Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Even the most dedicated community volunteer has to have a few diversions to help him unwind at the end of the day.  One of my favorite diversions is baseball, specifically Washington Nationals baseball.  I was thrilled in 2005 when, for the first time in my life, I had a hometown team to root for. 

After several challenging seasons, I've been thrilled this year as the Nats have overcome a wave of injuries to hang onto first place in the NL East.  It's a great pleasure to watch a baseball game anytime, even if your team is miles from contention.  But there's a added layer of excitement (and tension) when your team is in the thick of the race and actually has something to play for.  (Not to mention the excitement and tension of wondering whether Teddy will ever win the Preisdent's Race.)

It occurs to me that building and managing a baseball team has a lot in common with building and managing a community.  And as I wind down my first year as president of RCA, I think I can learn some lessons from my favorite sport.  The keys to building a successful baseball team can help me as I continue to build RCA, and help all of us as we plan the future of Reston.

One of the most important lessons in baseball is that things take time.  Unlike in, say, basketball, you can't draft or sign a couple of superstars and rocket from the cellar to championship contention.  You need to hire quality scouts that help you to draft good prospects, teach those prospects well in the minors, hope that some of them will blossom into major-league stars, and supplement your homegrown talent with quality free agents.  You need to build a winning culture in your locker room, one that demands a higher standard from the players and doesn't passively accept lousy play.  You need to have an organizational blueprint that outlines the qualities you want in your team, which helps detemine what kind of players you want to develop or acquire.  None of these things are done overnight; all of them take years to develop.  You have to take the long view to succeed in baseball.

And I'm doing my best to take the long view with RCA.  I have a number of grand goals and dreams that I'd like to accomplish, and sometimes I get frustrated that I haven't achieved them all yet.  But then I turn on the Nats game and remind myself that successful things take time.

In the past year, we've accomplished a lot with RCA.  Our Reston 2020 Committee had done a fantastic job raising public awareness of the issues surrounding the and its effect on tolls on the Dulles Toll Road.  Our has been doing yeoman's work to improve life in Reston and throughout Virginia for people with disabilities.  (I'll be sharing more news from them within the next few weeks.)  These are real achievements of which we can all be proud.

Better yet, we've set the stage to accomplish even more in coming years.  We've created the equivalent of the organization blueprint I mentioned above, in our new . It's an ambitious but achievable vision for the next three years at RCA.  With this plan, when we're deciding whether to take on new projects, we will be able to decide whether or not they fit with our vision for the organization.  Our strategic plan will ensure that our focus remains on standing up for the citizens of Reston.

We also have a strong team on the Board.  Our Board members are all hard-working and dedicated, and we're committed to fulfilling our plan and serving the people of Reston.  We'll add a couple of quality prospects in this year's Board election, smart and talented folks who believe in what we're doing. 

One of our goals for the coming year is to strengthen our volunteer recruitment, improving our "farm system" of potential future Board members and broadening our ability to get things done.  I hope that our cadre of new volunteers will include some , too.

So like the Nationals, RCA is an organization on the upswing, with the potential for future greatness.  But baseball's maxims apply just as much to Reston itself as they do to RCA.

One of the lessons you first learn as a baseball fan is, to quote a line from Bull Durham: "It's a long season and you gotta trust it."  You can't get too hung up on the results of any one game.  Did you lose a heartbreaker in extra innings?  Blow a big lead?  You've got to shake it off and get ready for tomorrow.  Now, as someone who's worn divots in my couch cushions from sitting on the edge of my seat while Henry Rodriguez tries to close out a one-run game, I know this isn't easy.  But in the end, now matter how painful a particular loss is, it's just one game. The long run is what counts.

That's also true with Reston.  When I think about our community, and whether a proposed project would help or harm us, I don't focus on how it impacts us today, or next month, or next year.  I think about how it will shape us years down the road.  I want Reston to be a place my daughter will want to live, and where her children want to live.  That's why the is so important: we're making decisions that will affect Reston for the next 40 or 50 years.

In a culture with a terminally short attention span, we tend to obsess about what's happening right now, who's winning and who's losing today.  Those of us who follow politics know that the "horse race" mentality that used to be confined to election coverage now dominates virtually all political commentary.  The short-term news cycle harms us to the degree that it discourages our leaders from accomplishing great things, because great things rarely happen in the course of a daily news cycle.

Last night, I attended and 's annual General Assembly recap meeting.  As Ken and Janet described the trials and tribulations of this year's session, they sounded a lot like a manager recapping a losing baseball season.  And this year's General Assembly session was a tough one for Reston and Northern Virginia.  But like any good manager, Janet and Ken both expressed optimism that next year will be better.

Those of you who've followed the Silver Line discussion know that Janet and Ken both pushed to include to fund Phase 2 in this year's state budget.  Unfortunately, in the end, that money was .  It was a heartbreaking loss, and Janet mentioned how upset she was at the outcome. 

But it was only one loss.  Both Ken and Janet explained that they will continue to seek state funding for the Silver Line in future budget cycles.  And they both affirmed that they're committed to finding other ways to reduce the burden on Toll Road users.  Janet even spoke out in support of tolling the Dulles Access Road, which is something I hadn't heard her say before (and is a position that RCA has advocated).

I was glad to hear Ken and Janet say that they're not done fighting for additional funding for the Silver Line.  That's what they should do, as Reston's representatives.  Over at RCA, we intend to keep raising the funding and toll issues, because that's our role as a community advocate and voice.  We aren't raising this issue because we doubt that Janet or Ken is sincere in their desire to help, but because they (and other elected officials) need to hear the people's voices on this issue.  We want everyone to understand that a steep rise in tolls would have a major impact on our quality of life, and we hope and trust that this will spur our leaders to action.

Ideally, our advocacy will help Ken and Janet as they raise the issue of state funding with politicians from outside our region.  They will be able to demonstrate the importance of the issue to their constituents.  At last night's meeting, Janet noted that she was able to rally the support of state senators from Roanoke and Hampton Roads and Richmond in support of the $300 million for the Silver Line, even though the money wouldn't benefit them.  Let's hope that in future years, she can build on this success and get us the funding we need.

As I'm finishing up the first of (I hope) several years in charge of RCA, I feel optimistic about where we are and where we're going.  I'm learning to be patient and take the long view toward our efforts.  I'm seeking not to let short-term setbacks deter us in pursuit of our long-term goals.  And I'm hoping that both RCA and the Nationals will exceed expectations this fall. 

And come on, can't Teddy win just once?