smithers joe Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 i believe it was my first year, coaching in newton. that would have been 1970. we had tryouts and now we were having the draft. there was two boys with the same last name, but not related....ray was one of them. when i called his name out, the other coaches started laughing...they so ran this kid down, that when they told me i could change my pick, i said, no, he's the boy i wanted... to say, ray was uncoordinated would be an understatement. if a ball came his way, he'ld put his glove in front of his face....when he went to throw the ball, it went sideways. at batting, ray would miss the ball by a foot or more...i was really having trouble teaching him how to play. it wasn't long before the other boys took him aside and told him he should quit. your ruining our team and we don't want you here, they told him. later, ray's mom phoned me and asked if i would come over...ray wants to quit the team...i have to admit that on the way over there, i was thinking of telling her, i thought he should. when i arrived, his mom told me how much she appreciated my being the only positive male influence in ray's life. ray lived with his mother and two older sisters...they were very protective of ray... before he came in, his mom told me the story of ray.... three years earlier, ray and his father were out fishing in the middle of a large lake...suddenly, his father had a heart attack...all he could get out was, ray, get help....ray rowed that boat into shore, crying and struggling with the oars. sadly, his dad was dead before help arrived. ray became withdrawn and joining baseball was his first time joining in with others.... i told ray, that if he came back, there would be no more trouble... i phoned the rest of the boys and asked them to come to practise fifteen minutes early..when they came, i told them, the story of ray. i told them if they did what i wanted them to do, they would see a miracle happen before their eyes. through out the season and the next, the boys, all became like big brothers...they helped and encouraged ray....he did improve but not to the level of the other boys... by this time, my son was three and because we lived in north delta, i thought i should move over and coach there... a couple of years later, i ran into my fellow coach from newton...he said, ray never came back to baseball, but instead joined a football team. apparently he became a pretty decent player. three years after i left newton, we moved to smithers....several years later, my old helper came through smithers and looked me up. he told me about what each boy was doing now...i asked him about ray...he said, sadly, that ray had died of leukaemia a couple of years after i moved to smithers....he said, ray's positive attitude, helped his mother and sisters cope with losing him.... it may be hard to see the miracle there, but i believe there was one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV. Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 3 minutes ago, smithers joe said: i believe it was my first year, coaching in newton. that would have been 1970. we had tryouts and now we were having the draft. there was two boys with the same last name, but not related....ray was one of them. when i called his name out, the other coaches started laughing...they so ran this kid down, that when they told me i could change my pick, i said, no, he's the boy i wanted... to say, ray was uncoordinated would be an understatement. if a ball came his way, he'ld put his glove in front of his face....when he went to throw the ball, it went sideways. at batting, ray would miss the ball by a foot or more...i was really having trouble teaching him how to play. it wasn't long before the other boys took him aside and told him he should quit. your ruining our team and we don't want you here, they told him. later, ray's mom phoned me and asked if i would come over...ray wants to quit the team...i have to admit that on the way over there, i was thinking of telling her, i thought he should. when i arrived, his mom told me how much she appreciated my being the only positive male influence in ray's life. ray lived with his mother and two older sisters...they were very protective of ray... before he came in, his mom told me the story of ray.... three years earlier, ray and his father were out fishing in the middle of a large lake...suddenly, his father had a heart attack...all he could get out was, ray, get help....ray rowed that boat into shore, crying and struggling with the oars. sadly, his dad was dead before help arrived. ray became withdrawn and joining baseball was his first time joining in with others.... i told ray, that if he came back, there would be no more trouble... i phoned the rest of the boys and asked them to come to practise fifteen minutes early..when they came, i told them, the story of ray. i told them if they did what i wanted them to do, they would see a miracle happen before their eyes. through out the season and the next, the boys, all became like big brothers...they helped and encouraged ray....he did improve but not to the level of the other boys... by this time, my son was three and because we lived in north delta, i thought i should move over and coach there... a couple of years later, i ran into my fellow coach from newton...he said, ray never came back to baseball, but instead joined a football team. apparently he became a pretty decent player. three years after i left newton, we moved to smithers....several years later, my old helper came through smithers and looked me up. he told me about what each boy was doing now...i asked him about ray...he said, sadly, that ray had died of