Connor’s Bunt Single

It took Connor maybe 14 seconds to make it to first base on an unintentional bunt single 10 years ago this spring–his first hit in little league in a game featuring 111 passed balls spanning 123 minutes of yawns and parents asking each other, “seriously, are there any outs yet”?  Not exactly record time but for his folks it was Jessie Owens fast as they willed him to the bag. They don’t measure time like a lot of us. They measure it in how much dirt Connor kicked up running to first and how many times his glasses bobbled off his nose. They measure it in how when he got there he immediately found me on third base and saw the steal sign and then took off on the next pitch, fearless. Sure, the odds of the catcher throwing him out were 7 billion to 1, but Connor didn’t know that. Here’s the kid who’s been told for 9 years he doesn’t have the ability and can’t play sports, that he has “limitations,” “challenges” – labeled by the health and school system as having epilepsy and delays – but I don’t really agree. Sure, he may need to swing the bat before the pitcher even winds up just to catch up to it and he may not run so fast but his brain is running laps around a lot of kids, and he used whatever force he could muster to make his way to second. Thing is, this story’s not about Connor. Down 2 runs with 1 out in the last inning, our best player Nick came up to bat…Nick’s folks thought he could get a D1 scholarship, be the next A-Rod and change the world, and they made Nick believe it, telling him to “do what you need to win.” Nick was 9. Early in the season Nick played like Kelly in Bad News Bears, running all over the field to catch balls destined to bounce off the right fielder’s mitt. Over time, dad and I tried to help Nick see what team felt like, having him help run drills, leading “pepper” with the other players, teaming up with Connor in a bunt contest…Nick roped the ball to the outfield but he was starting to catch Connor. Then it happened. Nick, knowing his run would matter for us to win and advance, stopped dead in his tracks between 2nd and 3rd, yelled for Connor to “run,” then just sat down. He was tagged out, Connor scored, and we lost that game by a run. Nick, the kid who at one point earlier in that season pouted after every loss, sacrificed himself so Connor could score. I think about that game and all the passed balls and lost chances and I realize there’s probably a couple kids who only see that game as a win. To see Connor and Nick after that game and to see Nick and Connor’s parents, well you’d think we’d won….I told this story this week at a Hartford Foundation event on the power of youth sports. The amount of federal and state funding and private investment will start to grow to support programs dedicated to helping kids move and play and compete in sports in ways that give kids like Nick a chance to think of more than self. Connor and Nick are 18 now - Connor studying at Amherst, Nick studying to be a social worker. Sounds like his folks were right after all – he’s going to try to change the world.