This video made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This video, dare I say, restored my faith in humanity. It definitely restored my faith in youth coaches who are kinda crazy and who kinda go way, way overboard with the whole “coaching little kids” thing.
Last night, the Cumberland American’s lost 8-7 in the Little League World Series. Nothing to be ashamed of but the kids were upset and several of them were crying in the post-game huddle. Cue coach David Belisle and his wonderful, wonderful words.
Here’s an excerpt from the speech.
“Heads up high. Heads up high. I’ve gotta see your eyes, guys. There’s no disappointment in your effort — in the whole tournament, the whole season. It’s been an incredible journey.
“We fought. Look at the score – 8-7, 12-10 in hits. We came to the last out. We didn’t quit. That’s us! Boys, that’s us!
“The only reason why I’ll probably end up shedding a tear is that this is the last time I’m going to coach you guys. But I’m going to bring back with me, the coaching staff is going to bring back, you guys are going to bring back that no one other team can provide – that’s pride. Pride.
“You’re going to take that for the rest of your lives, what you provided for the town of Cumberland. You had the whole place jumping, right? You had the whole state jumping. You had New England jumping. You had ESPN jumping. OK?
“You want to know why? They like fighters. They like sportsmen. They like guys who don’t quit. They like guys who play the game the right way. If everyone would play baseball like the Cumberland Americans, this would be the greatest game.
“The lessons you guys have learned along the journey, you’re never going to forget. We’re going to have some more fun. We have two more days of fun. When you walk around this ballpark in the next couple of days, they’re going to look at you and say: “Hey, you guys were awesome!’
“Everybody has said: You guys are awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Absolutely awesome.
Oh, I’m sorry, are there onions in here? Who’s cutting onions?
[BroBible]
