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Jadallah balances softball, fasting
By STEVE WILAJ
CANFIELD
For the past month, 3:30 a.m. would roll around and Canfield’s Bayann Jadallah would wake for her only meal — her only intake of food or liquids — until about 9 p.m. at sunset.
She did so, along with her family, in observance of Ramadan — the Muslim holy month of fasting, which lasted from June 5-July 5.
There was just one obstacle: 11-year-old Bayann — who will compete this weekend with Canfield’s 11-12-year-old softball all-star team at the Little League state tournament in Clyde — played through the entire observance.
No food or drink after sunrise until sunset. Not even water during games.
Turns out, Ramadan was a uniting force for the entire Canfield team.
“Ramadan is not just about dealing with not eating,” said Rasha Jadallah, Bayann’s mother. “It’s feeling with the poor and having tolerance and willpower. I think, if anything, it brought her closer with her teammates and the families, just to see how supportive and encouraging they were.”
Canfield takes on Tallmadge on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the state tournament. Is Bayann, an outfielder and pitcher, looking forward to playing again minus fasting?
“I’m glad I’ll be able to get water during games, especially since it’s supposed to be really hot this weekend,” she said. “So that’s an advantage.
“One of the challenges, like when I was pitching and it was really hot, I’d get really thirsty. But my teammates are always there to help me through it. They’re really supportive.”
Bayann pitched Canfield to a 2-0 win against Boardman on June 28.
Her day — a usual gameday for her during Ramadan — went a little something like this: Wake up at 3:30 a.m. for a big breakfast and plenty of milk and water. Then the fasting begins, as she’d stay cool during games with wet-towels and by rinsing her mouth with water between innings. After, no eating until sunset, when she has a big meal and drinks plenty of water to replenish and prepare for the next day.
“Given that they’re all so passionate about their sports, they didn’t want to give them up during Ramadan,” said Rasha, whose two sons Jad (a freshman in high school) and Zain (9 years old) also play baseball and fasted through competition. “So they knew that since they make a commitment to sports, they had to make their commitment to Ramadan too.
“My children are very strong-willed and very patient. So they were able to fast and play sports at the same time. The struggles were just the heat and the weather conditions.
“But my daughter, she saw that her brothers were doing the same thing, so that support system helped. But as far the environment around, I don’t think she would have been able to do it if she didn’t have an accepting team and coaches. That part of it made it really easy to do.”
Canfield coach Mike Kelly, who has coached Bayann for a few years now, is familiar with the yearly procedure. He worked with Rasha and Bayann to make sure health always comes first.
“Whenever I can, I give her breaks, get her in the shade,” Kelly said. “But she’s tough. I’m drinking 10-15 waters in a day and she’s rinsing her mouth out behind the dugout and puts cold packs on to try to keep cool. We definitely keep a close eye on it.
“She’s a tough kid. To be that age and have that kind of dedication, all the coaches have nothing but respect for her beliefs.”
It extends to off-field functions.
Recently, Canfield’s all-stars played a tournament near Cedar Point with the Jadallahs still observing Ramadan. The first night, the players’ families organized a potluck team dinner — although they waited to eat until after sunset. The next night, the team dinner was at a restaurant — and while the food was delivered before the Jadallahs could begin eating, everyone once again waited until sundown.
“They were very adamant about not eating until we could eat and that was very nice and very supportive,” Rasha said. “Even the girls on the team, they were OK with it. They were like, ‘If you can wait, we can wait too.’”
Added Bayann: “They’re really nice about it. If we go out to eat, they’ll wait for me. Occasionally they’ll ask me how I’m doing during a game — if I need something to cool down with. They’re just all really nice about it.”
Come Saturday, Bayann will play with a return to normalcy — probably not waking up at 3:30 a.m., definitely drinking water during the game and likely eating throughout the day. But she’ll be surrounded by the same teammates and families that embraced the Jadallahs during Ramadan.
“They were just very supportive and it was like they were part of our family, too” Rasha said. “It all encompasses the meaning of Ramadan — tolerance, togetherness and family.”