Different Look Street Kids Still Have Same Goal: Win
by TJ Jorgensen 8/5/2010
What a roller coaster this team has been on this season! We've seen league games where we have had some exciting winning
streaks, we've seen the Street Kids Softball team win four tournaments, finish second in three of them and finish third in two of
them. We've seen our friend and teammate Shane Varga make a stong comeback from cancer. We've seen children continue
to battle cancer. We witnessed the largest group ever for a Street Kids Care event take to the lanes in a bowling event that
brought together softball players and young people from Memorial Hospital.
Unfortunately we have also seen players leave the team, some that have been with us for a long time, some that played key
roles in the success of 2009, and even early on in 2010. The biggest thing that stands out, is the recent roster moves that were
made, were nothing short of news breaking throughout the sport. In talking with a few players on our team, some are happy
with the changes, some are curious as to what will happen next, but all of them agree this is a chance for the re-birth of SKS.
"I sit here and listen to people want to quit on their teammates and friends and it really bothers me," said one player. "Especially
because we are all friends also. And you dont quit on your friends. Losing is part of the game, and you cannot win ever game
or tournament. But how you react to that loss is what makes us great."
We will enter the 2010 NSA "B" state championship on Saturday with some new faces and a lot of vacant seats. The normal
15-man roster that fills the SKS dugout is long gone, replaced by 11 people that want to prove that this team has character,
that this team has heart, and they can defy the odds and win as a unit. Losing the talented players we have lost, including our
pitcher, is a tough blow. It would be for any team. But Street Kids Softball has been around for longer than any of these
players have played the game (1978) and will continue to be around long after they are gone.
I don't expect our team to walk onto the field in Indianapolis on Saturday morning with the same swagger and confidence that
we may have had in the past, as any team that loses four or five starters with proven statistics would. But I do think we will see
a resurgence in the players on this team, and I believe the team that takes the field on Saturday - regardless if its a reigning
super world champion or a former Kiracofe champion - will approach the challenge with a new sense of pride, with a feeling of
showing that we are still a great team, filled with great players and the goal has not changed. To win.
The 11 players in the dugout on Saturday may miss the stats and resume that the old team has, but one thing you will not have
any trouble finding is their courage. The 11 players in uniform on Saturday believe in each other, and will strive to show
everyone else that a team with character will beat a team with talent any day.
What a roller coaster this team has been on this season! We've seen league games where we have had some exciting winning
streaks, we've seen the Street Kids Softball team win four tournaments, finish second in three of them and finish third in two of
them. We've seen our friend and teammate Shane Varga make a stong comeback from cancer. We've seen children continue
to battle cancer. We witnessed the largest group ever for a Street Kids Care event take to the lanes in a bowling event that
brought together softball players and young people from Memorial Hospital.
Unfortunately we have also seen players leave the team, some that have been with us for a long time, some that played key
roles in the success of 2009, and even early on in 2010. The biggest thing that stands out, is the recent roster moves that were
made, were nothing short of news breaking throughout the sport. In talking with a few players on our team, some are happy
with the changes, some are curious as to what will happen next, but all of them agree this is a chance for the re-birth of SKS.
"I sit here and listen to people want to quit on their teammates and friends and it really bothers me," said one player. "Especially
because we are all friends also. And you dont quit on your friends. Losing is part of the game, and you cannot win ever game
or tournament. But how you react to that loss is what makes us great."
We will enter the 2010 NSA "B" state championship on Saturday with some new faces and a lot of vacant seats. The normal
15-man roster that fills the SKS dugout is long gone, replaced by 11 people that want to prove that this team has character,
that this team has heart, and they can defy the odds and win as a unit. Losing the talented players we have lost, including our
pitcher, is a tough blow. It would be for any team. But Street Kids Softball has been around for longer than any of these
players have played the game (1978) and will continue to be around long after they are gone.
I don't expect our team to walk onto the field in Indianapolis on Saturday morning with the same swagger and confidence that
we may have had in the past, as any team that loses four or five starters with proven statistics would. But I do think we will see
a resurgence in the players on this team, and I believe the team that takes the field on Saturday - regardless if its a reigning
super world champion or a former Kiracofe champion - will approach the challenge with a new sense of pride, with a feeling of
showing that we are still a great team, filled with great players and the goal has not changed. To win.
The 11 players in the dugout on Saturday may miss the stats and resume that the old team has, but one thing you will not have
any trouble finding is their courage. The 11 players in uniform on Saturday believe in each other, and will strive to show
everyone else that a team with character will beat a team with talent any day.
