- PoliceSoftball.com - Complete Guide to Police Tournament Softball

Name	Derwin Longmire
Nickname	D
Uniform #	21
Team	California Quake
Agency	Oakland Police Dept.
Assignment	Homicide Sergeant
PS.com Nick

NICKNAME:
"D" or “Sweet D”. The moniker “D” is obviously that of my first name. “Sweet D” comes from ol’ coach Lewis (referred to later) from the Oakland Police Team. He gave me that name for reasons unknown.

NAME ON POLICESOFTBALL.COM MESSAGE BOARD: I rarely use the Police Softball.com message board as I never find adequate time for fair correspondence.

SPORTS BACKGROUND:
My sports background extends back to the days of a young lad in the City of Vallejo, CA. I was first a batboy to my brother’s (8yrs. my senior) baseball team. Those were the days when baseball was the rage and was truly America’s past time.

My progression from there was through the ranks of Little League, Pony, Colt and High School Sports. I rejected the offers to compete for spots at Napa Valley Jr. College and California Sate University Sacramento.

SOFTBALL HISTORY/POLICE TEAMS:
In 1986 I was recruited by the legendary coach of Oakland Police Softball, Terry Lewis (AKA T.K. Lewis). I declined the first invite but accepted the second year, thus ,the love affair began.

CURRENT POLICE TEAM:
I currently play with the California Quake Which I had a major hand in developing. We began in September of 1996 under the name of East Bay Combo. We focused on the California Highway Patrol Tournament in Las Vegas with our long range target being the World Police & Fire Games of Calgary, Canada in 1997.

We lost in Las Vegas in September of 1996 but one won in Calgary in June of 1997. We tested our luck in Florida of September in 1997 and struck gold by double dipping New York Metro in the championship games. From there we underwent several name changes until we arrived at our current name (hopefully reminiscent of the world renowned terror incurred when the grounds of California tremble during earthquakes).

PROUDEST POLICE SOFTBALL MOMENTS:
My proudest moments are really the ones that our team lives each time we show at a tournament. The effort that has evolved into success amongst my fellow competitors has been my validation in conjunction with my association with the Quake has made me a figure on the Law Enforcement circuit. In summation, my proudest moments are being a member of the Quake; that I am synonymous with our gentlemanly etiquette; relentless competition; affection for our opponents; and a passionate love for the game.

LOWEST SOFTBALL MOMENTS:
Every time we lose a game I feel at my lowest. I take complete responsibility for the success - or not - of our team.

FUTURE PERSONAL GOALS IN POLICE SOFTBALL:
To have a ton of fun and ride out the tradition and Legacy of our team and that of Law Enforcement Softball. I want to make as many acquaintances as possible and leave as strong an impression of goodwill on those acquaintances as our Brotherhood of Law Men are supposed to symbolize.

OUR SPORT IN 5-10 YEARS:
I am a bit concerned about sport as it relates to Law Enforcement because of the large conglomerate teams and the use of (alleged) illegal bats. I know this seems a bit of an oxy-moron coming from me but the truth is that a real paradox exist.

Without conglomerate teams such as the Quake, large agencies with expansive talent pools like L.A. (which is why our team was created), and N.Y.s, & CDC teams, there would be very little competition. Because of combo teams, some of the best softball ever played exists inside our Cop Community. However, some of the smaller agencies are not able to complete as richly as they’d like, therein lies the dilemma.

In order to make certain that the disenfranchised have an opportunity to compete, rules must continue to be modified to ensure total inclusion. I see homerun rules, upper and lower bracketing for final rounds all being necessary and sensitive to the life of our sport.

Changing gears, I am most dismayed with the inception of illegal bats in our circle of play. WE above all arenas of the game are supposed to compete with the utmost integrity. Some of us have lost the moral fiber that separates our life’s cause. We have allowed ourselves to believe it’s okay to cheat our brothers in a game and to put his health and livelihood in peril for a game that was meant to bring us together as a celebration and network.

I say… the heart that we arrive at the field to display in fair and healthy battle has been substituted by a much larger giant called fear. Though many of us may not want to admit it, fear has caused those who fudge to lose ethical balance in the name of falsely manufactured success. Those men should leave the game as there is no room and tolerance for those that shortcut their BROTHERS IN ARMS.

THINGS I WOULD CHANGE:
I don’t know that I would change anything beyond the above paragraph. Continued vigilance and slow but constant change is the key to maintaining a good product.

MISCELLANEOUS:
This deserves a greater category than miscellaneous but nonetheless it’s better late than never.

I’ve always considered the Quake to be an ambassador to our game; I believed that we exhibited that in our commitment to play the game right (hard & fun); that we were certain to greet our opponents as if they were champions and certainly as though we are champions. I believed that we traveled far and wide to compete and were instrumental in linking the East , South and North to the West. I’ve been very proud of the relations formed and have felt incredible satisfaction that the Quake were catalyst in that area, but perhaps nothing we ever did has done more for our game than DEL, JEFF, LEO and POLICE SOFTBALL.COM!!!

Police Softball has given us the avenue to converse, entertain, and remain linked as we roll through our daily grind in quest of our next showcase. There isn’t enough we can say to show our gratitude for Del, Jeff and Leo for this SUPERHIGHWAY; ALLSTAR GAME; & WORLD SERIES.

You guys may be the best augmentation to our game in the twenty years that I’ve been playing it. Bats, balls, etc. were certain to evolve as technology dictated. But, this endeavor was more than a notion and in the end there’s nothing greater than the cohesion between people…this is sure to be your legacies!