A Thing Or Two About The Game by Richard Paik
“It’s all about the ice cream.”
On the surface, yes, the idea of little league girls softball at the pre-teen level is to have fun. At least it should be. At least for the girls.
Thinking back, my daughter’s softball coach was a tough cookie. One evening after practice, he hadn’t been pleased with the girls’ performance so he ordered them sit in a circle in center field and figure out how to fix the situation. Frustrated parents waited with car keys in hand as darkness set in, while the girls picked at the grass with not much idea what they were supposed to discuss or solve. They were 11-year-olds!
But hard-nosed as he was, he got the girls prepared for every possibility.
“What are you going to do if the ball comes to you?” He made them think in advance, anticipate, and basically be prepared. It was a great lesson, and it worked.
PAIK WRITES IN AN EASY STYLE
Of course, in softball, as in life, we can’t always be as prepared as we’d like, as hard as we may try, or take things too seriously. In Richard Paik’s A Thing or Two About the Game, that was the case for Brad, as the last thing he expected was for his ex-wife to show up and urge him to temporarily coach a little league girls softball team through a season.
Was Brad prepared for the task at hand, or was it an opportunity to exorcize some of the larger curve balls life had thrown him?
He had lost his job. He was coming off a failed marriage. And now he was in charge of managing and motivating a group of girls at that vulnerable stage when their own shadows scare them and their parents and teachers can’t understand them.
In girls softball at this level, it’s about having fun and not so much winning. However, the stigma of winning at something – anything – meant more to Brad, given his station in life. “Coming up short had turned out to be the story of his life.”
But now, in his mild, caring and coaching way, he takes to the girls, staying sensitive to their daily issues of inclusion, anxiety, parent relationships, other extracurricular demands, health concerns, and generally obsessing over the need to be liked and feeling comfortable in their own skin — to say nothing of a thing or two about the game of softball.
A NIFTY STORY
When Connor, the new boyfriend of his ex and the coach that Brad temporarily replaces, returns briefly but then hands the reins back to Brad, it gives Brad the chance to follow through on some of his goals and, ironically, step in and help Connor with some professional matters as well.
Paik writes in an easy style, letting readers in on some of the intricacies of girls softball technique and strategy, and being part of a team. But more significantly, he invests in letting readers into the mind of his admirable yet flawed protagonist – how Brad copes with his own issues and becomes counselor and coach to a demographic for which he has little experience.
As a result, Paik has delivered a nifty story that is enjoyable for a wide age range.
To yell or not to yell? To listen and learn? Winning at all costs? Hardly. Maybe just a winning agenda.
Remember, it’s all about the ice cream.
About Richard Paik:
Richard Paik lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts. A Thing or Two About the Game is his debut novel. Five seasons coaching girls’ softball served as inspiration, while providing insight into the tribulations and rewards of this benign activity. He is currently at work on his next book, a collection of linked stories, none of which is about softball. Visit https://richardpaik.com.
