Centralia Softball Team Takes Time To Smile

The Centralia softball team shared a sports moment on Tuesday that tops a lot of the hitting, fielding and pitching everyone sees throughout the season.

The Tiger team, which found out coach Ken Olson was going for his 200th win against River Ridge, made a few arrangements before the game started. Olson had no idea the kids had a clue about his wins record.

Centralia won, the Tigers snuck up on Olson and sprayed him with a dozen silly string cans.

Colorful, yes. But Olson was just a little too comfortable-looking after the little celebration, so the team upped the ante.

When Olson wasn’t looking, they dumped the bucket of ice water on him.

“The kids were able to pull it out (the win) and have some fun afterward at my expense,” Olson said. “It’s fun to see their smiling faces. That’s the part for me that’s the most rewarding.”

Smiling. Now there is a concept. With the playoffs approaching, and the must-win situations starting to appear, you don’t always see the smiling.

Props to the Tiger team for taking the time to have a little fun with their coach. It has been said over and over that athletics has a lot more to it than scores, and that brings up an interesting topic: the balance of having fun and playing to win. What’s the general feel of this in Lewis County?

You, the fans, see more games in person than we at The Chronicle can. Do you see a lot of fun on the field, or is it all business?

Let me know your feelings in the comments section of this post, or e-mail me at cbreakey@chronline.com.