“I have to work.” Four words. But they flipped my world upside down. My baseball coach looked at me, annoyed and slightly shocked. He responded and said, “If you choose work, don’t bother coming back to baseball again.” That response left me with a difficult decision, since Chris, my boss, needed me to work. I’ve worked under Chris as a caddie at a golf course. Over the years we have built a strong relationship. Chris is writing my letter of recommendation and endorsing me for scholarships. Do I go to practice and blow off Chris and a job that I’ve had for more than four years or do I go to work and give up the sport that I’ve played for twelve? The next day, I was kicked off the team. I sat in my room shocked, unable to comprehend what had happened. My baseball career was over. All of my hard work wasted, since I was not able to reap the benefits from years of practice for varsity baseball. Sadness, sorrow, and disdain overwhelmed me. I now had an empty schedule …show more content…
I hit them fly balls before games, warmed up the pitcher, coached first base, and many other tasks that might seem small to the average person. But the experience meant the world to me. It gave me a chance to really get to know each kid. I found out Dillon’s favorite hobby is chess. Connor has a beach house with George Clooney as his neighbor. Kieran has a cousin in the NBA. Luke can run a mile in under six minutes. I also saw how Tyler, my brother, interacted with kids on his team and how they forged friendships through baseball. As a team we had many ups and downs. We won close games; we lost close games. We blew teams out. We got blown out. Despite some early struggles, we were able to advance to the semifinals, but lost in a thriller. Even though we lost, it was the best game we played by far; the kids learned to play together as one team. The season was always filled with excitement and anticipation, one play after the