leukaemia a couple of years after i moved to smithers....he said, ray's positive attitude, helped his mother and sisters cope with losing him.... it may be hard to see the miracle there, but i believe there was one. This was a good read Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 10 minutes ago, smithers joe said: i believe it was my first year, coaching in newton. that would have been 1970. we had tryouts and now we were having the draft. there was two boys with the same last name, but not related....ray was one of them. when i called his name out, the other coaches started laughing...they so ran this kid down, that when they told me i could change my pick, i said, no, he's the boy i wanted... to say, ray was uncoordinated would be an understatement. if a ball came his way, he'ld put his glove in front of his face....when he went to throw the ball, it went sideways. at batting, ray would miss the ball by a foot or more...i was really having trouble teaching him how to play. it wasn't long before the other boys took him aside and told him he should quit. your ruining our team and we don't want you here, they told him. later, ray's mom phoned me and asked if i would come over...ray wants to quit the team...i have to admit that on the way over there, i was thinking of telling her, i thought he should. when i arrived, his mom told me how much she appreciated my being the only positive male influence in ray's life. ray lived with his mother and two older sisters...they were very protective of ray... before he came in, his mom told me the story of ray.... three years earlier, ray and his father were out fishing in the middle of a large lake...suddenly, his father had a heart attack...all he could get out was, ray, get help....ray rowed that boat into shore, crying and struggling with the oars. sadly, his dad was dead before help arrived. ray became withdrawn and joining baseball was his first time joining in with others.... i told ray, that if he came back, there would be no more trouble... i phoned the rest of the boys and asked them to come to practise fifteen minutes early..when they came, i told them, the story of ray. i told them if they did what i wanted them to do, they would see a miracle happen before their eyes. through out the season and the next, the boys, all became like big brothers...they helped and encouraged ray....he did improve but not to the level of the other boys... by this time, my son was three and because we lived in north delta, i thought i should move over and coach there... a couple of years later, i ran into my fellow coach from newton...he said, ray never came back to baseball, but instead joined a football team. apparently he became a pretty decent player. three years after i left newton, we moved to smithers....several years later, my old helper came through smithers and looked me up. he told me about what each boy was doing now...i asked him about ray...he said, sadly, that ray had died of leukaemia a couple of years after i moved to smithers....he said, ray's positive attitude, helped his mother and sisters cope with losing him.... it may be hard to see the miracle there, but i believe there was one. To me the miracle is me reading, and you sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Neilsons Towel Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 23 minutes ago, smithers joe said: i believe it was my first year, coaching in newton. that would have been 1970. we had tryouts and now we were having the draft. there was two boys with the same last name, but not related....ray was one of them. when i called his name out, the other coaches started laughing...they so ran this kid down, that when they told me i could change my pick, i said, no, he's the boy i wanted... to say, ray was uncoordinated would be an understatement. if a ball came his way, he'ld put his glove in front of his face....when he went to throw the ball, it went sideways. at batting, ray would miss the ball by a foot or more...i was really having trouble teaching him how to play. it wasn't long before the other boys took him aside and told him he should quit. your ruining our team and we don't want you here, they told him. later, ray's mom phoned me and asked if i would come over...ray wants to quit the team...i have to admit that on the way over there, i was thinking of telling her, i thought he should. when i arrived, his mom told me how much she appreciated my being the only positive male influence in ray's life. ray lived with his mother and two older sisters...they were very protective of ray... before he came in, his mom told me the story of ray.... three years earlier, ray and his father were out fishing in the middle of a large lake...suddenly, his father had a heart attack...all he could get out was, ray, get help....ray rowed that boat into shore, crying and struggling with the oars. sadly, his dad was dead before help arrived. ray became withdrawn and joining baseball was his first time joining in with others.... i told ray, that if he came back, there would be no more trouble... i phoned the rest of the boys and asked them to come to practise fifteen minutes early..when they came, i told them, the story of ray. i told them if they did what i wanted them to do, they would see a miracle happen before their eyes. through out the season and the next, the boys, all became like big brothers...they helped and encouraged ray....he did improve but not to the level of the other boys... by this time, my son was three and because we lived in north delta, i thought i should move over and coach there... a couple of years later, i ran into my fellow coach from newton...he said, ray never came back to baseball, but instead