Scott Novis

The last two nights of little league baseball have been crazy. I watched both my sons teams build huge leads, and take certain victory into the last inning only to give it all up. We didn’t lose, but we didn’t win. That makes 3 ties for me this season. Coupled with my 3 at the end of last season I have 6 total ties. I think that has to be a record.

The last two nights were the wackiest as both teams took commanding leads into the last inning. Tuesday night, I brought in a developing pitcher and figured what could go wrong? 3 runs later and loading up the bases I watched the tying run come to the plate and I thought, man we need to end this. So I brought in an ace. Bang. Grand slam. THEN we get the out to end the game. Score 9-9. We have up 7 runs.

The culprit was everyone waiting for someone else to make a play. Any one of 3 or 4 kids could have won the game at any time if they caught the ball, threw the ball, or held onto it. But the real culprit was me who left the developing pitcher in too long. I think now I realize it’s better to pull a kid while he’s on top then to let him struggle.

This is probably why you see Major league managers pull a hot pitcher. Because they grab theme before they get into trouble. So everyone is thinking why are you pulling that guy? He’s on fire! Yup, but he’s about to go very, very cold.

Last nights game was crazy. My son was pitching the best game I’ve ever seen him pitch. Then at the top of the 6th inning he drilled one into his foot batting. Now he’s hobbling around, no way can his pitch. It’s his plant foot. So we go to a decent backup. He gives up a run but gets two quick outs. Then we start walking guys. I’m not going to see a repeat of the previous night so we pull him right away. Only to have the next kid do the same. We walked the bases loaded with the bottom of the other teams lineup. The easy outs got a free pass so we could get to their best hitters.

I mean, if you’re going to give up the lead that’s the way to do it right? Then follows the gong show of dropped pop ups, ground balls going by two fielders to the fence, kids out of position, and beautiful strike out pitches getting past the catcher so they’re called balls. Kids not catching the ball when it’s thrown to them, or not hanging on to it for that final out. It didn’t help that the umpire completely blew a call at home plate early in the game which cost us a run. We had 5 or 6 chances to end that game and win it. 4 or 5 kids could have saved that game. No one did.

We took a 7-1 lead into the sixth inning and gave up 5 runs with 2 outs. Final score, 7-7.

I keep telling my kids that we’re tough to beat, but the reality is also that we need to finish. All of my latest ties we have allowed the other team to come from behind. I saw this play called Honus and me. In it Honus Wagner said, “Baseball is organized humiliation.” I also saw in the epic Ken Burns documentary about baseball that, “Baseball is made to break your heart.” Earl Weaver said baseball is the greatest game because, “you must give the other man his turn.” You can’t run out the clock, or play keep away, you must give the other guy his turn.

All that makes baseball probably the hardest of all to close, but we need to learn to close it. the lesson for my guys? Everyone can make a difference. Everyone. The key, is that when the opportunity comes to you in the form of a little white ball, make a play. Don’t wait for someone else. You be that guy. Be the guy to pick it up. Be the guy to catch it. Be the guy to throw it. Be the guy. Make a play.

If we can do that, I know we’ll win.

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One of the amazing things that has happened since I started GameTruck is the amazing people that have joined me in this business.  Four years ago in my garage I had this crazy idea to create the ideal environment to play games with your friends.  We’d pull it up to your house.  I built a prototype in my garage, we research trailers, and trucks, and portable generators.  I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but I knew I needed to do it.  My brother Chris joined me on my crusade and my cause became his.

It was up and down.  I remember buying a copy of the secret in Florida while I was going there to open a Studio for the Walt Disney Company.  I didn’t know what was going to happen.  I didn’t know if GameTruck would survive, but after reading that book I realized I spent a lot of time focusing on things I didn’t want and not things I did.  So I spent more time focusing on the future I wanted.  I wanted orders.  I wanted bookings.  We wanted people to experience our parties.  And when I got home, they called.   Bookings went up.

I wrote an email to all our family and closest friends and I told them about my dream and I asked for prayers.  And they prayed.  And people called.  By the summer a miracle had happened.  Disney had a change in strategy and Florida was no longer in the cards.  But more miraculously GameTruck business had exploded.  Even more amazing a fantastic partner materialized out of thin air and David Wachtel joined me on my quest to build a brand new business, heck and industry.

It felt like yesterday but that was already three years ago.  And yesterday the most amazing thing happened.  I flew to Atlanta to meet a group of brand new Franchise Owners.  They had their GameTrucks pulled into a circle in a giant parking lot – a pack of bright green elephants glowing in the soft spring rain.  I was in awe.  Here was an idea, that had started in my garage, a dream I had not only of making kids happy, of bringing people together with the best of video gaming but also teaching them how to be great gamers.  Giving them a role model.  But I also was helping people realize their own dreams of owning their own business, of establishing their own true asset, one that could generate more income than it could consume.  From California to Georgia, from Portland to New Jersey, all across the country people – great people, were joining me, joining us the GameTruck team on our mission to change the way people play.

I was in awe.  Richard Bach wrote that the law of the universe is Magnetism.  The Secret says the same thing.  The Bible tells us that we can do miracles if we can believe.  So many people have said it much better than I but I stand as a witness to the power of a dream.  Yet, the most motivational quote I read this past year came from Zig Ziglar, and it is this, “You can have everything you want in life.  Just as soon as you help enough other people get what they want.’”  I love that quote because it puts focus and vision on everything we do.

We help people play together.  We help people get into business.  We help people be successful in play, in business, and perhaps someday even in life.  I am amazed and honored to be part of such a great group of people.  I think I’m finally learning what it means to be living the dream.

– Scott

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