The Baseball Observer - March/ April 2017
situation of the try out. In my mind, I have tried out for the team a thousand times, so all there was left to do was just go out and make it happen.
Q: Wright State is an NCAA DI school. Why did you choose Wright State?
A: The main reason I chose Wright State was for affordability. I live in Troy, Ohio which about a 30-minute drive to school, but with the Army covering my tuition and living at home, all I would pay for would be the gas to get to school. I knew they were a powerhouse team the past couple of years, breaking school records and going far into the post-season. When I started attending the school I didn’t even know if they would have walk-on tryouts for the student body. I was very surprised when I found the article explaining they were going to have them. That is also why making the team was so exciting.
Q: What did you notice first about the players you played with and against once you started playing college baseball?
A: The biggest thing I noticed at first was the mentality difference of all the players. Each player understood nearly every aspect of the game, due to the coaching staff treating them like adults and letting them know exactly what they were doing wrong and told it to them the way it was. There was no sugar coating to these players. This was a new level of discipline in players that I have never played against or with before. I also noticed the obvious skill difference with these players. This was the biggest, strongest, fastest, smartest, and most mentally tough team I have ever been with. These players, challenge themselves as well as everyone around them every day on and off the field to get better and progress as young adults. Our coaching staff wants to mold us into great players, but also into versatile workers and grown men.
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Q: What does your typical “non-game day” look like for you? (sun up to sun down - when you get up/ workouts/ classes practice/ study time & study tables/ etc).
A: My schedule is a little worse, because I live so far away. A day of lifting starts at 4:30 AM for me so I can get up, eat, and go to lifting by 6. After lifting I have a block of classes with study tables mixed in there until practice, which can last anywhere from 1-4 hours. After that I will most likely go have dinner and either return to study tables, or go home to do chores and study more. So, it is a very busy day every day, them game days are normally more relaxing, besides the fact of having a game to play.
Q: How does the off-season workouts differ from high school to college?
A: I think the rule on off-season practice for the NCAA is 20 hours a week. This is with coaches’ involvement, and since this team is very self-motivated, that adds on plenty of extra hours of batting practice or bullpens. The level of intensity is also so much higher in college because of a set time schedule so every player knows where he should be at any given point during practice. In high school, the level of urgency is much lower. This could be from the players themselves, or from the school they go to. If a player loves baseball though, the college practices and long hours are so much better than high school.
Q: What is your motivation?
A: All my motivation comes from the love of baseball, and the drive for success. I have accepted my role as the bullpen catcher and gave up chances to play. I take this as a gateway to spread the love of the sport and help with all the mental sides of the game. I work hard so that our pitchers always have someone to throw to, and so that the catchers who will play do not have to over work themselves and save all their work for the game. I want to make my team the best they can be in all aspects of the game, I want everyone to succeed in their endeavors. I know a roster spot will not be coming at all in the future, but I find a way to look at it positively. I think that you can’t control anything that happens to