Our vision: the champions of DR and Seekonk | Opinion

They are neighboring cities, members of the South Coast Conference and Thanksgiving Day rivals.

And they’re apparently very good at America’s Pastime.

The Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School softball team captured the Division 3 state championship with a 4-3 victory over Hudson High School Saturday at UMass Amherst. It was the first softball title for the Falcons since 1990.

And the Seekonk High School baseball team destroyed Pittsfield High 8-0 on Saturday at Polar Park in Worcester for the Warriors’ second straight state crown. Seekonk defeated its five playoff foes by a combined score of 34-1.

As Sun Chronicle sportswriter Tyler Hetu noted, things came full circle for Dighton-Rehoboth, whose senior class fell to the state championship game as a freshman. Coach Katie Holmes wears a charm bracelet with the word “grit” as a motivator for the team.

“That’s the word that symbolizes this team. ‘Grit,’” said Holmes.

Seekonk set a school record with 22 wins and played in three straight state title games while racking up 56 wins in those seasons.

“We really are a big family,” Warrior coach Joe DeMelo told veteran sportswriter Peter Gobis. “We love each other, support each other. We worked very, very hard this season because we knew we still had a chance at a state championship.”

We congratulate the coaches, the schools and the city for their support of the teams.

But above all, we salute the players and their families.

How many April evenings have parents endured at cold, windswept diamonds while adults coached, sat, scrolled, chatted, and waited patiently for practice to end? How many unbearably humid summer days were spent on New England fields as the players honed their skills?

How many meals were devoured in the SUV after takeout because that was the only time they had?

How many times have parents flinched when their child was hit by a pitch or injured by a slide or a diving catch?

Think about it: how much of the family’s life was spent playing this game? Probably a bigger part than anything else they’ve ever done or ever will do.

As with previous state champions, we offer one piece of advice to players on both teams: celebrate your success, but don’t dwell on it. Think more about the values ​​of perseverance and teamwork than the praise you’ve received in recent weeks.

Never forget that athletic success in high school is a building block for your future, not a lifelong achievement.

Keeping that in mind will make Saturday’s state championships an even bigger win.