07-28-2010, 12:40 AM
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#8
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Rookie
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Re: Little Big Man
Chapter 4: Frosh Year: Baseball Tryouts
I was so excited. I could not sleep the night before baseball tryouts. Now I was only going to tryout for the freshman team at my school, but I was still excited. I couldn't concentrate during algebra class, even though I never did concentrate in that class. It was a three-day tryout and I wanted to make a big impression on my first day.
It was a hot day in February. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. I walked out of the locker room, reminding myself that I was a freshman. I walked out in a t-shirt, a baseball cap and sweats. I was one of three kids who did not have a single pair of baseball pants. Remember now, I had never played 'real' baseball before, so I had never put on baseball pants in my life, but I looked really stupid in sweat pants. The day got worse from there though. I looked over and I saw the coach walking my way as I was talking to my friend Chris.
"James, you don't have all your paperwork in. Since the athletic office doesn't have any physical information, you cannot participate in the tryout today. I'm sorry but your gonna have to leave."
And I did. I missed out on a lot of baseball information, and my reputation was fried. It was not a good way to start off, but I still had two more days to show the coach what I could do.
The next day, the whole baseball team were required to run the "stairway to heaven." It was about a half-mile run to this mountain, where once you got to the mountain, you would have to run up these set up stairs that looked like they were going to heaven, which is where the name came from. It was about 120 stairs you would have to run up, and it was a brutal run for me. I finished just about last, because at the time, I hated running. It was not one of my hobbies. So after a tiring run, I finally got to play some baseball. I headed to shorstop, where we were hit numerous ground balls, and we had to throw it to the first baseman.
Although I thought I was doing good, another freshman was doing better. His name was Jovain, and he was good. He fielded the ball with ease, and he had a tremendous arm. Deep down, I was extremely jealous of him, and I hated him a little bit.
Day three, was a short day, because it was the day of the cuts, and it was the last time I would be able to show my abilities. We started the day off with batting practice, and with my 5-4, 107 lb. frame, I noticed I could hardly hit the ball out of the infield. Finally, the coached told us to wait in the locker room, before they would call our name into their office, and tell us if we made the team or not.
If you made the team, they gave you an envelope about the upcoming practices. I noticed a lot of kids walking out of the office with envelopes, and some kids, who were cut, did not get an envelope. Finally, after my friends Ethan, and Chris were both cut, I finally heard my name called.
"James, come in and sit down." I sat down as the nerves began to swell up in my stomach. I felt sweat at the top of my forehead, and I felt a little dizzy. There were three coaches standing in front of me. One was the head varsity coach, the other the JV coach, and the third was the freshman coach.
"Now James, your talented kid. You can catch a ground ball with ease. But your arm strength and your bat speed is an issue."
The nerves were even more intense. I was really dizzy, and I could hardly concentrate on what the coach was saying. I was just waiting for the words to come out to tell me if I made the team or not.
"Your a very small guy, and so I don't think this year is the time for you to play baseball for us. You just need to work on your arm strength and you need to get stronger if you want to play for us."
My heart sunk and it felt like it weighed 300lbs. I was sent home with no envelope, and crushed dreams.
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