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DISCIPLINE
Contributed by: Bob Rotruck on 12/15/2006

THE LANDLOCKED SAILOR
By Bob Rotruck, CWO3, USN (ret)
Castle Rock, Colorado

Discipline
While deployed to the South China Sea aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in 1968, the ship had occasion to do an R&R in Sasebo, Japan. This was my first time to visit an oriental country and I was really looking forward to it. When the ship docked, a fellow chief and I decided that we would each rent a bicycle and tour the town and countryside. We rode a couple of miles outside the city and came upon a small elementary school. Out in the school yard, a group of boys were playing the great American pastime, baseball. They all had on matching blue shorts, white shirts, and blue baseball caps. The teacher/coach was standing behind the pitcher while umpiring.

We paused to watch play when one of the little boys hit a fly ball into center field. The center fielder ran to it and caught it in his glove hand. Great catch I thought! However, instead of throwing the ball into the infield, he ran to the coach. He bowed to the coach. Meanwhile, the smallest boy on the field was standing in the third base coach's box and he was holding what looked like an adult's old fashioned walking stick with a large knob on the handle end. He grasped the stick firmly with both hands and ran out to the coach's position, bowed, and handed him the stick. The center fielder removed his hat and the coach tapped him once lightly on the head. My friend and I stood in amazement and wonder. What was the meaning of this part of the game?

The next batter came up to the plate. The pitcher threw a very high pitch, but the batter swung at it anyhow. The batter carefully laid his bat on the home plate and ran out to the coach and bowed. The little boy with the knobby stick ran to the coach, bowed, and handed him the stick. The batter removed his hat and the coach gently bopped the batter on the head. The batter ran back to home plate and picked up the bat in preparation for the next pitch.

My friend and I just looked at each other and finally it struck us what we were seeing. The center fielder had used only one hand to catch the ball. He had been taught to use both hands and he had shamed his coach by not executing the catch correctly. He had come to the coach to be disciplined for failure to perform the catch properly. The same with the batter that swung at a pitch that he could not possibly hit, he swung carelessly and shamed his coach. These boys were being taught to play the game precisely as the coach had taught them and to do anything else was a breech of conduct and a disgrace. Is it any wonder why the Japanese make such fine automobiles? Discipline!

Fair winds and smooth seas!


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Bob Rotruck

Castle Rock , CO

Bob Rotruck has posted 60 stories and 2 comments since joining on 7/26/2006. Bob Rotruck 's average story rating is 4.89.
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