SPEECHES
Dare To Dream
by Kellie
Strike! Bellows the umpire as the first pitch slaps into the catchers glove.
Strike!!…the second pitch is also perfectly placed.
The silence was deafening. The game hinges on this batter…..scores and they win – strikes out ..they lose.
The pressure builds and the tension is enormous. The 3rd pitch is delivered and with precision timing the ball is met with the bat and sails out of the diamond.
The look on the young boys face is of excitement and relief as he rounds each and every base…..the look in the eyes of the young boy watching from the grandstand fills with tears as he claps his mate all the way into home plate.
This was the scene of the under 14’s Qld Rams 2001 baseball team at the National Titles in Canberra earlier this year.
Ladies and gentlemen….my story starts 10 months earlier when Shane and Jacob – 2 13 year old mates were selected to try out for the prestigious Qld Rams. Shane and Jacob dared to dream of having those words - “the Qld Rams” embroided in gold across the front of their jackets.
Little did they know that by taking on that dare…their lives as they new it would change forever. Family BBQ’s would be replaced with reading play books, outings to the pictures with practise drills. Tears would be shed in private when the stress became too much for them. Ice packs would burn their skin as they nursed their sore and tired muscles and the words of sports psychologists and motivational speakers would play over and over in their minds.
The mental strain and the pressure was beginning to show but every training day Shane and Jacob would get up put on their baseball pants, do up their belts, tighten the laces in their cleats and don their caps before running out onto the practise field….all the while smiling and encouraging each other every step of the way.
The final selection day had come….this day the boys would know their fate. The head coach called Shane, Jacob and the other 23 boys in. They all went down on one knee anxiously awaiting the verdict. Nine months of total and utter commitment was about to judged.
18 names would be called ….and 7 wouldn’t.
The boys were counting. 14 names had been called and Shane and Jacobs were not among them.
Matthew, Ben, Shane and Bradley.
The look in Shane’s eyes was of excitement and relief. The look in Jacobs said a lot. Jacob hung his head and took the long walk across the field. Shane ran to him and shook his hand. Not a word was spoken. Their eyes said it all.
As Shane crossed home plate score in the winning run at the National Titles in Canberra earlier this year his excited eyes met Jacobs in the grandstand. The smile on Jacobs face was for Shane….the tears in his eyes were for himself.
Shane and Jacob dared to Dream. For Shane the dream became a reality….for Jacob ….. well he would have to wait until next year to have those words embroided in gold across the front of his jacket. Another year wiser and another year stronger.
Ladies and gentlmen…..can you remember the last time you Dared to Dream?
Did your dream become a reality like Shanes or were you left to sit in the sidelines to wait for another day.
Achieving our goals and our dreams is tough. Just like Shane and Jacob we work hard and prepare to the best of our abilities. Sometimes our dreams come true and other times….well other times, just like Jacob we become a little bit wiser and a little bit stronger from the experience.
Never give up trying, Jacob didn’t…your winning home run could be just around the corner.
Oh …. Did I forget to tell you? Jacob finally did get those words embroided onto his jacket. Just last week he was selected for the Qld Rams under 14’s baseball team for 2002. He Dared to Dream…he never gave up….He Won!
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