There’s just something about baseball that I love. You start from home with the intention of rounding the bases. To do so means you must face everything the opposition throws at you; curve balls, fast balls, sliders. They all come flying as you attempt to bat that ball as far away from you as possible. When you do, your teammates cheer as you venture away from home and run out to make your mark. All the while, the other team still attempts to put you out of the game. Your goal? To make it back home safely, where your teammates run to greet you.

I’m not going to say that sports are important to my family, but once before making an appointment for her surgery, my Dad asked my Mom to check the St. Charles Comets’ baseball schedule.

This summer, it’s the Larayo Red Hots’ T-ball schedule that is priority in our family. Although this may never happen again, my granddaughters Adeline, Olivia, and Charlie, and my grandniece Blakely are on the same team. Their fan base is large and spans the ages of my 84-year-old Dad to my almost four-week-old grandniece Elizabeth Kay.

The games would not be nearly as enjoyable were it not for the patient direction and training from the large number of men who volunteer their time to coach the young girls. Thanks to them, four-year-old Charlie no longer runs to third base when she hits the ball, and she almost knows to return to the dugout when the other teams gets her out. In the meantime, no one seems to mind that she stays on base and doesn’t stop running until she reaches home plate.

I’m grateful for the season we’ve spent with the team and their families this year, and most thankful for the coaches who truly knocked it out of the park.

Ronny Michel can be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.