The Diamond in the Rough

A story written by Hanna Meyers


Photo credit: Cameron Reynolds Photography. Photo edited for story by Hanna Meyers.

You are a 14-year-old freshman male. You’ve been playing baseball since your dad introduced you to the sport when you turned 3 years old. Your dad’s dream is to see you play on a World Series-winning Major League Baseball team, and he’s been helping you practice and train several hours a day, several days a week to help you work toward that goal.

You finish your first semester of high school with A’s and B’s and balanced academics and 16U travel baseball well. The spring semester approaches, and you begin to see posters with information about tryouts for the varsity team.

Do you...

  1. Ignore the posters and continue to play for your travel team. The practices are probably better anyway.
  2. Leave your travel team to try out for the varsity team. It might free up your schedule if you make the team.