Karen Villa

I believe in Bob, the softball God, but what some people don't know is that Half Moon Bay Softball also has an angel. Her name is Karen Villa.

Karen was an amazing pitcher in the early 90's at Half Moon Bay High School. She was dominant and lead her team with a less than one career ERA. She had over 600 strikeouts and a couple of the softball banners in our outfield belong to her. 

Unfortunately, I have never met Karen because she passed away right after graduation in a car accident. Her passing shook our community, especially those who played, coached, and were fans of Cougar Softball. Our beautiful softball complex is named in her honor and we have a rose garden to keep her memory alive. 

Yesterday I noticed a man sitting in the rose garden during our game. The garden is on the 3rd baseline, and he was just a fence away from me. I didn't recognize him as a parent or family member of one of my players, but he clearly knew the game and was invested in our team. I later found out that this was Mr. Villa, Karen's father. 

In all my years at the HMB softball field, I had never seen or met Mr. Villa, but something about my team this year brought him to the field. This man is a softball dad, through and through. He looked like one. I can only imagine the thoughts that we're going through his mind as he watched the game and was remembering his time with his daughter. My heart is heavy for his loss. 

Before he left, Mr. Villa told the parents in our stands that our team's defense is BETTER than Karen's team. There is no higher complement in Half Moon Bay. 

I heard all of this after the fact, and after we won our games, but wow, I am beyond humbled. A man who lost his softball girl too early came to see us play and is a fan of our team. It makes me realize that my team is doing something bigger than playing for themselves, family, and school. They are playing for our community. Playing to make Karen proud.