With Kevin Costner, it was just a movie.
But not John Grisham. He did build his field (seven baseball and softball fields, actually) on his property in Virginian ten years ago and they have come.
Now in the middle of coaching all-star baseball, I’m drawn again to the story of Cove Creek Park.
It’s his land and his fields. So guess who the commissioner of the league is. Right: Grisham. He’s often been the one cutting the grass and lining the field.
And the kids play by his rules: profanity, arguing with the ump, and poor sportsmanship aren’t tolerated. No throwing of bats, no tossing of helmets, no slamming of caps.
The parents? They’re comfortably seated beyond the center field fence so they don’t ruin the game for the kids.
Now THAT is a field of dreams!
Parents beyond centerfield, do we have time to move the bleachers before tonight’s game?
Have a great holiday and don’t hold a roman candle in your hand during fireworks(we did that as kids and thought nothing of it). I like where Grisham decided to put the stands.
Later, Keith
Great post Mike.
If only every field was like that…most fields now days are nightmares…But we hold on to hope that people will change, sportmanship will once again return to sports and that dream will come true…In my dreams.
Mike,
Each year I sit for a week at the feet of the likes of Tudor and Pagnozzi and Gibson and Cepeda and Schoendienst and Hrabosky. Each reaches a point somewhere in the routine when they speak to those who coach little league teams. And, each advises the coaches to encourage more parents to stay home so the kids can enjoy the game.
I’ll pass along to them the idea of moving the bleachers. Come to think of it, in my earlier days of preaching maybe I should have moved the pews to center field as well.
Terry
Have you thought about buying some land west of Abilene for your own “field of dreams?”
We are SO fortunate, aren’t we all, that there are such men as John Grisham in this world who will act - not just dream or reflect - but take action - to make kids’ dreams become reality and to show us all a better way to live.
Thanks for sharing the story of Cove Creek Park this holiday, all-star baseball weekend, Mike.
Hope your team hits them all out of the park tonight!
Field of Dreams is not about a physical place where the bases and chalk lines are symmetrical and perfectly aligned. FOD is about the human heart longing for perfection in a non-perfect world, about remembering and clinging to the best in what a Father has to offer, and about relationships with people you would never know could possibly teach you or mentor you when their lives were so screwed up and disjointed. Parents are part of baseball - always will be. Moving bleachers beyond center field is only a band-aid for the problems that parents will create for their children in other venues. What we really need to do is teach parents how to act at ballgames so their children will learn and then they can teach their children, and so on, and so on.
I wonder if obnoxious aunts can sit closer…
I like what it DOES teach parents. The good parents don’t need the lessons. The parents who are trying to live through their kids need to see that it’s a really fun game when kids are allowed to play it. As a coach of almost 20 years . . . I’d be willing to give it a try.
Mike,
…uh, you trailed off there, my. Wakey wakey.
The field is always the place of dreams.
The stands are where the nightmares are.
When I was in California doing youth ministry, I moonlighted as an ump for the Private Christian High School League. Put it this way regarding the parents, it was a scence right out of Numbers 2:28a!
Great post BroCo.
Can a brother get a spell check? “scene”
I have never regretted our decision to put our kids in a private inter-denominational school. When every game is begun and ended with a prayer, it at least gives the participants, parents and coaches a chance to see the contest through the perspective of the One who is in charge of it all.
Peace.
Joel,
Numbers 2:28 -
And his army was numbered at forty-one thousand five hundred.
???
okay, so I added an extra “c” in scene and I left off a “2″ in my scripture reference. It should have read, Numbers 22:28.
Amen to the parents being out in center. That’s too close for some that I’ve experienced. The next county might be too close, though.
Steve,
I went to a private, interdenominational high school, and I had a different experience than you with regard to Christian parents and athletics. In my experience, the Christian parents were (and are) some of the worst in terms of pushing their kids too hard toward success in a particular sport, ragging them and officials during games, and, at my school, even attempting to fix grades and such for their kids and other star athletes. Sports ruled the day at my high school, often trumping academics and nearly always triumphing over spiritual formation. So I reject the thought that somehow Christians are any better than non-Christians at setting priorities and acting appropriately with regards to sports.
(anymore than we — Christians — are more moral than non-Christians in so many other areas)
Sorry,
I am awake now and computer literate. John Grisham did build his first baseball field as a “field of dreams” of sorts. He lived in Oxford, MS (home of the Ole Miss Rebels, YEAH) , coached his son’s little league team and was always needing practice time but had no field. Why not solve that problem and build your own. Sometimes our biggest triumphs as coaches is to get the parents to see the game for what it was meant to be… FUN!!!
Mike, you still need to watch Grisham’s movie…Mickey (you can find it at Hollywood Video). Great show and if you love little league baseball and something tells me you do…you will love the show.
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