While it might not have worked out the way he planned, know this: Theo Bingham showed the resilience of a true athlete.
And then some.
Bingham is a member of the Paseo Verde team that won the United States championship of the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but his participation was limited to watching after coming down with an illness.
He is also the son of UNLV women’s soccer coach Kacey Bingham and husband, Kyle, the former taking over the Rebels program in December after serving in the same capacity at Western Oregon for seven years.
It was a trying three weeks for the family, with Theo first feeling sick at regionals in San Bernardino, California. He would visit seven emergency rooms from California to the East Coast, be Life-Flighted and spend hours in an ambulance traveling across Pennsylvania.
“He has gone through a lot,” Kacey said. “He’s very mellow, a very easy child. He just took it all in. He doesn’t show a lot of emotion. Either way, he was like, ‘I’ll do whatever the team needs, and I’ll do whatever the doctors need. I just want to play baseball. How do I play baseball?’ ”
He wasn’t given the opportunity in Williamsport, but that didn’t diminish his place and importance on the team.
Worked hard
Kacey said her son was in the dugout for Paseo Verde’s first two games and watched both the U.S. and World Series championships from the stands.
He was there, and his coaches and teammates knew it.
“Theo worked hard all summer,” Paseo Verde manager Cory Edwards said from the Little League World Series. “It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t have the energy, is sick and can’t play. But I think for him to get to be here for his teammates when we were on the field and see him walk up — just how nervous the kids were and the pressure of the situation we were supposed to be in — it just all went away when they were just smiling and waving at Theo and calling his name. That was a really nice moment.”
The diagnosis took some time to identify, but it was ultimately determined Theo was suffering from a GI condition called vasculitis. They thought it might be a simple stomach bug while in San Bernardino, but the symptoms grew worse.
He’s doing much better. He’s on the right medication. It’s going to take time for his body to fully recover, but he’s making good progress.
As a coach, Kacey understands injuries and such things occur in the biggest of moments, but that there is a silver lining to all this given Theo was able to be with his teammates for much of the experience.
It’s different as a mom.
“He got to see his team do big things but he also started every game since he was on the team and had a big impact,” she said. “I wanted him to have the experience of playing, but at the end of the day, his health matters most to us. As long as he’s happy and healthy and in great spirits and loved being there, that’s all that matters.”
Kacey tried getting to Williamsport for the tournament, made it to Houston, was re-routed due to weather and missed a connection. So she returned to Las Vegas.
How folks respond
Fact: Theo Bingham was an inspiration to his teammates. They saw him suffering. They wanted more than anything for him to be well and on the field.
“It’s awesome to have him here and watching the games,” Brooks McFarland said. “While he was away, we were hoping and praying that he was OK, but to see him here and to see him looking better is awesome.”
Added Carsynn Meyer: “It gave us some energy to want the championship more. Because we knew we had a sick teammate and it just gave us energy to want the game more.”
You can’t overstate the resiliency Theo showed throughout this ordeal, a 12-year-old exhibiting the maturity of someone much older.
Kacey is right. Things happen in sports during the biggest of moments.
It’s how folks respond that matters.
Take a lesson from Theo Bingham.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
