When the regular Little League season commitment ends and most moms wrap up their concession duties, there are a select few chosen for the next ranks — the “all-star moms.”

First understand where our 12Us (age 12 and under) were coming from. It was all about redemption for our all-stars this 2019 season. State College Little League’s past was steeped in a heartbreaking history that needed rendered.

The past two seasons this group should’ve played deeper into the playoffs and come out with more banners, but our seasons ended with many disappointments. The goal to win districts had been within our grasp twice and we let it go.

Not this year — our last year to get it done.

This also meant moms had to step it up too, and understand and abide by team rules: no swimming for the players on game day; put in extra blood sweat and tears all over the uniform with white pants you are to keep clean; cancel your summer vacation; work concessions; buy embroidered team gear; pay an added fee for your athlete; de-commit to a family wedding and anger relatives; forego weekends; did I mention keep the uniform clean with “secret formula?”; travel hours to games; and oh yeah, your kid may not even play one inning defensively and only hit once.

Take all that in “all-star mom,” because suddenly your little T-baller with the bobblehead helmet is now under some pressure from the coaches, his teammates, the other parents that will make sideline comments as to if your kid even deserves the spot, and not to mention, the whole community starts to pay attention.

Our Little League team this year drummed up community excitement by coasting through districts with really only one challenging game against Bellefonte.

And, we won Districts. We got that banner!

That accomplishment for this group put the world back on its axis and the baseball Gods smiled down upon us, but then they planted a new seed and it started to take root quickly — one that even the community got behind.

The local papers and radio stations were giving these 12 year olds shout outs. This definitely adds a new dynamic to your journey. Your kids will start thinking he’s famous and it’s your job to keep him humble and make his bed. Just when you think things were intense, mom, prepare yourself for Sectionals. For us, it meant six straight days of driving down, one and a half hours, to Mechanisburg.

The world outside of baseball ceases to exist.

To “all-star moms” that means preparation and packing. Coolers and bags packed with endless snacks; sunscreen; bug spray; fun engaging sideline trinkets for the siblings that they never touch; concession stand money because God forbid they eat the healthy cashews and apples you packed; chairs and blankets; electronic devices; the chargers for the devices; and, don’t forget the baseball equipment — all this for one game.

To top it off, you spend an hour and a half in the car only to get there and get rained out. So, you hold in the swear words and you go back home to do it all again the next day. This literally takes over your life, and all the added pesky tasks and hardships are sometimes at the forefront, but let me assure you you will see all the good in it too, because it is there and it is so incredibly special.

Our SUV was packed up that Sectional week with all the incidentals, but also with a little boy’s dream of Williamsport; love from his feisty 9-year-old sister that would leave her gymnastics practices early and forgo a summer swim team season because she wouldn’t dream of missing his games; a father’s pride of all the hard work and grit his kid poured in for years to make it to this point; and a mother’s heart is never that simple. Your heart is worried he will play well, you are melancholy because it could all end with the outcome of that game, you are somewhat planning a vacation if that does happen, but most of all you just love that little boy that once waved at you from first base with the pride of just hitting a ball. He is your little boy turning into a young man and all the signs are there. It’s his last year ever setting foot on a baseball Little League field as a player, and you know that things will never be this complicated or simple.

“All-star mom,” no matter what the outcome of the game, big or small, you are a winner. I encourage every mom to cherish these summer baseball days because your kid may walk off with a big banner, but understand this … they have walked off that field with life lessons threaded into their lives from their coaches, their teammates and the challenging situations they have faced.

I am always in awe of how my kid stands at the plate as cool as a cucumber facing a pitcher who is throwing heat right at him, and he swings with all of his might and determination. The outcome of that swing never changes his attitude. He goes back up to bat when he is called up again with the mindset of a champion.

These are lessons mom can’t teach him. If you are blessed with a child that loves baseball and wants to be a part of something bigger than himself, embrace it. There is something so iconic and American about Little League they write songs and make movies about it. Being a part of it is a cocktail of pride, love for the game and excitement.

And yes, I have traded many summers to be a part of it, and if you’re called up, you will too.