This article originally appeared on 06.17.19
Even when the competition is fierce, winning at friendship is more important than winning a game.
A viral video is making people feel alllll the good feelings, which we could frankly use more of these days.
Baseball pitcher Ty Koehn of Mounds View High School in Minnesota wound up his pitch. He hurled it to the batter, Jack Kocon of Totino-Grace High School, and it was a doozy. Kocon struck out, which meant Mounds View would advance to the state championship and Totino-Grace would go home.
Koehn’s teammates started running out to the pitcher’s mound to surround the hero who clinched the win. But Koehn chose to do something else first.
He put his celebration on hold, ran up to home plate, and wrapped his arms around Kocon. He gave the batter a long hug before walking him toward the edge of the field. Only then did he join his cheering teammates.
Koehn and Kocon have been friends and played baseball together since childhood, and that life-long friendship shines through in this touching moment.
No amount of excitement and pride trumps comforting a disappointed friend.
The video, shared by hitting coach Coach Lisle on Facebook, has gone viral because no matter who we are or where we come from, we all love seeing beautiful moments of pure humanity. As one commenter pointed out, we are all bigger than the moment, and this video exemplifies that fact.
For a high schooler who just won a big game to immediately go to his friend instead of his teammates shows that he understands what’s truly most important. And for two young men to feel comfortable and secure enough to hug like that in front of a crowd speaks to how far we’ve come in embracing male sensitivity. Talk about a wonderful display of love, understanding, compassion, sportsmanship, and friendship all rolled into one.
Definitely one to show to the kids. Watch the heartwarming video here:
This HS pitcher struck out his childhood friend to advance to the …
This HS pitcher struck out his childhood friend to advance to the state championship.
Instead of celebrating with his teammates, he did something else:
Source: https://www.upworthy.com/high-schoolers-reaction-to-striking-out-his-childhood-buddy