As I plan for practice today I can’t help to notice how much of an impact experience plays in life.  At this time last year, we were practicing all of the little things that come into play in the game of baseball trying to get prepared for the two-time defending State Champion Augusta Christian Lions.  We knew all about them as we had played them three times in the regular season but we still were preparing like crazy to make sure we had dotted our i’s and crossed our t’s.  This year we seem to be much more relaxed even though we have never seen our opponent play one inning.  I’ve had other coaches call and congratulate us on our run through the playoffs and offer words of wisdom, encouragement and advice.  The theme I kept hearing was, “you guys are just better than everybody else, don’t reinvent the wheel.”  One well respected coach said, “get out of the way Brent, and just trust that all the hard work  and teaching you’ve done along the way will pay off.  They were good enough to get you there and they’re good enough to win it all.”

As I thought about those words and what we needed to do over the next few days to prepare for the State Championship I kept coming back to let them have fun and enjoy the experience. I thought, “They know the game and they know what they’re doing. They’ve put in the work, they’ve invested in the cages and in the weightroom, and with the fungo.”  Because of all the hard work, they are very confident group, their bodies aren’t breaking down like the other teams we’ve been playing and they’ve won 9 games in a row and have mercy ruled three of their last 5 opponents.  I think we’re ready and I just want to enjoy my remaining time with these special group of guys and look forward to the opportunity of reaping the rewards from years of hard work and effort.

This will be my 4th State Championship to coach in.  I will tell you this, the anticipation of it doesn’t grow dimmer the more you do this.  It’s still very exciting.  The first one, our team lost to Mauldin in three games.  The next one we swept Dorman to be 4A State Champs.  The third one was last year against Augusta Christian.  And this one, my fourth to be apart of-- im trying to just stay out of the way and let these boys have fun and do their thing! Go Falcons!