Womenzwerk at the baseball field

Can women change the way people deal with negativity and anger?

Let's face it, parents are simply not at their best in their children's competitive sports environments. I just returned from the last tournament of our summer baseball travel team, guys under 16 who work hard on the ball field and act like kids off the field. It was an intense week of boy behavior and good ball, with everyone on their last nerve by mid-week. Despite all this, they were winning and we were all still having fun. Or so I thought.

Friday's game was a close one, with just enough errors and strike outs to put us on edge. But we were ahead and the sun was shining and things were going OK. Then the home plate umpire made a call that no one had seen before. The batter threw his helmet and bat and lurched toward the dug out just shy of getting thrown out of the game. Then his dad reacted to the umpire's comment to one of our coaches and actually did get thrown out of the game. It was all over quickly but it was contagious. The next thing I knew, one of the boys had shoved another and a short fight ensued between two guys who were close teammates. That was quickly followed by yet another player mouthing off to the umpire, another player ignoring his father's offer of help and that father being so angry he swore at the umps in the parking lot. All this and we actually won the game. I can't imagine how that anger might have festered if we'd lost.

I'm writing about this because, in the end, it was the women who saved the day. We had one more game to play on the next day and we knew we needed to get past this negative energy. It followed us off and on until game time and I was concerned. This game was even more intense with a very close score and a championship at stake. In the middle of the game, there was another umpire call that our coaches needed to question. As I sat there holding my breath, I heard first one dad and then another begin to call out to the umpires and the anger begin to rise. Then like an angelic chorus, I could hear each of the women in the stands begin to calm the waters. "Guys...you can't help from here." "Guys...this is just a game, we need to let the boys work it out." "Guys...it doesn't matter, let's support the next batter." The women's voices effectively drowned out the men's and calmness and peace prevailed. The next batter came up and I heard one of the dad's begin the call for rally caps and suddenly you could feel the energy turn and a wave of peace and even joy pervade the stands. It was a truly amazing moment. In the end, the parents were a little nuts with encouragement for the team but it was exciting and fun and everything that baseball should be. Just a game. And a darn good time on any day. Oh by the way...we won in extra innings and took home the championship. I'm not sure the other team knew that what we really won was a battle with negativity and anger, thanks to a little Womenzwerk.

So what do you think...can women be the ones to turn the tide when negative energy and anger rise to the surface? Is that a new form of Womenzwerk?