Coaching the Hornets

Little League Baseball in Bad Homburg

I've kept busy here in Germany, and I would like to write a little bit about one of my favorite experiences so far. Luke Judson at nine years of age is the oldest kid in my host family, and he rivals my brother Sam as the family's walking sports encyclopedia. Baseball and soccer are his specialties, although he can whip off players on any team in any sport. In terms of his own athletics, baseball was the route he decided to take. 

America's favorite pastime doesn't quite translate into popularity in a total soccer country (See "Soccer Manifesto, Part 2"), but Bad Homburg is privileged to have an established baseball program and quality fields. The Hornets feature youth baseball and softball teams all the way up through a mens team that competes nationally. Finding the right competition for the youth teams isn't always easy, with few programs in the Hessen state and fewer baseball facilities. 

A day after arriving, I took Luke to practice and met his coach, Marty. Marty is an American who has lived in Germany for two decades. He started the Bad Homburg Hornets Little League team when his son was of age and has coached ever since. In fifteen years he has won four Hessen Championships, one National Championship, and been the National Runner-Up twice. He encouraged me to come out and help with practices, and he explained that most of the assistant coaches were temporary ex-Pats who didn't speak any German. 

The concession stand--slightly healthier than those in America.

I showed up for the next practice, picked up a glove from the team bag, and started throwing with a ten-year-old German boy. I soon learned that the team was made up of an interesting mix of German and American kids, and that they had plenty of talent. Joey, the best pitcher, would be an ace in Williamstown's Cal Ripken League, and the best hitter, Demetrio, is a far slugger than I was at age twelve. While they lacked some of the fundamentals and baseball knowledge that come from playing and watching the game in America, Marty and the coaches were doing their best to teach them. The other coaches were: John, from Springfield, MA; Kevin from Texas; and John, a recent graduate of Columbia who is touring the world playing ball for semi-pro men's teams. I always enjoyed seeing the first John's Boston and New England clothing.

With a record of 18-2--the top seed in the Hessen Championships--the Hornets had two weeks before the big games when I arrived. I picked up a few baseball phrases in German, but mostly I spoke English to the German kids and used a lot of hand and body gestures. Four kids were American, so coaching them was no problem.

The Hornets' full sized diamond. For the Hessen Championship the bases were moved to 

Little League dimensions and a pitching rubber was placed on the grass in front of the mound. 

The outfielders stood on the edge of the big field's infield dirt.

The whole program helped to prepare for hosting the tournament. The big diamond transformed into a field fit for Little League; we moved the bases in, created a new pitching rubber, staked a temporary fence, and constructed a backstop that was much closer than the main fence. The kids loved that they were using the real dugouts and that their parents could sit right behind home plate to watch. 

After cruising to the finals, the Hornets faced Dreieich--who was no match for Bad Homburg until they acquired three Japanese players late in the season. Marty accused them of being unethical, if not cheating, and they had even tried to recruit Demetrio and Joey. Marty also said that the winner of this game would definitely go on to win the National Title.

The game turned out to be anticlimactic. It rained on and off all day, and we made an error in the second inning that could have ended the inning. Instead, Dreieich ran off to a lead that would never be tested. We hit two fly balls to the fence, but their left fielder managed to haul in both. As the innings passed the kids began to realize they would not be heading to nationals. It was sad to see, as this group had been playing together since February.

I am going to continue coaching baseball this fall and into the winter as they move indoors. Kids in Germany have to commit to one or two sports from an early age, so most sports programs run all year long. It's funny to think that this team, with aspirations of winning a national championship, is no better than Countryside during my career in Williamstown Cal Ripken. Still, they kids are fun to coach, I like having some American dads to talk with, and I always enjoy being involved with baseball no matter what the level of play.