MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Intramural Softball season is over, so why is there still shouting and yelling coming from across the softball field? Get closer and see a full-fledged team dashing, diving and swinging across home plate. The players seem to be having fun, but don’t be mistaken by their smiles, because this team takes the game extremely serious. The notes, the pep talks and the coaching can only mean one thing; this team is preparing for something, but what?
A team of local Marines will be attending the Pacific Far East Softball Tournament in Okinawa, Aug. 8-16.
“It’s like the All Stars,” said Michael Wilder, the head coach for Team Iwakuni. “We are going to compete against the best baseball players and teams from across the Far East.”
Wilder himself has played all-Marine softball for 30 years. His long relationship with the sport brings Team Iwakuni a level of expertise and insight he hopes will help keep the players on track.
“This is a very young team,” said Wilder. “Which is better for me because oftentimes with older players it’s harder to change some of their bad habits. With younger players I can easily correct most of their mistakes.”
Although the players are young, most of them have been playing since childhood.
“I first started playing baseball when I was 5,” said Jonathan Paz, Team Iwakuni player.
Before Paz could play for Team Iwakuni, he first had to tryout and make it past a series of several cuts.
When the Intramural Softball season was over, an e-mail went out looking for players.
“Once the team came together, we instantly started working well with one another,” said Paz. “During the intramural season we were playing against each other, and now we’re playing as one.”
Since the team started nearly three months ago, they have been practicing. In the same amount of time nearly half the players who started with the team were cut. With one week left before the tournament, an additional cut was still to be made, bringing the team to a total of 15.
“Whether they were cut or not, they still had a chance to play and train with a great baseball player,” said Rodney L. Buentello in reference to Wilder.
Over the course of the training Wilder has taken time to instill his key softball philosophies.
“From the very beginning I have told them to play smart,” said Wilder. He encouraged them to play within their means.
“If a player doesn’t normally hit home runs then I’m not going to push them to try and hit homeruns,” said Wilder. “In this case it is better to focus on the players’ strengths than their weaknesses.”
In the days leading up to the event, the team played makeshift teams made up of Marines from the Provost Marshal’s Office and Ordnance.
Although Team Iwakuni dominated during the practice games, the team’s players are not getting over confident anytime soon. They already know the competition down in Okinawa will be a lot harder.
“There will be tough competition every day,” said Paz. “So we are going to have to bring our “A” game all weeklong.”
Wilder is confident as long as the team continues to work off each other and not make simple mental errors, they will go above and beyond previous years.
“It has been 10 years since we brought home first place,” said Wilder. “I’m confident that this is a team that can do it.”
Most importantly, Wilder pointed out all the amazing experiences and opportunities Marines can receive from playing sports in the Marine Corps.
Whether the team wins or loses they still had the opportunity to leave work for a week and enjoy a game they love.