Dan & Missy Plein - Red Wing, MN

I've been a dancer ever since I was three years old. My dad has put up with it all, driving us girls to dance, going to weekends of dance competitions, and the ultimate: being in multiple Father/Daughter recital dances. Don't get me wrong, at one time my dad tried to get me to play sports. I remember being in YMCA youth leagues for soccer, volleyball, basketball, and softball. My dad never forced me or my sister to stick with any of these sports, but he did try very hard to have at least one of his daughters follow along with his biggest passion: baseball.

When I was in softball I had one of my brother's old gloves and I would make my way out to center field not because of the famous John Fogerty song, but mostly because I knew no one would ever actually hit it that far. After a lot of standing around, I started to make a hobby of picking dandelions. I realized that my mom along with the other parents noticed what I was doing and thought it was really funny, so the next inning I decided to start twirling cartwheels. What can I say, so maybe playing softball wasn't my thing; I was obviously a performer. Two years later my sister gave my dad a little more hope than I did when she showed up to her softball games sporting one of my brothers old pair of baseball pants and took the game a little more serious. But in the end, Elle too stuck with the dancing thing. So, it looks like my dad was 0 for 2 when it comes to his girls playing the game, but as he knows now we are definitely 2 for 2 on the passion.

After attending one of Red Wing's biggest games against the Miesville Mudhens this July 4th afternoon, it made me realize how much I really love baseball. Really, who couldn't when her first game was when she was 10 days old and her dad has been coaching ever since she was born. I'm not going to lie, during the summer times I grew up at the field. When I was 2 years old I used repeat the line-up that my brother had memorized and would often go around the house shouting. I will always be known as "Danny's daughter" whether I'm up at the Ath, at any Classic Cannon Valley League field, or even at state tourneys. I don't know if its because I've always been around it, I actually understand it, or my last name is Plein, but baseball is in my blood.

When I was really little (from when I was first born until I was two) my dad coached the Red Wing Scarlets, however, I don't really remember that time period very much. What I do and always will remember is my dad coaching the Red Wing Aces. They are my team. I can't even begin to count the number of Red Wing Aces games I've been to. I've witnessed good and bad seasons, upsetting wins in the bottom of the 9th, disappointing loses against some of our biggest rivals, many trips to the state tourney, and even 2 state tournament championships. Of the 20 years I have known my dad, those two moments when I was only 3 and 5 years old are two of the most excited times I have ever seen my dad.

Last year my dad was threatening his retirement from coaching (again!) because he had reached his 30 year mark. I told him he couldn't. I can't imagine what summer would be like without seeing my dad in his number 8 uniform sitting in the dugout making occasional trips to the mound. My favorite times are when I get to see my dad coach third, because I know he loves it. What would my sister and I do for supper at the field if he wasn't in the dugout ready to hand us a ten dollar bill after seeing us head down the wooden steps and hearing us ask the player closest to the gate, "Can you get my dad?" It just wouldn't be the same.

My dad has taught me so much throughout his many years of coaching. Whenever I see my dad before a game, whether it's earlier in the day at home or while the team is taking infield, he is always positive. I have never heard my dad go into a game with a negative thought. He always ends the quick conversation with, "We'll win." Now, this may not always be realistic, but he has taught me an important lesson; in order to succeed, you must first believe in yourself. After disappointing loses, he still stays positive, teaching me not to make excuses, but to only learn from your mistakes. Finally, there is a time in every player or coach's life where he decides he needs to spend more time with his family and must put an end to his baseball career. My dad has yet to reach this point. Now, I'm not saying he put his family 2nd to his baseball team, more or less just made his baseball team feel like family while making his family fall in love with baseball. The reasoning to why my dad is still around is one of the most important things he has taught me. He is still doing what he does for Red Wing baseball because when he was young great people did it for him and he hopes someday great people will continue to be around to do it for his grandsons and other Red Wing youth. When someone gives you something such as their time and talents, return the favor by giving someone else that same thing. This is a lesson that I know has not only been passed to me, but to all of my dad's kids. You can witness it by attending a Red Wing Legion baseball game and seeing number 23, Justin Plein act as the head coach.

So I may be a girl and I may not play softball, but I am Danny Plein's daughter. I know the difference between a ball and a strike, I can sit behind the plate and argue pitches, I know that a game past 9 innings is not in overtime, I know that there is no such thing as being too superstitious, I know how to keep the scorebook, I know that you don't have to socialize at a baseball game to enjoy it. I know baseball. I can keep up with any guy any day while talking about it. It's something that I get, and even though I will never know the feeling of hitting a home run or making an amazing play in the field, I love it, almost as much as I love the guy who taught me everything I know.