To write about education is to dwell, alas, on what isn’t working in our schools. So for once, a tale about something that went very right. If you don’t follow sports, you probably missed it on ESPN and the sports page of the New York Times. It’s the story of a remarkable display of character and sportsmanship at a college softball game the other day.
Western Oregon’s Sara Tucholsky, all of 5′2″ and a .153 hitter, hits the first home run she’s ever hit, in high school or college. Even though it’s out of the park, the rules say “touch ‘em all.” So when she runs past first base and realizes she didn’t touch the bag, she stops to go back. And blows out her knee.
The rules also say her teammates can’t help her around the bases, or even help her off the ground. If a coach touches her she’s out. If a pinch runner comes in, it’s a single, not a homer. Tucholsky crawls back to first but can go no further.
Confusion. Silence. Then a voice, belonging to Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman, who holds every softball record worth holding in the school’s record book: “‘Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched each bag?’” There’s no rule against it. So Holtman and teammate Liz Wallace pick up Tucholsky and carry her the rest of the way, stopping to let her touch each base with her left foot–an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.
“It kept everything in perspective and the fact that we’re never bigger than the game,” Western Oregon coach Pam Knox told ESPN. “It was such a lesson that we learned — that it’s not all about winning. And we forget that, because as coaches, we’re always trying to get to the top. We forget that. But I will never, ever forget this moment. It’s changed me, and I’m sure it’s changed my players.”
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