CONGRATS TO O'DEA BASEBALL - 3A STATE CHAMPS

This is a reflection from Director of Youth Ministry, Tauno Latvala

Last week I had the opportunity to speak as a representative of the Archdiocese of Seattle at an assembly at O'Dea HS where the baseball team presented the 3A state championship trophy to the school community.

Players Andre Popich and John Richmond shared their thoughts of the season. They spoke of overcoming adversity together, that there may have been other teams that had star players but that they played as a team and that is why they won. Believing in each other, supporting each other. Coach Mike Doyle, 2009 Metro Coach of the Year, spoke of the hard work that the coaching staff and players undertook to compete and strive for excellence. I spoke about, as the former baseball coach at Nathan Hale, how bitter I was to be at the assembly. I am just joking, although I did acknowledge losing a lot of games to O'Dea over my playing and coaching career.

I shared a brief reflection on scripture from Hebrews 11:1 "To have faith is be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of things we cannot see". This team had to believe in themselves when others expected their opponents to win or when they faced critical moments in important games down the stretch of their season. The way a team WORKS together, SUPPORTS one another and BELIEVES in each other can make a big difference. It certainly did for this team.

This day was a chance to celebrate what the O'Dea baseball team achieved but also to see what is possible when a community becomes more than merely the sum of its individual parts. It is also presents a challenge to do this in our own lives - in school (or our work), in our community, in our relationships and in our faith.

We are thankful for the coaches, families and administrators who have empowered our young people to strive, achieve and learn the lessons of athletics at whatever level of play and no matter the win-loss record in this past year. We are especially thankful for the young people themselves who display the effort and competitive compassion that we are all called to.