by Nick Coffee
|
On his thirty-second year of life, Nick, a not-so-lonely Wiffle enthusiast, travels to a new location for a tournament. With the final couple of days coming quickly, he feels anxiety - and then excitement. He “awakens” in Michigan, where he learns that Morenci is not a lush Wiffle heaven, but a place where your Wiffle life is explained to you by five people who are in it. These people may be teammates, colleagues or complete strangers. Yet each of them changed his path forever. These are the five people you meet at the NWLA Tournament.
Nick was just a normal guy, crippling in his own way, but happy nonetheless. He worked as a Technician at Sapphire Peak, a South Florida tourist attraction. He was working on his latest project, “Coffee’s Cliffhanger”, until he got amazing news that a sixth NWLA Tournament was going to take place in his home state of Michigan. He put his life on hold to prepare for this epic weekend. Suddenly, as the final days ticked away like the second hand of his tiny living room’s grandfather clock, he found himself in the heart of Morenci with no preparation on what to expect and who he’d meet. Nick had been to all five previous NWLA Tournaments so he’d obviously recognize some faces, but the new teams and players he’d meet made his trip an ever-changing kaleidoscope. One he’d never forget. The first person Nick met was a man in blue from TBW, Derek Linderman. Derek was an older gentleman who had been there from day-one. It was obvious that Derek had some knowledge, especially being probably the oldest player ever to play the game. His team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, was one of the most prestigious teams around and brought home the championship in 2013. He explained to Nick that in 2012, NWLA Tournament’s inaugural year, he went after a fly ball hit by Nick during batting practice and suffered a sprained left ankle, which he blamed to cost him the championship game against OCWA. This opened Nick’s eyes of the human connection - that all Wiffle lives are somewhat connected, even those you are not aware of. Nick travels through the NWLA grounds of Morenci where he meets the “Captain”, Justin Tomkins. This flashes Nick’s memory of literally handing over the first year’s championship to the OCWA Freaky Franchise due to spraining Linderman’s ankle. Tomkins was extremely outspoken and even cocky of his team’s accomplishments, being a two-time winning team in both 2012 and 2016. Tomkins explained to Nick that his team fought hard that first year, but had to fight even harder to earn the title of reigning champions. Tomkins, in his go-get-em attitude, taught that sacrifice is vital to life and should be sought after rather than grieve with loss. Nick travels again and finds himself at the Morenci Pub, one of the very few establishments in the small Michigan city. He sees his brother, Carl. Nick and Carl had a playful childhood, but Nick always felt neglected, as Carl was a couple years older. As they both grew, a great bond and friendship was formed. After numerous Wiffle expeditions, tournaments and leagues were created and lost, Carl found great success in forming the first of now two teams to win two national championships and the first and only back-to-back champs of the NWLA Tournament with WSEM. Although there is a little jealousy that Nick hasn’t been recognized with helping Carl reach his success, he is happy and proud of his older brother. Carl taught Nick the lesson of forgiveness, and Nick lets go of his anger towards him. Next, Nick finds himself in a world of the Dangerfield Tournament. The Dangerfield wasn’t made from the “best of the best”, but actually quite opposite. However, this doesn’t mean terrible teams and people belonged. Trent Steffes of MNWA greeted Nick with open arms, as he does to anyone in any year from any team at any time. Nick's always been a little brother, due to his order in birth, but Trent seems to take the role of everyone’s little brother at the NWLA Tournament. He taught Nick that love, happiness and kindness conquers all. The last person Nick meets in Morenci is Tim Wiltjer of the Legends of Leroy. Nick and Tim don’t have a previous relationship or true friendship, but Tim is inspired by Nick’s passion and love for the sport. Tim tells Nick that is was because of him that he felt his team was the Cinderella team of 2016. Tim remembers telling his fellow teammates how great they all felt receiving praise and applause from Nick and other players and coaches, that they used it as fuel to come back this year bigger, better and stronger. Nick had redeemed himself from all negative feelings he had from other players because of the way he made others feel around him. It doesn’t matter where the NWLA Tournament is held. You don’t need to learn five, 500 or even one lesson. You can meet up with old friends or introduce yourself to new ones. After all, strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet. The point is, the NWLA Tournament is about bringing people from all over the country once a year, every year. You can meet some amazing guys; H8R, with his no-filter. Farkas, with his bunny-hop pitch. Jack Shannon, who is nothing like his twin. Jeremy Ratajczyk, whose team league doesn’t really play Wiffleball. Chris Hess, who is getting screwed by his neighbor. Nate Cruz, who thinks his team is a rookie league. Gus and Sam Skibbe, who always have smiles on their faces. And other awesome players, coaches and spectators from some great leagues. Polish up your cleats, get that perfect bend in your hat and always wear sunscreen. The 2017 NWLA Tournament is about to begin. Don’t forget these lessons that I’ve learned and please thank the committee for continuing this tradition after the Gallaway legacy has ended. Players and coaches; aim high - any team can win. Find your ferris wheel in the sky and enjoy the ride. Pack up boys, it’s Wiffleball time! |
