Well, it’s that time of year…softball in Central Park and GUIDEPOSTS has a team. A pretty good team, too. When we started about a decade ago we weren’t so hot. I think we only won one game our first season and were routinely subjected to the infamous “mercy rule,” invoked when you are being beaten so badly the umpire is forced to end the game as an act of compassion (and so he can get home earlier—the umps loved us that first season).
For most of the other teams in the league, playing us was like having a week off. For us it was just an excuse to get to “Nice Guy Eddy’s” for drinks and hot wings.
When opponents see “GUIDEPOSTS” on our uniform shirts (I’m #11) they often don’t think we have the necessary competitive chops to play them. GUIDEPOSTS? Who could be intimidated by a name like that? Who expects to lose to an inspirational publisher? But they haven’t met Stephanie or Ross or Kim. Kevin or Amy or Julio.
We surprise opponents with our intensity. A few years ago we’d won so many divisional championships the league forced us to move up to a tougher division. We won that one too. And some fans. People actually come out to the park to root us on. We’re known for being gritty, quirky and a lot of fun to watch.
A lot of the players have changed over the years (I’m semi-retired) but the core of the team is still intact. As I said, we’ve gotten better and that’s something of a miracle, considering where we started. We’re not necessarily better players, we’re a better team.
We figured out our strengths and weaknesses and then figured out how to make it work. And we have some nice trophies to show for it. Mostly it’s been the satisfaction of steady improvement, and what could be a better testament to the power of positive thinking?
If your company has a sports team, I’d love to hear about it. Post a comment below. Meanwhile, I’ve got a game to play.
Edward Grinnan is Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of GUIDEPOSTS Publications.
