The CT Softball Blog

All of us parents out there, we will never forget those special first moments in our children’s life.

The first words. The first steps. The first grade.

The first trip to the Little League Softball World Series.

While 99.9 percent of the parents out there in the world will never get to experience what a first trip to an international tournament like this would feel like, three Guilford Little League Softball parents are living the dream.

Manager Andrea Klein and assistant coaches Kyle Eagleson and Mike Michalowski are all sharing this incredible summer ride with their daughters from the same dugout.

All three have watched their children—Guilford first baseman Reagan Klein, starting pitcher Maeve Eagleson and third baseman/relief pitcher Leah Michalowski—shine bright in some high-pressure spots this summer while making memories the families will never forget.

“It’s been awesome. I mean it’s been really like a dream come true,” Andrea Klein said of this last summer ride for the Guilford Little League All-Stars. “I know that the term is always priceless, but it really is an absolutely priceless experience.”

From the moment the Guilford team left Connecticut, flying to North Carolina on Wednesday, the coaching staff has gotten to see their wide-eyed children and players wander in the marvel of what is this last Little League journey for them.

From the thousands of dollars in swag that Little League bequeathed them just for winning the New England championship, to working hard on the field in North Carolina’s oppressive heat, the coaching staff cannot be prouder of this group.

“It’s crazy watching their faces, just seeing what they’re going through and enjoying how exciting it is,” Andrea Klein added. “It’s amazing when you think of so many kids watching on TV and dreaming about it and then being able to be a part of it when your kid is going through it, I can’t even put it into words.”

Special sums it up quite succinctly and that moment is not lost on just the coaches, either.

“Yeah, it’s special to me,” said Reagan Klein. “I know that we’re going through it together and we get to experience it all together. I always know there’s someone next to me helping me and I know she’s always going to be there for me, even if I make a mistake. But she really supports us and believes in us all.”

It is a special ride for each and every member of the Guilford team and their families, but for the coaching staff being in the dugout and on the field means everlasting moments that touch the heart as much as the memory banks.

Consider Kyle Eagleson and Mike Michalowski.

The two—who grew up close together in Middlefield—are now neighbors in Guilford, and Maeve Eagleson and Leah Michalowski have grown up together as friends as well as pitchers and softball players.

“We knew they were athletic and liked sports, but you’d never imagine going to a Little League World Series with them,” Mike Michalowski said. “I’m sure they dreamed of it, but what are the chances?”

Both dads have seen their daughters rise up from that back yard to shine on the biggest 12-year-old stage in the world.

“They taught each other how to pitch and catch and they were always going to work in the backyard,” Kyle Eagleson said.

While this Guilford team runs deep and gets contributions from all over, anybody paying close attention knows that Maeve and Leah are two of the team’s brightest stars and their parents have a front-row seat to what the players are accomplishing.

But it’s not just about seeing them shine under the bright lights of this summer’s pressure-packed moments.

After all, these coaches, these parents, also remember the first time their daughter tried on the glove for the first time.

From there, they’ve watched them grow and shine both on the field, in the dugout and in real life.

“It’s hard to even describe the emotion,” Kyle Eagleson said. “(Maeve) started pitching when she was like nine and going to a pitching coach and everything else like that. And the kid just puts in incredible amounts of work on her own with me on the bucket. And now it’s just almost sort of a relief in a bit that the stress is kind of off and these girls are kind of reaping the rewards of all that hard work. And it’s nice to see them enjoying themselves out here.”

Last week, in Bristol, Guilford won the New England title when Maeve Eagleson fired a 1-0 no-hitter over Bonny Eagle of Maine for the right to make the trip to North Carolina.

“I think it was the fourth inning, and I am looking at the box score and I knew (Maine) wasn’t hitting the ball too hard off of her,” Kyle Eagleson recalled. “But it’s like that old baseball superstition and you don’t say ‘no-hitter.’ So we’re all in the dugout ignoring it.”

With a 1-0 score, the pressure built with every pitch and every out.

“She really couldn’t come down the middle of the plate because it was such a close game, so she kept kind of nibbling away, painting the corners,” Kyle Eagleson said. “So, it was those last six outs and we always, in the fourth inning, we always said, ‘Hey girls, we need six outs.’ And she just kind of took matters in her own hands, those last two innings and shut them down. I got goosebumps.”

The no-hitter. The celebration. The hugs. The tears.

All part of the journey that will never be forgotten for mom and daughter, for dads and daughters.

But it hasn’t always been easy. It’s not easy coaching your own kid and sometimes it’s as tough for the player as it is for the manager.

“It makes us extremely proud but its also difficult, too,” Mike Michalowski said. “We’re more than a coach, we’re home all the time with them, and she’s doing great but its harder because we’re more difficult on our own kids. She’s always getting after me for yelling at her and not them, but I can’t favor my own kids.”

Instead of favoring them, the coaches are instead doing what is expected of them—coaching all the Guilford players and enjoying the ride they are all on.

With more innings to play, the Guilford Little League Softball coaching staff are now hoping for a few more memories before the next batch of real-world memories bubble back to the top.

The first day of high school. Varsity softball. Prom. High school graduation. College. Their wedding day.

It all happens too fast as has this 19-game journey from Guilford to Greenville, N.C., and this year’s Little League Softball World Series.

For all the Guilford families, it’s a ride they will never forget.

For three parents and their daughters, however, the view from the dugout will forever be special.

(From The Dugout is a regular column written by CT Softball Blog Publisher John Nash)

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