Team Randy carries on a brother’s legacy
Annual softball tournament returns Saturday to raise awareness
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LEWISTOWN - Melody Daer has spent much of her life behind a catcher's mask. This year, she watched her 13-year-old daughter, Scarlet, do the same and recognized something in the gear.
"Especially this past year when she was catching, it was like watching me whenever she was in that catcher's gear," Daer said. "And it definitely brought some tears on."
The sight brought back Randy Stahl Jr., her older brother and mentor, who helped shape her as a softball player. When Daer reached middle school, Randy would take her to the church league field during the summer. They worked on skills and drills for about an hour, and then came the running.
He made her run the field again and again, sometimes until she became sick.
"I hated him so much for it," Daer said. "But as I got older, I realized why he did it. Because he knew he could push me to be the best."
Randy died by suicide on November 6, 2016. Daer said his death came without warning to a close family that spent much of its time together. The first year afterward was especially difficult. By the second year, she wanted to do something in his memory that reflected a bond they had shared for years.
Softball supplied the answer.
On Saturday, Sept. 12, the ninth annual Team Randy Co-Ed Softball Tournament will return to Kish Park. An opening ceremony is scheduled for 7:45 a.m., with the first game at 8 a.m. Daer expects the tournament to continue into the evening, with the final game scheduled for about 9 p.m.
Five teams are entered this year, fewer than the usual eight to 12. Daer said several other events are taking place the same weekend, but she adjusted the format so each team will still get plenty of softball. The teams will play a round-robin before being seeded into a single-elimination bracket, guaranteeing each team at least four games.
There will also be raffle baskets, several larger raffle items, a bat giveaway, and concessions. Daer said she would probably accept another team if someone contacted her before the tournament. People who can't attend but want to donate can contact her through Facebook.
The games have always carried Randy's name. Over time, Daer wanted the tournament to tell more of his story.
Daer said Team Randy established the Randall Stahl Jr. Memorial Scholarship about six years ago. The scholarship awards $1,000 each year to a Mifflin County graduating senior pursuing studies connected to the arts. Randy graduated from Lewistown High School before earning an art degree from Messiah College and working as a graphic designer. Daer said he designed material for local businesses and once worked on a menu for the Burnham OIP.
Applicants write an essay, and organizers consider what they plan to study and why. Daer said eligible fields can include art, graphic design, media, and theater at a two- or four-year college.
The tournament has supported the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention since its first year. Team Randy has raised about $8,000 for the organization through its first eight years.
Yet Daer measures the tournament in conversations as much as in dollars. She remembers the first tournament, when a team arrived from the Williamsport area. Daer didn't know its players. After the opening ceremony, one player approached her and told her he had lost his mother to suicide two years earlier. She said someone with a similar story had approached her nearly every year since.
"There is usually somebody that I'm typically having a conversation with that they've either struggled with it or thought about it or they've lost somebody that they love to suicide," Daer said.
That has become the larger purpose of the day. Daer wants people to come to Kish Park even if they never pick up a bat. She believes a simple conversation can reach someone whose struggles may not be obvious.
"If I can go Saturday and touch one life, I'm OK with that," she said. "I'm set. I mean, that's really our end goal, is to be able to touch somebody's life."
Many of the people who knew Randy still return for the tournament. Daer said one team includes several people who went to school with him. Her father still plays on her team, and other relatives take part. Daer will play, too, and the competitive streak she shared with Randy hasn't disappeared.
"I'm very competitive," she said. "And Randy was very competitive as well. It's probably where I get it from."
Now Scarlet is following her mother onto the softball field. She begged to play on Team Randy this year, Daer said, but will have to wait until she turns 14. When Scarlet plays elsewhere, her mother tries to keep quiet. Usually, Daer said, one look tells her daughter what needs correcting. Those moments remind Daer of what Randy once taught her.
Daer said her faith has carried her through the grief. The tournament's motto, "Anchor Your Soul," comes from Hebrews 6:19. During the tournament, she sometimes finds a moment to stop. She reflects and prays, sometimes saying a few words to her brother.
Asked what Randy would think of an event that has lasted nine years in his name, Daer didn't need many words.
"I think he would be pretty proud of us, for sure."