Joe Henderson could have planted a garden behind the house he bought five years ago, but in retrospect what he did install has produced a bumper crop nonetheless.
Straight out of the iconic baseball film "Field of Dreams," Henderson installed a regulation softball field behind his house so that his daughters and their softball teammates with Elk Grove's Lady Magic could have a place to practice, play and grow.
"I thought it would be a great way to spend time with them," Henderson said. "It's made things much easier … fields in Sacramento are a tough commodity to come by."
It has paid off. The Lady Magic 16-and-under team won the Amateur Softball Association Nationals last year, and Sunday the same group will begin its quest for an ASA 18-and-under Gold National Championship. The tournament runs through Aug. 9 in Oklahoma City.
"It's no easy task," Henderson said of competing with the 64 best teams in the nation. "We have a very good lineup of players, but you need a little bit of luck, too."
The Lady Magic features six Bee All-Metro first-team selections from last spring, including Player of the Year Ally Carda and former two-time player of the year Jolene Henderson, one of Joe Henderson's daughters. Danielle Henderson, his other daughter, is the team's third baseman.
That eight-day stretch marks the culmination of eight years of hard work and patient practice for the players and parents of the program. Eight years ago the Lady Magic resumed after a six-year hiatus with a 10-and-under and a 12-and-under team, and five of the 15 players on the 18 Gold team have been with the Lady Magic since the team re-formed.
"It's like a family," said Katie Mathis, who lives in Bear River and has played with the Lady Magic since she was 10. "We've spent a lot of weekends, lots of practices together … we've grown up together."
Fairfield native Cheyenne Cordes, who joined the team in 2006, said she was drawn to the program because of its excellent reputation.
"I was just a local girl playing on a local team," Cordes said. "I had never played at that high of a level."
Cordes, who will be a junior at Rodriguez of Fairfield this fall, has already made a verbal commitment to Cal.
Henderson said he got the idea to build a field himself when he saw a similar diamond in Hemet.
He estimates that the amount of money in college scholarships granted to Lady Magic alumnae is near $1.5 million.
The current 18-and-under team underscores his point. Fourteen of the 15 girls on the team have either signed a letter of intent, made a verbal commitment to play for, or have received a scholarship offer from a collegiate Division I softball program.
A field of dreams, indeed.
Call The Bee's John Parker, (916) 326-5519.
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