Cup of Nick Coffee VIII: Pursuit of the Three-Peat

Three-peat. Verb. Meaning; to win a third consecutive victory.

It’s only happened a handful of times in the US 4 major sports. 4 times in the MLB, 6 times in the NBA, 5 times in the NHL and only twice in the NFL. These are just tiny victories compared to what could happen this year in July. We’re only in the fifth year of this national tournament, but the Dads of Wiffle in Southeast Michigan have an opportunity to three-peat at the NWLA.


Big Wood at the 2012 NWLA Tournament
Rewind back to its inaugural year in 2012. OCWA takes home all the honors while the, then called Big Wood, finish in 3rd. We thought it was a good starting point and we would finish a lot stronger the next year. In 2013, we thought we filled in all of our gaps and would come out swinging. Although we did come out swinging, we missed a hell of a lot. Our “stud” pitcher turned out to be a dud and I believe we finished in 56th place. It was all smiles for Tampa Bay’s squad as they took home the victory.

We seriously needed some change. Carl Coffee stepped down as manager in 2014 and gave Alex Shore the honors and responsibilities. He would overhaul the entire operation, which included changing the team name. The WSEM Dads would triumph over the tournament and bring home their first championship. This was done without the crack of our bat, but the movement and speed of our pitching and defense. That and a little help from a secret weapon called Stephen Farkas, who also took home the tournament MVP that year.


Dads slap hands to celebrate a Shore HR in 2014
The next year, in 2015, we already knew what the recipe for success would be. We didn’t change much, but knew that there’d be a target on our backs now. We needed more powerful hitting. 2015 was the year of Kyle Tomlinson, who was essentially a no-show in past tournaments. He had an MVP-type tournament and our pitching was still as dominate as ever, despite losing one of the best arms in the county in Austin Bischoff. We breezed through the tournament with our only loss coming in the 1st game of the championship. The final touch of the home plate was as picture-perfect as a storybook ending. We were the first back-to-back NWLA Champions.

Now, here we are. It’s early 2016 and the regular season hasn’t even started yet. The hotels aren’t booked and the teams aren’t even chosen. One thing is certain, however. The Dads of WSEM have an even bigger target on our backs. Although we have a lot of love, we have never been hated so much. We knew there’d be a lot of attention and we’re used to it. Carl Coffee has been producing endless amounts of podcasts and our website is overflowing with information and content. We know that there will be battles when we first step into the first night’s festivities. But guess what? We’re ready.


Outgoing and incoming managers
Sure, Alex Shore is stepping down as manager and handing this title to Chandler Phillips. With the tools that are being handed to Chandler this year, it should be the same outcome. Alex has written up a very successful plan of attack and he has 2 trophies to show for it. Chandler will acquire almost all of the returning players of our championship years, with the return of Austin Bischoff. Hopefully Little E will remain on the squad, pending his summer internship, and Farkas should definitely still be there. With these pieces, plus more, we still plan to be the best pitching team in the tournament and continuing our strong bats with the assistance of the duo of Sam Hatt and Evan Bortmas.

I do hope Shore arrives to assist the coaching staff of myself, Carl and 17 others. I also hope that we can continue our tournament winning streak and take home a third trophy. There are just some things in life that are better in threes. Tripods, blind mice, Wise Men and The Godfather. We want to be a part of that list so that the next time you look up ‘three-peat’ in Wikipedia, what will you see? A beautiful picture of The WSEM Dads holding up three fingers in victory while hoisting three trophies high over our heads.

Three-peat. Verb. Meaning; what The WSEM Dads will do at the NWLA in 2016.