Last year’s tournament was very difficult for me emotionally. I seriously considered hanging up the bat and balls to stay home. It seemed as though the competitive spirit of the game was out of control; disrespectful language, tempers ranging from annoyed to enraged, and the one that hit me the hardest was when a coach went out of his way to make sure a 13-year old girl did not play as a pick-up player for the entire tournament because he was still angry she quit his team earlier in the summer. This is not an environment I wanted to be in. Time to ask myself why Wacky even hosts a tournament.
As the months passed, I ran into several young softball players that expressed to me how much they loved the Wacky Tournament; it was their favorite. I also ran into the UIC from last year’s tournament, who I thought had taken a metaphorical beating from the tournament last year. He also expressed that it is many of the umpire’s favorite tournament. “You’re having it again this year, of course!” were the words I heard over and over. “Not a chance,” was my thought. After having long conversations with my husband, we determined we didn’t want the few bad experiences to smother out our good experiences. So, why are we doing this?
Nick wanted Wacky to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer research and for young adult cancer survivors to attend outdoor adventure camps. Time to bring in the cancer kids to remind all of us that softball is secondary. Keeping these kids alive and living is paramount. So, I got to work. My daughter and a couple of her friends helped me make 23 posters of our local cancer cuties. We researched their bios, many were heartbreaking and many were inspiring. There were a few tears as we poured our love into those posters. Some cuties were survivors, some in treatment and we had 5 angels represented, too.
We assigned each team a Cancer Cutie to play for during the tournament. We had a wonderful photography studio (Picture This!) that donated an 8×10 photo of each Cutie and then printed out the entire poster, which I had laminated. They also took pictures during the tournament – the link will take you there. The teams loved the idea and many made a wonderful effort to show their Cutie how important they are to their team. We taped up the original posters in the complexes and handed out a laminated copy to each team.
Teams dressed up silly, coaches included!
This team designed their uniforms especially for their cancer cutie, “Mr. C”
Displaying their super hero spirit for their cancer cutie!
With 40 teams participating, we had to shorten the pool game times and start tournament play on Friday. We played through as quickly as possible, but unfortunately we played well past midnight (for which I was soundly scolded and fined by West Valley City Parks & Rec). Throw in the skills contest and we had a very busy, late night! Sweet moment was when I got a call from one of our Cancer Cutie mom’s; her daughter couldn’t make it to any games on Friday night. So the coach of the team that was playing for her, sent her texts, keeping the Cutie updated.
Winners of a skill contest being WACKY
Back at the fields at 7:00 a.m., including a few of the teams that had just left the fields 6 hours earlier. By 9:20, we started by say goodbye to teams as they were eliminated. As the day progressed, we only had one coach get testy, but that just made the tournament official. Sweet moment: we had two Cancer Cuties come out – one was named Lanee and she is a cancer survivor. She helped me hand out tee shirts to 4 teams. The girls were so happy to see her! The second girl was Hunter and she is currently in treatment. She was thrilled to visit one of her adopted teams and bonded immediately! Cheers and tears, all around!
Hunter and her own Wacky Warriors
Lanee making sure the girls were looking good
We were moving along nicely when the weather just wouldn’t cooperate any longer. It was the lightning, not the rain, that officially stopped the tournament. While we waited for the UIC to determine how we were going to proceed, my side of the complex with the 14u teams, paced and stressed (except the girls, who managed to pass the time by throwing a football across the structure, often nailing an unsuspecting parent down below. Lee’s side, with the 10u & 12u girls, got smart: they brought out a boom box and busted out some serious dance moves. It was finally decided to say goodbye to the remaining three teams (all 3 age brackets) in the losers bracket and allow the two undefeated teams in the winners bracket to play for 1st and 2nd place once the rain passed. It was such a difficult decision as the teams in the losers brackets had played all day long, winning one game at a time to get so close to the championship game. I took a moment in the ladies room to let some tears fall before regrouping to hand out tee shirts and say goodbye to these amazing girls. I am so proud of how hard they played; very classy – players, parents and coaches!
Rain makes mud fun!
