PUT ME IN, COACH!

Readers share their sports stories, from the highlights that won trophies to the bloopers that won hearts

- 

Who's on First?

Trying to keep my Little Leaguers settled in the dugout was quite the task. I explained that the next batter up is called "on deck." The batter after that is "in the hole." If they weren't on deck or in the hole, they had to sit down. One player kept asking what the batter after "in the hole" is called. I kept saying there was no name for that. He called those batters "IN THE WAY!" It was so funny, and that's what we called it for the rest of the season.

-CHERYL STETZ BAMERT Parsippany, NJ

A Swing and a Miss

I played on a softball team with many rookies who'd never played before. One of my teammates hit a hard-line drive. As she rounded first, we hollered, "Go to third!" And so she did-right across the pitcher's mound.

-GAIL VALENCE Henrietta, NY

A Hail Mary Play

When no one else stepped up, my husband volunteered to coach our son's soccer team despite having no knowledge of the sport. The boys went the entire season without scoring. Before the final game, one player told my husband, "At Sunday school this morning, I prayed to score a goal." That game, the team scored their first goal ever! But they still lost 2-1. That same player said after the game, "I guess I should've prayed to win."

-NANCY BEASLEY Portage, WI

And with the Assist ...

My daughter and her friend played on the high school basketball team. My daughter usually started, while her friend spent more time on the bench. One night, they burst through our front door. My daughter yelled, "I scored 20 points!" Her friend yelled, "And I jumped up and down a lot!"

-SUSAN SHELLEY Mesa, AZ 

Chippy Chirping