Here we go ______ here we go!
This week and weekend the focus was on the under 12 team which has given themselves a name and an identity. They plan on traveling to the baseball complex in Mpigi just about every weekend from now until their big tournament in Poland in late July to get their games as sharp as they can. But during the week I had a few days so I started with an interview with Eric to get even more on the accident.
This one with Eric is at a less emotional setting than our last one. He took me through the whole story again but the part I was most interested in was his thoughts on Eddie and their dreams of seeing the young guys take the game far. He expounded well on just how devastating the accident was for the growth of the game. He described it as “it set us back, we felt like putting down our gloves and walking away.” But he gave me a lot of “when I played I felt like I was honoring them that they were there next to me.”
There is a player here named Babou. He is an excellent young pitcher who is throwing a legit slider and forkball already. He is pretty advanced for a 12 or 13 year old. So that is the issue, his age. He 
has never been sure of it, and if he was 12 he would certainly be on the team traveling to Poland so we wanted to see if we could find out.
He was born at a medical clinic at a Police barracks in the ghetto. I went with hi. An older player named Lambert came with us to help ask some questions. The filming was sort of a bust really as Babou was somewhat nervous and I think finally admitted that he is 13 and too old for the team.
They also seemed like they could track down an official record if we pressed them. It would take a week or two to get, but we could probably do it. I think this particular case of the police barracks is 
somewhat rare in the country though, I’m going to try to find a situation a bit more representative of the experience here, which is usually a response of “record of his birth? we could make one up if you want” or something to that affect.
Anyway, the actual building where he was born is “under renovation”, and I’m told it has been like that for 4 years now.
The next day there I head back to George’s to grab some close up filmy broll of the newspaper article about the accident. Pretty rough passage pictured here. Side story here… I was filming this paper in George’s living room, which is always full of a bunch of kids who now know me and like to goof around. As I was filming the page with headshots of the deceased, George’s daughter 
tapped me on my shoulder and said “That’s his Dad.” I turned around and she was pointing at a young boy I know named Isaac. I thought “oh crap.”
So, I finished up and the kids went out to play except Isaac who was sitting quietly. I sat with him and told him how I’ve heard his Dad was an amazing guy and that all of the good things that baseball is doing now is because of people like his Dad. He was quiet. I asked if he played and he told me he doesn’t play anymore, not since his Dad died. As I turned to leave he tugged at my arm, and I turned and he asked me if he could come train with us today. I smiled and said of course. He came and played with us later.
The next day the under 12 team headed to the complex to begin the serious training and playing to get ready for the LLWS. They (about 20 players) piled into a van and we bounced our way to the complex. George, Jimmy, Ema, and Aron came to coach. It was very good baseball. Here is the team that will be lead by George. If they win the national tournament in Uganda (they should) in June they will be traveling to Poland for the Little League Regional in July.
Asharaf - 2b/P/1b - A very strong player who was on the team who went in 2008 and knows what to expect. Good contact hitter and a sure fielder at second.
Jonah - OF - A player from Kyambogo who is a bit of a joker. After seeing some video I showed of my beloved Phillies he insisted on batting like Ryan Howard. He is small and quick and rarely swings and misses.
Solomon - OF - Tall and rangy with a strong arm from the outfield. Uses his long arms well in his swing to make contact but is working on developing more power by using his lower half. (pic soon, sorry solomon)
Kid - OF - Also named Solomon but everyone calls him Kid. Good outfielder and will be the team’s second catcher.
Tony - 1b - Most physically mature player on the team, and a lefty. Exactly the kind of player you put at first base and bat clean up.
Ivan - SS/P - The best athlete on the team and ace pitcher. He is throwing a nice curveball for an 11 year old and will probably bat leadoff and lead the team in general.
Peter - C - The identical twin who is the best catcher the team has and also is a decent sidearm style pitcher. He takes command well and takes pride in being the defensive leader.
Mark - OF/P - A quiet lanky boy who doesn’t look like an athlete but is steadily becoming one of the team’s strongest players. Probably the most improved player since I started filming a year ago.
Bruno - 3B/OF - A decent player and hard worker who will serve as the utility infielder and outfielder and is capable at every position.
Arthur - 3B - The starting third baseman and middle of the order hitter. Best power swing on the team. Arthur is the boy who lost his father before a game on my last filming. I’m a big Arthur fan.
Paul - SS - The identical twin who plays solid shortstop and can handle the bat well. He always knows what to do with the ball before it’s hit to him. He and his brother are the most disciplined players on the team.
Augustus - 2b - The younger brother of Babou who is small but the most confident (cocky) player on the team who believes he can make any play, and often can. He may only be 10, we have to find out, there is a minimum age for playing in the under 12 games.
So the team decided to give themselves a name while goofing around in the dorm. The name they landed on in the end… “The Survivors”
They love it and are already trying to make up fight songs with it. To them it means that they never give up in the face of any challenge, George loves it as he calls himself a survivor from the original pioneers who is still fighting for the game.
This next week I’m headed up to Soroti to see what Benard is up to, I’m very excited to see him but a little worried that he is at a pretty frustrated point in his life. We’ll see.
Be good everyone, and….. Let’s Go Survivors!
