Montclair Golden Girls

When our oldest daughter was in high school, she played softball for a few years with the Montclair Golden Girls. Over three summers we bonded with this group of sports fans, going to tournaments from Glendora to Big Bear to Norco. This organization ran like clockwork due to the hard work and love from a core group of parents. Some of the girls in the league had started there when they were just wee ones and grew up surrounded by lots of laughter and love. We were happy to have found them, if only for a few years.

Because of social media, I found out that one of the coaches had died from cancer a few weeks ago and that there would be a memorial service held on the softball field. I had not seen most of these people in about 9 years, and I knew I had to go. I was not the only one. I'm guessing there were about 300 people there with many more who would have come if they could. What a tribute to a man who really gave of himself to countless girls.

I was so glad that I went and reconnected with many of our Golden Girls friends. 

Here are just some of the girls that Rick coached over the years.

Here is a photo of two of the All-Star teams from 2005. Coach Rick is the man in the middle with his baseball hat on sideways.

D-1 Umpiring

Ever since our daughter left for college, H has wanted to continue being involved in softball, so he has been umpiring for the past 11 years. (How can it have been that long?) It started out innocently enough with local rec ball, then travel ball, then older girls. Pretty soon he was working with NCAA and Division 3. We thought it would be great if he could umpire games close to home, like at Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, or even La Verne.

He does the occasional local game, and I enjoy watching him work when I can. Last night he umpired a game in Fullerton with the visiting team from Tennessee which is ranked #2 in the nation right now. In Division 1. While that, in and of itself is pretty exciting (really, it is!), the downside is that H had to remove the Oregon O from the back of our car. You cannot show favoritism for a team, any team, if you umpire.

Claremont on So You Think You Can Dance

Last week when I was watching So You Think You Can Dance, I perked up my ears when I heard a dancer say she was from Claremont. They did a little story about her and how she played softball and has recently switched her efforts over to dance. The more I watched, the more I remembered Taylor Ward. She was one of my violin students about 10 years ago, and I remember talking to her mom about softball and violin.

You can watch her audition and story on youtube here.

Ump Stuff

Many years ago I told H that he should get a hobby so that he would have something to do when he retires so he wouldn't have to "devote his life to" me. He took that advice to heart and took up softball umpiring. This hobby has developed from little girl rec ball to NCAA softball. And by developed, I mean that the amount of gear required has expanded. Here is a little peek into the car last weekend as I went along on the road trip from Occidental College on Friday to California Lutheran on Saturday. This meant four games.

This is the second and much better rolling duffle bag that carries quite a bit of stuff. 

All umpires seem to have a rack for hanging various shirts and pants. 

Must have water to drink, and a spray bottle of water to wash off the dust from shoes after each game. Not pictured are the two pairs of shoes (one for behind the plate, one for the bases) and the folding chair used for between games.

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Day 15 - Clutter Cleanse: Today I am shredding a whole folder of past string student registrations. Why did I hang on to them?

Spring Softball

Hooray! It's softball season! Here are some shots from yesterday's game at CMS (CMC, HMC, Scripps). It was a perfect 70 degrees, slightly overcast, no breeze.