A Great Teammate and a Great Ballplayer Every now and then a person does something that gets noticed. This past weekend at the CFBL Wood Bat Classic, I was impressed by one particular young man. Many of you know that I was was struggling to keep the fields playable. After doing yet another field rake I was dreading raking another field but on I went to prepare a field for the Lyman/Olympia game. As I began to rake a young man behind me said "Coach can I help you get the field ready?" I turned around and this young man began to rake the mound and stayed with me until the field was ready to play again. I chatted with him a little as we worked together and he was extremely polite. We finished and I thanked him. I also made sure that I told his Coach, Rick Bennett, that a kid wearing #14 on his roster helped me with the field. As the games began I was particularly interested in watching Lyman (new team on the block) so I gravitated to their game. This same kid who had helped me rake the field I found out later was named Jonathan Lemelin. He was on the mound for this game and man he was bringing it. Hard throwing righty with good change of speed and control. If an ump missed a call his body language was quiet. I kept thinking he looked very poised out there. It was easy to see that his pitching was giving Lyman hope after suffering 2 losses in pool play. His pitching stats? 5 innings strong with 10 Ks. As if his pitching wasn't enough, Jonathan went 3 for 3 with a walk, 2 doubles off the base of the wall, scored two runs and hit the only HR of the weekend. A mammoth 320 foot bomb (yes with a wood bat). While his statline was certainly impressive, that isnt what initially caught my attention. It started when he came out to unselfishly help me when he should have been warming in the bullpen. It continued when I watched him encouraging his young teammates. The lesser talented kids were the recipients of high fives, encouragement and praise from Jonathan. The way he speaks to his coaches, treats his teammates and conducts himself with class was refreshing and represents what the CFBL is all about. It was a pleasure watching him lead his team. I didnt want to let the moment pass without recognizing this young man. I know we all have a few like this on our rosters and I want to encourage all of you to recognize sportsmanship and good citizenship like I saw in Jonathan this weekend.
Jim Boghos
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