Getting a little more serious now...

This may not have come across in my previous Moth Ball posts, but our team had not won many games. In fact, we had only won one game, putting us in a tie for last place with a one and three record. Granted, our three losses had been close affairs, but a loss is a loss. Fortunately, we had also only lost one spirit point, so we were still in striking disctance of the top four teams, and therefore, a spot in the playoffs.

This week we played Not In The Face!!!!, co-holders of the cellar keys with us. Before the game, Lefty, Jellybean and I took the subway out together, and the girls and I decided that we were tired of losing, and were determined to win. Lefty went so far as to challenge me to try and get all six outs to win a round by myself. The challenge is, I'm trying very hard to hold back in the rec leagues, but I promised that I would see what I could do.

Our opponents were very late, and so I had a lot of time to properly get warmed up and stretched out which helped with my arm. My arm, particularly my shoulder, was feeling nice and loose. But I decided to throw all sidearm anyway, because Havergal is one of the deeper gyms I've had to play in, and I'm always concerned about throwing my arm out. I don't mind going overboard for a competitive league championship, but for a rec game cellar-dwellers derby? No thanks. Besides, I didn't want to lose us spirit points.

Turns out my sidearm was more then enough. I was only caught out once, and my throws were low and surprisingly hard. I was scattering their players left and right and even had a few rounds where I got lucky and took out two players with one bounce. I made a point of hanging back every round, and waiting for the flow of the game to get going, and then I'd grab a loose ball and start with a strong strike on one of their players. Generally, I was able to get in close and get in an emphatic hit on one of their more aggressive players. After making a statement like that, our opponents started to play on their heels and I was able to assert myself at the line and start picking them off. It didn't work every round, but it was pretty effective.

It got to the point where the other team couldn't keep their eyes off of me, even when I was without a ball. This opened them up to lots of snipes by my teammates on the Moth Balls.

And, really, that's the important thing. As much as my ego wants to take all the credit, there were some rounds I played in where we lost. There were some rounds that we won that I wasn't even playing. The Moth Balls really are learning to play, either from my example or figuring things out on their own. Their arms are getting more accurate and stronger, and they're seeing the play unfold.

As expected, playing on a rec team that's largely women is a complete change of pace from playing on the hyper-competitive Evil Empire which is largely men. Both teams are a lot of fun, albeit in very different ways. I'm glad to see the Moth Balls coming together, learning the Sport of Kings, and having fun. It's gratifying to see and be a part of.

Now, if I can only play like that every week...