The two 14u teams were getting ready to try to play for the championship when the rain opened up a bit more. Finally, the coaches just tossed up their hands and said, “Aw, forget it! Let’s call it a day!” Sweet moment was when one player had asked if it was alright if she could have her trophy sent to their team’s Cancer Cutie. I gathered all the girls from both teams and threw out an idea: Would you girls be willing to let me send every one of our Cancer Cuties a trophy? I had ordered individual trophies (a total of 26 for the 14u’s) and we had 23 cuties. They gave me a resounding, “YES!” I mailed out trophies yesterday! I closed up shop and headed over to Lee’s side where the 10’s & 12’s had two fields that were safe enough to play on. We finally finished up the championship games and the girls were a delight. Lee reminded everyone there were no losers, they were all warriors making a difference in the lives of children fighting cancer. He does such a great job delivering a great message to these great softball families.
Elite & Strikers, 14u
10u Champions
12u Champions
It wouldn’t be a tournament without giving a big shout out to all the volunteers that helped make this all come to fruition. There is perpetual chaos and confusion but I am so very grateful for every single volunteer. To Mark, Andrew & Ty, whose #1 responsibility was “…to keep Lori happy,” per Lee’s instructions – and they did! They gave 100% throughout the entire tournament, especially as newly appointed grounds crewmen! To Denise & Jerry who organized all the merchandise (no small feat); and to Grandma, Jennie, Cami, Alicia and Alane who manned the merchandise table. To Matt and the Bukoos, along with Wes that made the skills contest the highlight of many 10 year old girls! To Sherri who was ready to be an umpire when the fields were short 3 umpires and represented Wacky for the 10u pool games. To Austin & Makelle who made the dunking booth a fun activity; to Nannette and PictureThis! for their photography. To Ron for non-stop work in keeping the complex ready for play and for capturing some memories on video. To Dani, Liv, Paul, Karen, Kim, Brock, Braden, Lauren, Tayan, Tanya, Rae, Nico & Tony for willingness to help wherever needed; to Kelsey & Dakota for work on the posters and miscellaneous help; To Dave and the WVC grounds keepers – we could not have even started the tournament without your hard work getting the fields ready; to Mike who helped with the dunk tank and just knowing where, when and how to help with anything. To Coach Vidal and crew from Northridge High, Ken Isakson and Ron Halton who brought out their field equipment and muscles to make sure our fields were prepped for play. To the team “Bad to the Bone” who came out to volunteer instead of playing, still wanting to be part of the Wacky effort. To Makelle, Caitlyn & Kelli for the balloons, music and sunshine their energy brings. To the umpires who donated a portion of their games and worked games back-to-back. To the coaches and parents for the wonderful job they have done with their girls and for their help in bringing together the cancer cuties with the softball community. To the softball girls who have always understood what this tournament is about. Your outward expression of compassion in embracing your team’s cancer cutie is beautiful, I couldn’t be prouder! To my husband, Lee, who takes my ranting, tantrums, weariness and pessimism and patiently turn it into laughter, joy, celebration and optimism. He is the master mediator for the endless conflicts; his words are kind and sincere, his work ethics and commitment to WACKY are exemplary. He is my rock and my love. And to Nick, without your vision, there would be no Wacky. I miss you, sweet boy!
Miss Cami being happy!
Nick’s best friends that I love so much! Caitlyn, Makelle, Ty, Mark, Andrew & Kelli – they have been at every Wacky Tournament, honoring Nick’s memory and my morale support.
All in all, we barely broke even; registration fees paid for the cost of the fields and lights (very expensive in WVC!), the umpires, tee shirts, trophies, prizes, etc. So far, we cleared just over $5,000 in donations and sales of merchandise! This includes a substantial donation from Sound Warehouse, a tournament sponsor for the 2nd year in a row! 100% of the donations received and money raised by merchandise sales will go towards CureSearch and First Descents. But I think the awareness factor was off the charts successful. Watching the teams join forces with our childhood cancer community was priceless. This is our “WHY” and
We are 100% committed to next year! I can’t wait!