joined a football team. apparently he became a pretty decent player. three years after i left newton, we moved to smithers....several years later, my old helper came through smithers and looked me up. he told me about what each boy was doing now...i asked him about ray...he said, sadly, that ray had died of leukaemia a couple of years after i moved to smithers....he said, ray's positive attitude, helped his mother and sisters cope with losing him.... it may be hard to see the miracle there, but i believe there was one. I didn't sign a permission slip for this Feel Trip. In all seriousness though. Thank you for sharing. This story brought a tear to my eye. Very sad but also inspirational. You should take great pride in knowing you made a very positive impact on this boys short life, and probably many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted May 21, 2016 Author Share Posted May 21, 2016 On May 20, 2016 at 1:16 PM, Roger Neilson's Towel said: I didn't sign a permission slip for this Feel Trip. In all seriousness though. Thank you for sharing. This story brought a tear to my eye. Very sad but also inspirational. You should take great pride in knowing you made a very positive impact on this boys short life, and probably many others. they are the greatest memories of my 77 years....sports can teach kids about the important things in life... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 thinking baseball....i always taught my players to know what to do if the ball was hit to them and what to do if the ball was hit somewhere else... old frank, taught us when we were kids and everything he taught was helpful throughout my life...i'll try and find my story of old frank...i wrote it in the 80's...for our local paper...it is a story much like ray.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 On 5/20/2016 at 0:51 PM, smithers joe said: i believe it was my first year, coaching in newton. that would have been 1970. we had tryouts and now we were having the draft. there was two boys with the same last name, but not related....ray was one of them. when i called his name out, the other coaches started laughing...they so ran this kid down, that when they told me i could change my pick, i said, no, he's the boy i wanted... to say, ray was uncoordinated would be an understatement. if a ball came his way, he'ld put his glove in front of his face....when he went to throw the ball, it went sideways. at batting, ray would miss the ball by a foot or more...i was really having trouble teaching him how to play. it wasn't long before the other boys took him aside and told him he should quit. your ruining our team and we don't want you here, they told him. later, ray's mom phoned me and asked if i would come over...ray wants to quit the team...i have to admit that on the way over there, i was thinking of telling her, i thought he should. when i arrived, his mom told me how much she appreciated my being the only positive male influence in ray's life. ray lived with his mother and two older sisters...they were very protective of ray... before he came in, his mom told me the story of ray.... three years earlier, ray and his father were out fishing in the middle of a large lake...suddenly, his father had a heart attack...all he could get out was, ray, get help....ray rowed that boat into shore, crying and struggling with the oars. sadly, his dad was dead before help arrived. ray became withdrawn and joining baseball was his first time joining in with others.... i told ray, that if he came back, there would be no more trouble... i phoned the rest of the boys and asked them to come to practise fifteen minutes early..when they came, i told them, the story of ray. i told them if they did what i wanted them to do, they would see a miracle happen before their eyes. through out the season and the next, the boys, all became like big brothers...they helped and encouraged ray....he did improve but not to the level of the other boys... by this time, my son was three and because we lived in north delta, i thought i should move over and coach there... a couple of years later, i ran into my fellow coach from newton...he said, ray never came back to baseball, but instead joined a football team. apparently he became a pretty decent player. three years after i left newton, we moved to smithers....several years later, my old helper came through smithers and looked me up. he told me about what each boy was doing now...i asked him about ray...he said, sadly, that ray had died of leukaemia a couple of years after i moved to smithers....he said, ray's positive attitude, helped his mother and sisters cope with losing him.... it may be hard to see the miracle there, but i believe there was one. is there a way for me to copy this story without writing it all over again? lazy old man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master 112 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 6 minutes ago, smithers joe said: is there a way for me to copy this story without writing it all over again? lazy old man. Left click (hold it down) and drag the mouse across the entire blurb, then right click the highlighted text and select 'copy.' Then right click the white box while you're making a post and click 'paste.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 5 minutes ago, Two one one said: Left click (hold it down) and drag the mouse across the entire blurb, then right click the highlighted text and select 'copy.' Then right click the white box while you're making a post and click 'paste.' thank you, i'll get my grandson to try that for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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