Thursday, May 24, 2012

Graduation and New Beginnings

It's been a while since I have last posted, particularly because my schedule has been so incredibly busy as of late. Whether it be training for baseball, finishing up with job in sports information or putting the final touches on my grad degree...I have been one busy guy. The past month has been an exciting time frame; a period where I have been able to enjoy change and accept new beginnings.

As I write to you today, I have received my Masters of Education from Salisbury University. My degree in Post-Secondary Education was one that did not come easy. It only seems like yesterday that I left my job as a sports information graduate assistant to pursue a career in professional baseball. The trips to Australia, seasons in El Paso and endeavors in Chico...all happened because of the risk I took resigning from my position in 2009.

It's a decision that I do not regret.

I returned to school this past year and my hard work has finally paid off. The entire process has been God's work in me; a stanza of my life that has taught me lessons that I will forever remember. I have learned more about life during this period than any other time previously.

God is good. Thank you for your graciousness.

As for baseball...

The Schaumburg Boomers are much different than any other baseball organization that I have played with in the past. There is class, structure and most of all, organization. It feels good to head off to a park that has order on how things are being done. It's a great incentive for players to perform on the field when they have such rewards to come home to at night.

Over the past few years, I have documented my time playing minor league baseball in several different cities. Whether it be seeing snakes in the clubhouse, pitching on fields that are spray painted green, having to ride on a bus to games for 24 hours at a time, playing at high school fields, or seeing an abundance of insects in the showers...I have really seen it all.

 In my four years with the same organization, I always wondered what it would be like to play somewhere else. I knew that things were better in other places, but always found reasons to enjoy the situation that I was in. The conditions never really bothered me all to much because I just wanted to play baseball. My dream of playing professional baseball would not be tarnished because of poor conditions. But again, there was always the temptations that raced through my head in regards to a change of scenery.

I wanted to feel what professional baseball was like off the field.

Well, my wish must have been granted. I'm in a situation now where everything is done the way it should be. From the front office down, everyone has done an exceptional job laying the groundwork for the Schaumburg Boomers. I know it is early in the season, but all the signs point towards this being an organization that is not only here to stay, but prosper as well.

It's an opportunity that I am blessed to have been given a chance to be a part of.

God Bless.