ALCS Serves as a Reminder of the Power of
Encouragement
By
GREGORY J. RUMMO
OCTOBER
11, 2002
IT WAS
1986 and the California Angels were one
strike away from clinching their first World Series
berth when ace relief pitcher, Donnie Moore, gave up a
ninth-inning home run to the Boston Red Sox’s Dave
Henderson. Boston went on the win that game and the next
two games, denying the Angels the ALCS crown and an
appearance in the World Series.
The
fans never let Moore forget about tossing that home run
pitch. He spent the next several years fighting
depression until finally taking his own life in 1989.
We’ll
never know the exact extent of the damage inflicted on
him by angry and disappointed Angel’s fans, which
continued to boo him in subsequent appearances. But I
can’t help but wonder: If instead of berating their
star closer they had encouraged him, could his tragic
suicide have been averted?
I
was recently reminded of the power of encouragement from
an incident that occurred in the life of my 13-year old
son, John. He is a freshman and he was looking forward
to playing junior varsity soccer this year for his high
school. But the coach decided in July to schedule
mandatory practice sessions for all JV and varsity
soccer players during the last two weeks of summer
vacation.
Initially
John was excited about taking part in the daily,
six-hour, pre-season soccer clinic. Then we all sat down
together as a family and took a look at the calendar.
The
first week interfered with a youth retreat that John was
planning to take part in with his friends from church.
The second week fell during the same time as our planned
vacation to the Pocono Mountains.
We
left it up to our son to decide what he wanted to do the
first week. The second week was simply
non-negotiable—we were all going on vacation together
as a family.
John
initially decided to attend the first week of soccer
camp. But the more he thought about it, the more he felt
convicted about taking part in the youth retreat
instead.
The
coach wasn’t happy about it and had told the varsity
players that for every practice session missed, it would
mean one game they’d be forced to watch from the
bench.
With
what my son thought would be the equivalent of a 10-game
suspension looming, he finally told the coach he
wasn’t playing soccer this year and he quit the team.
I’ll
admit; I was disappointed.
I
have watched him play soccer through middle school. It
is the one sport at which he excels. But I was also
proud of him for his willingness to forfeit the entire
season for something that could have a spiritual impact
on his life.
School
started and it was soon discovered that the JV soccer
team was a player or two short. John didn’t care. By
now he simply did not want to play soccer—period.
But
then, one by one, his friends started coming up to him.
They explained that they needed him and that if he
didn’t play, they would not have enough players to
field a team. His coach spoke to him. There were still
several weeks of practice before the season started. And
the 10-game suspension rule didn’t apply to JV players
after all.
The
following week when I picked him up around 6:00 P.M.
after his first practice I asked him how he felt. “I
love it, dad,” he said. “I’m glad I’m playing
soccer.”
Several
weeks later he scored his first goal of the season.
Words
are powerful. They can heal and they can
kill—literally.
James,
the author of the New Testament book that bears his name
wrote, “The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The
tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the
whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature… No
man can tame the tongue.”
Which
brings us back to the Anaheim Angels and Donnie Moore.
Now that they have finally won the ALCS it's a shame
he's not around to watch them in the World Series.
If
only someone had encouraged him. n
Gregory J. Rummo is a syndicated columnist and author of “The View from
the Grass Roots,” published in July, 2002 by
American-Book. You may order an autographed copy directly from the author by clicking on the banner below
or from Amazon.com.
You may e-mail the author at GregoryJRummo@aol.com
|
