I asked PJ if I could speak to you tonight because I wanted to share with you two stories.
My nephew plays on an 11 year-old travel baseball team and last week I went to see one of his games. One of his teammates was up to bat when an inside pitch came in close. The umpire asked the batter if the ball had hit him, the batter said yes and took his base. The batter ended up scoring and when he came off the field I heard some adults on the sideline ask him if the ball had really hit him. He looked at them sheepishly, grinned and said “Naw”. The adults started laughing and seemed to be encouraging him for what he had done. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This 11 year old boy was being applauded by adults for lying and cheating. My nephew’s team won the game that day. They are a pretty good team so they probably won by more than just that one run. But was that kid really a winner?
Now let me tell you another story……….
I attended a game here at Grove City Christian this year and at his first at bat Christopher Bowman hit a ball deep into center field. The umpire did not see the ball clear the fence and he called it a ground rule double. Our coaches protested saying the ball had gone over but it was the center fielder from the other team who convinced the umpire that he had made a mistake. He had seen the ball clear the fence and told the umpire it was indeed a home run. The umpire changed his call and Christopher proceeded home. The honest center fielder played for Emmanuel Christian. I don’t know his first name. In my scorebook he is listed as #24 and his last name is Boswell. His team lost both games of the double header. He struck out five times. But in my book he was a winner that day. As they were coming off the field, the umpire told Coach Tom that in 37 years of umpiring he had never witnessed anything like that. After the game our coaches acknowledged Mr. Boswell for what he had done and they told our boys they would expect them to do the same if the situation was reversed.
Sometimes people ask me why I send my kid to Grove City Christian. He’s a pretty good ball player and they tell me he would get more exposure in a public school. My question is what kind of exposure do I want him to have?
As the booster president here at GCC, I devote a lot of time and energy into this school and when I see something happen like what happened at that Emmanuel Christian game, I know why I do it. I am so grateful that I can send my son to a school where in every sport, not just baseball; qualities like integrity, fairness, sportsmanship and character are valued more than points on the scoreboard.
Cathy Snider
Athletic Booster President
Grove City Christian School