My Little League Life

Here comes my great memory again. When I was four, I started to pursue my childhood dream: baseball. I arrived at the local Little League where Coach Page (I was friends with his son, probably why I remember him) told me after the first practice that I wasn’t on the team. So, my parents got me switched onto a team coached by Mr. Lenny Skoglund. And this is where my pursuit of playing professional baseball was even more legitimized.

That last statement probably sounds odd to most of you. Through the progress of this blog, it will become clearer.

I don’t remember a whole lot of details from each season, just that my team was unbeatable. Eric Skoglund, Chad Sobotka, Austin Fernandez, Quint, and myself were probably five of the best players in the league…and we were all on the same team. Myself, Eric, and Chad hit 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th in the lineup respectively. For about 5 years (10-12 seasons), we won the Little League championship every year. I remember winning a game 21-1 after one inning. Yeah; we were that good.

Parents around the Little League started to get upset that this dynasty was allowed to continue. So, when I was about 10, our dream team was split up. Quint’s dad had a brain aneurism and his family moved away. Austin’s family moved away. Chad, Eric, and most of the rest of our team were split among the league.

So, Coach Lenny decided that he was going to move Eric and the rest of our old team to the AAU league in Sarasota. However, AAU was much different than Little League; we would have to travel a lot. Because of this, and the fact that I would have to miss church on Sundays, my parents refused to let me play on the AAU team. That AAU team would go on to be one of the best in Florida. They still invited me to practice most of the time, because they wanted me there.

I went back to playing Little League, but my heart could no longer be in the game. I wasn’t playing for my coach or with my team. So, I quit. I had to give up the game that I loved and was extremely talented at. I will touch on my favorite memory of it in a moment.

Back to my statement about my legitimate professional baseball career pursuit. Sarasota High School, my districted school, was named the top high school baseball program in the country a few years ago. When I was a freshman in high school, the team won the state championship. The team would reach the final 8 in the state every year of my high school career.

I wasn’t playing. But, my long time teammate Eric Skoglund would be the one leading that team. This past year, Eric was drafted in the eighth round of the MLB draft, directly out of high school. He turned down the money and is now one of the top starters at the University of Central Florida. As a freshman. I look at Eric and almost try to live vicariously through him; I know that I could be right there with him. Eric has a bright future in Major League Baseball, and I pray for nothing but the best for him. If he’s there, I guess that I get to feel like I am too.

I think this is a good time to touch on my favorite baseball memory. When I was 11, I participated in a baseball camp at Sarasota High. On the last day of the two-week camp, everybody participated in a skills competition divided up by age group. I was included in the 14-15 year old age category. Yes, I won. As my prize, I got to personally meet Hall of Fame baseball player Wade Boggs. That is still one of the major highlights of my life.

I look at my life now and realize that if I had taken the baseball path, I probably would not be where I am now. TCU does not recruit much in Florida, so I mostly likely would have gone to UF, FSU, UCF, or Miami; all baseball powerhouses. I honestly can’t even imagine how different my life would be. So, while I still feel bitter about not being able to pursue my childhood dream because of my parents, I have an amazing life now, and I know that I would not be here if I had pursued baseball.