As I write this, trying to rival the rhetorical prowess of Jake Thomas, I think of the best things to say without saying too much. This is my fifth spring break baseball trip with the Wabash baseball team. Four as a player, and this year making coaching debut. I decided to come back to Wabash and work with the hitters around July 2008 and I haven’t looked back since. Perhaps the biggest challenge for me when I arrived in Crawfordsville was making the transition from player to coach. I decided to jump in face first without even taking a breath. I knew that in order to win a NCAC Conference Championship this year the pitching staff and defense could not do it alone, we saw that effort last year. It had to be a balanced and consistent effort both from the coaches and the players. This year, we have that. With the combination of our returning players and young impact talent, I believe that all we need is consistency.

 

So here we are, sitting in our hotel with a familiar scenario over our head. Games postponed and cancelled due to rain and snow. Rain and snow in Texas and Alabama? Yet, we have the advantage, because as much as we hate to say it, we welcome that weather because it is something that we have grown accustomed to, something we assume. So bring the rain, and the snow, we’ve played in it and we’ve rocked it all.

 

I’ve dedicated myself to this 2009 season because of the players; to the seniors, some of my best friends, let us go out on top, and to the underclassmen let us begin a tradition of consistency and balance. Let us open up the 2010 season with a NCAC banner on our wall.

 

So, much like life, baseball’s only gifts are harsh blows and occasionally the chance to feel strong, I don’t know much about life yet, but I do know that that’s how it is in baseball. Yet, I also know that in baseball how important it is not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong, It is a game of the mind and a game of the heart, and here at Wabash we have plenty of that because Wabash Always Fights!!

Texas for Spring Break!

 

I am down here in San Antonio, Texas for spring break. It was quite a bus ride to get down here. I am a 6-3, 250 pound guy and some how I got stuck sitting next to Kyle Bender, who is about 6-3. 230. Let’s just say that there wasn’t a lot of legroom but we made it work. The bus ride was enjoyable because of the many movies we got to watch while on the bus.

 

Once we got off the bus we received our room and roommates. I am roomed with Tyler Burke (freshman), Patrick McCarley (senior), and PJ Tyson (sophomore); if you know any of those guys then you know that this room is not very quiet.

 

With that, our team has also not been very quiet. We have been making noise down here in Texas. We are playing our third, fourth, and fifth games while the teams we are playing are playing their 15^th, 16^th, and 17th games. We are not only competing with these teams but also beating them. I am very impressed with the way we are playing.

 

The hardest thing for me is the transition between high school and college. The game is much faster and there is a lot more expected. I feel that I am making this transition in good measure but there is much more that needs to be done. The team and the senior leaders are helping me make this transition.

 

Overall this is a great spring break with great people and great weather.

 

It's 2 a.m., and I can't sleep.  Coaches would want me to tell you that I can't sleep because baseball season is finally upon us (in March?  Get out).  But I’m not sure that’s true. Indeed this season will be different for me.  I've played this game for twenty years, and now, this 2009 spring will be the last time I swing a bat in a competitive forum.  So here, in Texas, lays the beginning to my end. Best to go out on top.

In Texas.  That is where our 18+ hour bus ride takes us.  We stepped out on the field for our first game against DeSales mere hours after arriving in San Antonio.  When we first looked at the itinerary, we thought that this idea was borderline insane.  Then we realized you can only walk around the hotel aimlessly for so long until you become bored out of your mind.  We became anxious.  Anxious to play in unfamiliar surroundings.  Or probably just anxious to play. 

Weeks pitched phenomenally against DeSales.  He used his Kerry Woods-esque style to carry our team deep into the game (Kerry Woods-esque: effective wild).  Our offense hit extremely well, but could not put the necessary pieces together to score runs. Keegan gave up a few runs which finally proved that Keegan is, indeed, human. Yes we lost, but it was a necessary stepping stone for us to figure out what type of team we want to be. We took what we learned back on the bus and prepared for the next trip to Austin.

 

The next day was a much better day. We played NAIA Huston-Tilson. For those who don’t know, NAIA schools give out athletic scholarships, something Wabash, as well as the rest of the Division III community, does not. Yes we split, but we were with them the entire first game and were pretty dominate in the second one. Andrew Swart (representing the great city of Crawfordsville) and Patrick McCarley (representing the entire area below the Mason-Dixon line) both pitched fantastic. We did not hit as well as we did against DeSales, but we scored runs when they needed to be scored. However, Joe Johnson and PJ Tyson went on a tear in the second game, while Tyler Burke went 2-3 in his first collegiate game.

 

Currently, the clock reads 2:30 a.m. And now, early in the street lamp lit morning, I realize I’m extremely excited to play tomorrow. It’s March. It’s baseball season.

Sure the bus ride might be 18 hours long, and yes, I may have forgotten my baseball bag (which we had to back track the bus for, but life does not get much better than this). All we have to worry about is playing baseball and nothing else. While my parents call and tell me that there is a tornado warning back home, I enjoy laughing at the funny tan lines and sunburns on the guys from the days games. Plain and simple, the weather has been gorgeous thus far; dare I say hot.

 

To this point, we have played baseball in two nice cities, San Antonio and Austin. I must say that seeing a sunset on the Austin skyline this evening was peaceful and relaxing. It’s not just the good baseball that makes the trip for me, it’s also seeing all the cool cities along the way. Seeing all the skylines makes the bus rides worth in my opinion. I look forward to playing the rest of the week and getting away from the grueling schedule of Wabash. To me there is nothing like playing with teammates, hanging out after the game, and site seeing along the way. All of these things make it a vacation for me.