Nine years ago one of my high school classmates gathered 12 boys and their parents and told them that he wanted to start a baseball team. It wasn't that they were the best baseball players around, he said, but he thought they had the potential to start early and learn the game and to work together and to end their HS careers at the state tournament.
Well, last night six of those boys took the field as starters on the HS varsity team in a game that could take them to state — and lost. We went down 0-2. My son pitched and gave up a two-run home run. He said later he left a curve ball hanging. But honestly, didn't matter. You can win if you don't score.
There's a lot of discussion on this site about the value of HS ball versus travel. All I can tell you is what my son tweeted last night — "Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing. I've made lifelong friendships, met great people, great players and brothers. I've grown as a person and a player. I can't thank all of my coaches and teammates enough. They constantly pushed me and truly are responsible for where, and who, I am today."
And in the end, even an end that isn't what you wanted, that's all you can hope for.