Long story - Sorry. I updated the post and it moved to the end....
Five years ago, my then 10 year old son had played AAA travel ball for 2 years, playing up. We moved to an area that was heavy Little League, with a park right down the street. We were told he could play with the 11-12 yo's but as practices began they changed the rule and kids had to play with their age. So after playing 10U travel ball he had to repeat and play 10U LL.
It was a brutal season. He picked up a lot of bad habits because he could hit the ball and run all the way around the bases. At least we had a short season (14 games?) and all-stars to look forward to. My son was playing with some of his classmates for a change (his school was 25 miles from where we previously lived) and having fun.
We had planned well in advance to go out of town to a family event, so he missed the first of three weeks of practice for all-stars. When we got back he practiced hard. When the tournament started he sat. Coach used the missed week as the reason.
After the third game he started to get 2-3 innings a game and 1 at bat - and made a huge contibution, playing catcher, to the team. He got a double or triple every time, hitting the ball deep. The other teams also learned not to steal on him. Our SS could catch the ball and my kid could throw it. We battled back from the loser's bracket to play the perenial champions for the championship.
For the championship game my son started and played the entire game at catcher and went 4 for 4. Still in the bottom of the 6th with us up by two runs the other team rallied. An couple of errors had help them score a run and load the based, so our team was feeling very dejected.
Based loaded, two out, their star hitter up to bat. We were at their stadium so the other famillies were rocking the bleachers, anticipating a win.
The other team was overconfident. After each pitch the baserunners were a little slow in getting back to their base. Without our coaches knowing my kid signalled to the SS and on the next pitch threw down to 2b, nailing the daydreaming baserunner on a close play at second. Game over.
All of the sudden the bleachers were quiet. Our kids were estatic as they ran off the field. Almost no one knew what happened - not our coaches and very few of our fans or theirs. There were a lot of people asking "what happened?" One coach told me later they thought they missed something and that somehow the other team had won. Once everyone realized what happened our fans erupted in cheers. The coaches hoisted my kid and the SS on their shoulders, celebrating the victory. Our park sent a team to the state tournament for the first time in 8 years.
Two more things: My son earned two unofficial nicknames: One of his teammates overhead a coach telling another parent that my son had 'brass balls' for throwing down to second in such a tight situation. I know, maybe not really a compliment but he became 'BB' to his teammates. He kept his hitting up during the state tournament and his new nickname was thankfully changed to OBP (On Base Percentage)with a little prodding from the coaches because he finished the state and district tournament with almost a .900 OBP.
All of this was especially sweet because my son overcame some 'haters' during the tournaments, but I won't dwell on that.