“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Relationships matter. What we do with and for others is the stuff of life. It is often the difference between those just living, and those who are truly alive. To quote Andy Dufresne in the 1994 movie Shawshank Redemption, “Get busy living or get busy dying.”
In my last column, I wrote about being back for the annual Penn State Hockey Alumni weekend to reignite the bonds of friendship as our 1990 and 2000 ACHA National Championship teams were recognized at the varsity game on Jan. 18 at Pegula Ice Arena. There is something indescribable about winning a team championship, in any sport, at any level. The friendships and memories that will be shared for a lifetime are the ties that bind us, forever.
Ties that Bind Us Part I:
Winning team championships never gets old, and over a recent three-day period in Tampa, Florida, I was blessed to be a part of another one. Our Sun City 60s senior softball team won the ISSA AA World Tournament of Champions title with a 20-17 victory over the First Coast 60s of Jacksonville, Florida.
Now let’s put this in proper perspective. This is AA senior slow-pitch softball. The REALLY good players play AAA Major-Gold. That’s three levels above us and those teams take the game to a completely different level. They are bigger, stronger and most of their players are simply more talented than most of our roster.
You know what? It doesn’t matter. We got to be kids again and got to celebrate with our pals. It’s a tournament experience the guys and our fans (aka wives and some family) will never forget. These are guys that I play with and against in our Sun City Softball Club T/TH league. When I run into one of my World Tournament teammates at the field or in the development, there is a large smile, a hearty handshake and often a big hug. Such are the ties that bind us. Oh, and the championship rings we received were ridiculously nice (and huge).
At almost 65, I never imagined I’d still be playing competitive softball. In ISSA play we use an unrestricted flight ball and high-tech bats. My friends all wanted to know if I got hurt or had any scars from the projectiles hit at me at the hot corner at third base. I responded, “I survived with only minor bruises this time. But I did get a nice ding on my right knee when I tripped going into the dugout and hit the aluminum bench. Does that count?” Ya gotta have fun folks!
Down 10-1 to the defending champion Texas Tornadoes after five innings in game 1, we roared back in the bottom of the seventh to win 11-10. We dropped game 2 to the Minnesota Lumberjacks 24-13 and they looked like the dominant team before unceremoniously losing their next two games. We trounced Texas 20-12 in a rematch the next day and dominated First Coast 26-13 to clinch the winner’s bracket.
I started off 7-for-7 with a walk in my first eight plate appearances. Defensively, I had a number of solid fielding plays, and no bruises! All was going along well until we faced this Florida pitcher who threw all kinds of junk pitches and got in my head, and their catcher, No. 14 launched a couple missiles past me at third base.
Sunday’s title game was a rematch with Jacksonville. We entered the bottom of the sixth clinging to a 15-14 lead with the game far from being decided. We scored two runs and had one out when I came up with the bases loaded. Earlier in the game I had hit into an inning-ending double play and hit a deep fly ball to right field for an out. The team was probably a tad nervous. I hit what would best be described as a seeing eye grounder that eluded their first basemen and, with the right fielder playing extra deep, all three runners scored, including what would be the winning run.
Now sporting a 20-14 lead in the top of the seventh inning, we just needed three outs, and the title would be ours. Florida quickly scored three runs and had runners at first and third and now it was 20-17, but two outs.
I instinctively yelled, “Two down! Who wants the last one?!” It was a phrase I heard my father yell out many times while watching or playing for his baseball and softball teams. Up steps my nemesis No. 14, same guy who ripped two past me earlier. He hits a Baltimore chop in the 5/6 hole and with my catlike reflexes (ha!), I threw out my glove, snagged the ball and threw it to our second baseman for the final out. The celebration began. What a blast! There is simply nothing like winning a team championship with your buddies.
Ties that Bind Us Part II:
Winning the tournament was just the beginning of a trip down memory lane for me and my wife. We stayed a few extra days in Florida to visit our State College friends Tom and Mary Ann Henderson in Sarasota. Then we joined our good State College and Penn State friends Ray and Bobbi Lombra and Paul and Sarah Cohen. “Doc” Lombra was a longtime distinguished professor of economics and associate dean of the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State. “Doc” Cohen was a distinguished professor of industrial engineering at Penn State. The “D.O.C.s,” as they were known for years, are Penn State hockey royalty. Ray was a volunteer assistant coach, academic advisor, creator of the Icer Endowment fund and my “consigliere.” Paul was the program’s faculty advisor, academic counselor and de facto general manager.
We enjoyed a relaxing few days of conversation, great meals and visiting the Ringling Museum and St. Armond’s Circle in Sarasota and Longboat Key. Many of the stories we recounted were all true, mostly accurate, sometimes embellished and often with some details left out on purpose. Ray, Bobbi, Paul and Sarah, aren’t just great friends; they are family and some of our most cherished memories have happened with them. Our kids still call them Uncle Ray and Uncle Paul to this day.
Ties that Bind Part III:
“There are three kinds of people in this world: people who make it happen, people who watch what happens and people who wonder what happened.” – Tommy Lasorda, legendary Los Angeles Dodgers manager
Our final day in Florida was reserved for another reunion, this time with DuBois native and former Penn State baseball student-athlete Mike Milliron. Mike began his professional career as an intern and eventually Varsity ‘S’ Coordinator and a major gift officer with the Penn State Nittany Lion Club. I had the pleasure of working directly with Mike and you just knew he was destined to go on to be successful in the sports industry.
Mike has worked at the prestigious International Management Group (IMG) Academy’s Bradenton, Florida, campus for over 13 years and earned his way to become the chief operating officer. Basically he’s “The Man” who “makes things happen” and on our tour of the amazing facilities, every employee we came across treated Mike with genuine respect and loyalty. We were honored to get a chunk of his busy time to catch up!
Just minutes into our trip home I saw a message on LinkedIn, and it led me to a post from Mike:
“Moments Matter. Today, I was able to provide a tour of IMG Academy to my first boss – Joe Battista and his wife Hedi. It was fun and very meaningful. Joe was the best first boss I could have asked for – he believed in me, pushed me, and showed me how far passion can take you in your professional life. Thankful for what he and [former PSU Associate AD] Greg Myford modeled for me. I try to carry much of it with me 15+ years later. And JoeBa is still as crazy, passionate, and fun as ever!
It was so great to see Mike. What a great fit for him and it was obvious how much his staff respects him. I have no doubt he will keep doing great things for the IMG Academy Ascenders.
Our Sun City 60s team gathered at player/coach Walt Henegar’s home for a Super Bowl party and to celebrate our ISSA World Tournament Championship. He and his wife, Barb, entertained this latest version of a championship team. In a classy gesture, Walt and player/ manager Vinnie Boccanfuso presented a Champions pullover to our injured teammate Kevin “KT” Thompson who couldn’t attend. What we do with and for others is the stuff of life.
We all know people who are “alive” but don’t really know how to live. Are you just living or are you truly alive? These examples of the power of relationships, and creating the moments that matter, are the stuff of life. These are the ties that bind us.
