Page 42 - FOP August 2019 Magazine

Chicago Police Officers coach a league of their own
Jimmy Dugan said it best in “A League of Their Own”: There’s no crying in baseball. For Edgar Garcia, that means even if he’s standing on the baseball diamond fresh off a midnight shift in the Ninth District.
To some, operating on minimal sleep while coaching a girls softball team might sound challenging. But coaching his 17-year-old daughter Yiselle is a passion of Garcia’s ⁠— one that began when she took her first swing at age 5.
It also helps that Garcia isn’t the only one living the coach- by-day, cop-by-night lifestyle. In fact, the Illinois Evergreen All-Stars coaching staff shares common ground between bases and badges, including Officer Nick White, who also works mid- nights with Unit 051 at the Chicago Midway International Air- port so that he doesn’t have to miss any time on the field with his daughter. White’s wife, Tina Johnson, is also a CPD officer in Unit 005.
“A lot of it is really hard,” Garcia admitted. “But we do it be- cause we love the game and we love our girls.”
The strength and commitment of the coaches clearly rubbed off on the team as the All-Stars took off on a winning streak that culminated in a state championship.
Other sources of inspiration came from head coach Ed Carter and his wife, Audrey Carter, an officer in the Third District, as well as coach Erin Davis.
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Evergreen Senior Softball League All-Stars coaches, from left, Officer Edgar Garcia (Ninth District), head coach Ed Carter, Erin Davis and Officer Nick White (Unit 051).
“There’s a never-quit, don’t-die attitude that we’ve always in- stilled in our girls,” shared Garcia. “We let the girls know, ‘I’m on two hours of sleep. We have to win this game.’”
All of the sleepless nights, quick showers between games and shifts (sometimes even skipping showers and changing in the car) paid off for the CPD coaches when the All-Stars recently became the Illinois Senior League state champions.
The team went on to place third in the central regional cham- pionship.
“All of the sacrifices that we make come to fruition when something like this happens,” Garcia mused.
Though the hustle of the season wasn’t always easy for the CPD officers to juggle, coaches like Garcia hope to do it all over again with another coaching staff that abides by a duty to serve and a will to win.
“It’s a big stress relief from the job,” Garcia explained. “We do it because we love it.”
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42 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2019