we’re told they don’t just dream about it. For years, many work on improving their baseball mechanics to better their chances of making the team when the time comes. Many forego other opportunities hoping to make their dream become reality.
And then, BOOM! – just like that, a pandemic strikes, blowing up their dream. Baseball postponed. Cooperstown cancelled. Kids disappointed, devastated. Dreams crushed.
Now, after more than three months of impatiently waiting, a baseball season once thought improbable is about to begin! To be sure, it will be a baseball season like none other. There will be new rules, heighten concerns, and plenty of rust under the players’ hoods. But just beneath that patina I suspect will be retooled dreams that eventually will shine through, rubbed sparkling bright by three months of pent up energy and the excitement of finally being able to play the game they love.
This season won’t be the season the players had dreamed of, but it likely will be a season when they grow strong and wise beyond their 11 or 12 years. It will be a season where they learn, as players have always been encouraged to do at the Dreams Park in Cooperstown, to dream new dreams.