Play Ball!

This weekend much of my family will be gathering around a softball field in New York to bestow a beautiful and most-fitting honor to my late Aunt Barbara. Last April we lost Aunt B after a rather short but aggressive battle with breast cancer. Not long after our loss, a Facebook campaign began to give her the recognition she deserved as a pioneer of women's athletics in Bergen County, New Jersey and Emerson Jr./Sr. High School. The Facebook group now has over 850 members! What a testament to her and her commitment to students! She had dedicated several decades of her life to teaching PE and coaching softball (and basketball, field hockey, volleyball, etc.) at Emerson. In 1974 she co-founded an annual softball tournament, and last year the tournament and trophy were renamed in her honor. But the campaign didn't stop there.

Through the commitment of her colleagues, past students, friends and family, the Bergen County board of education agreed to rename the Softball Field at Emerson High School in her honor. This weekend will be a huge celebration of her life and legacy as the field is dedicated to her.

I have been so moved by the outpouring of love and support from those who knew her and worked with her to be sure that she is publicly honored and her legacy remembered. She would be so humbled by the attention and would just say she was doing what she loved -- teaching and playing ball. Thank you to all those who made the dedication happen. I wish she could have seen this happen during her lifetime, but I know she'll be looking down on the event with that sparkle in her eye. I can already hear her laugh. She is tremendously missed, and I am so proud of all she accomplished. This weekend my heart will be in New Jersey. Play ball!

Here are some recent news articles to read about how remarkable our Aunt B was:

Emerson to honor late softball coach Barbara Barlow

Bergen softball tournament names trophy after the late Barbara Barlow

Barbara Barlow, longtime Emerson softball coach, dies at 61