A new year is upon us. For that reason, I imagine many of you may be preparing resolutions for the coming year. While I do respect the decision of those who elect to do so, and I find the practice to be mostly a noble one, it isn’t something I do myself.
I don’t really prescribe to any of the common tropes and beliefs that others often share regarding the New Year. I don’t really view it as a blank slate or fresh start, nor do I bother myself with resolutions that I likely won’t ever keep. To me, New Year’s is largely just a change of the calendar—no more different than it will be in several weeks when we move on to February.
However, I do like to try and look back at the year that I just lived and take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights and other moments that stick out. There’s been quite a few things that I’d rather forget from 2024, but I would like to think there has been even more that is worth remembering. Among a few worthy of note are as follows:
Williamsburg Little League
I wrote my first-ever column in this newspaper about my experience as a first-time baseball coach for Williamsburg Little League earlier this year, so I will try my best not to rehash much of that, but this is one of the first things that comes to mind when I recall the events of 2024.
My then-seven-year-old daughter half-reluctantly, half-excitedly decided to join Little League without having ever participated in a team sport (or any sport, really), so I felt that it was important for me to do whatever I could to help ensure that it was a good experience for her. That led me to signing up alongside her to coach a team.
As I stated in my previous column on this topic, I had never served as a coach of any kind prior to this year. I had a general understanding of baseball and its rules, but not so much Little League itself. Also, despite being regularly out in the community, I didn’t really know anyone else who I could call upon to help me coach the team. In that regard, I ended up being incredibly lucky, as I was able to recruit a few parents of some of my players to round out my coaching staff, all of whom did a fantastic job.
Our team, the Forcht Group Braves, eventually finished the season in third place, which was a commendable effort, in my opinion.
The entire experience was thoroughly enjoyable, though it was a true joy to watch these kids develop their skills throughout the season and see them come into their own as players. And being able to share that with my daughter just made it all the more special.
I currently plan on coaching a team again this coming spring when Little League starts. As it stands, my youngest daughter is expected to join her sister on the team this year, so I can’t wait to get to share that time with the two of them.
First-time MLB Experiences
I had been to several Major League Baseball games prior to 2024, but this was the year that attending games really became a semi-frequent occasion for my family.
It began with a Christmas 2023 present for my son, which was a six-game pack of tickets for the Cincinnati Reds 2024 season. I also bought my daughter that participated in Little League a Reds Heads membership for her birthday earlier this year, which included two tickets to a game and a variety of VIP experiences. I also took my mom to a game back in September. Though she was born in Cincinnati, she had never been to a game prior to that day.
In total, I ended up at eight Reds games in 2024 with a different combination of people including my kids, wife and mother. I also ended up on the field of Great American Ballpark twice this year thanks to the VIP experiences. The first was in July as part of an on-field parade with my daughter and the second was in September, when the two of us got to play catch on the field. The two of us also got to participate in a Q&A session with three Reds players prior to a game in August.
I didn’t get to go to events like that growing up, so I’m glad that I can give that to my children. And I especially cherish being able to actually go out onto the field of a Major League stadium and share a moment with my daughter. We even took a photo with the ball we used and encased it in a display case along with some of the dirt from the field.
Aside from Reds games, I also had the opportunity to attend a couple other MLB games this year. I decided this year to try and visit every MLB park, so I used my family’s vacation to Clearwater, Florida this summer as an opportunity to catch a few games.
On the trip down, I got to visit Truist Park and watched an Atlanta Braves game. My wife’s family has always been Braves fans, so it was nice for her to be there with me for that one. During one of the nights in Clearwater, I drove over to St. Petersburg with my oldest daughter and watched the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. I’ve seen that “The Trop” gets a lot of hate online about being the worst stadium in the MLB, but I honestly didn’t think it was that bad. I will admit that it felt a little dated and being in a dome for baseball was odd, but it was an enjoyable experience.
In the coming year, I anticipate my family will hopefully enjoy more time spent at the ballpark. I’ve renewed my daughter’s Reds Heads subscription and bought a new one for my youngest, so we will see what kind of opportunities that might afford in 2025. I also plan to try and get to a for more stadiums, if possible.
Williamsburg Independent School’s Student Newspaper
I began talks with Williamsburg Independent Superintendent Tabetha Housekeeper about starting a student newspaper at the school sometime in fall 2023, but various other projects and holiday breaks put a hamper on getting anything off the ground. We reconvened early this year, with Housekeeper recruiting several of the district’s teachers as faculty advisors, and we were off and running.
The newspaper started with a small core of students, none of which had any type of journalism or design experience, but were willing to do the work and at least mostly reliable.
The first issue was a bit of a slog, I will admit. As part of my contribution to the publication, I created all of the newspaper’s master files, which consisted of plenty of design and layout work. Despite several setbacks, the first issue came out on time and as planned in March. It was an instant success.
Both Housekeeper and the faculty advisors told me about the response from the student body. Apparently, it was a talking point around the school. It was such a success, that we all regrouped for a second issue, which was published in May just before school let out for summer break.
The momentum for the paper continued into the current school year as well. The first newspaper meeting held this year saw nearly quadruple the number of students show up who were interested in participating. While it did take some time to get the ball rolling on the third issue, we did manage to get one out just before the students went home for Christmas break.
I’ve put forth more hours than I initially anticipated helping to get the newspaper off the ground and pushed somewhere closer toward a point of being self-sustaining, but it has been a huge reward for me seeing these kids gets excited over the final product and seeing their work come to fruition.
I look forward to meeting with everyone again in 2025 and planning the first issue of the year.
