Monday, June 9, 2008

IT BREAKS YOUR HEART. IT IS DESIGNED TO BREAK YOUR HEART. Antonio Carlos Jobim, the leading light of bossa nova, once observed that his music derived its lasting power from the ineffable Brazilian concept of “saudade,” a kind of happy-sadness. It is with a feeling of happy-sadness that I face the end of the Little League season.

I am proud of the children I coached this spring. They accomplished and in fact surpassed the goals we announced at the beginning of the season. They had fun. They tried hard. They all became much better baseball players.

One of my teams led its league, losing only one game all season. The other team finished second in its league. But far more importantly, the children truly took to heart the lessons of sportsmanship that we emphasized each week. In their words and in their deeds they embodied the golden rule. I look back with a happy heart.

These were two groups of terrific kids. And, of course, that’s where the sadness begins. I will miss spending time with the lads and lasses. I will miss our evening practices, running around with them as each day drew to a close, the sun setting slowly just beyond the first base line. I will miss those sunny Saturdays, watching them excel on the field. I will miss yelling “ready position!” and “plant your back foot!” I think this is my 24th season coaching youth sports. This was emphatically one of my favorites.

I can see that before too long my days as a coach will be over. Each year the leagues get more competitive. My sons are getting older. Their interests in the long run lie elsewhere. I’m like a power pitcher who is starting to lose the edge from his fastball. I know that I have a few more good seasons left, but the writing is on the wall.

There are people who live their lives focused upon the past, people who live for the moment, and people who concentrate primarily on the future. I’m certainly in the third category. It’s a mixed blessing. By planning ahead, I can get more out of life (and I suppose you’d have to say that it’s a trait you’d desire in an investment manager). But I sometimes forget, as John Lennon once put it, that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. This season was “the good old days.” It was great to live in the moment, caught up wholly in the “flow” of these glorious games and practices.

I feel so incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to coach these magnificent boys and girls.

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