A Field of Dreamers

The Prospect

Austin came upstairs and we listened to him talk about his Dream. I'll admit I was surprised he had put so much thought into this, but it quickly became apparent that this dream of his was real - and he was willing to take the responsibility to manage it.

We agreed that he could go ahead and work on it, but school would always come first to sports, and as long as he maintained his good grades, he could do whatever he wanted (within reason!). All of us also agreed that Kent would help us through the process. Austin and Kent smiled - like partners in crime they were; and something in the back of my mind indicated the two of them – thick as thieves – had planned it this way all along.

Kent pulled out a small tin box he had brought, and placed it on the table and pushed it over towards Austin.

The box looked like the very same I used to have as a boy that contained all of my favorite baseball cards. The outside of the box was decorated with images of the favorite players of my youth: Thurman Munson, Roy White, Craig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Goose Gossage, Bucky Dent, Ron Guidry (I was only a Yankees fan at the time!). I still had that tin box somewhere in the house but it had been packed away, and many years had passed since I had last seen it.

Austin took the box and pulled it towards him. He lifted the top of the box open and looked inside. It was filled with numbered cards. He looked at Kent for an explanation.

"This is how Barry and I helped him become the player and the Prospect he eventually became."

The road to becoming a better player, and a college baseball recruit involves many steps Austin. Everything you need to make your dream come true is inside this box, and all that is missing is your effort. The box is yours until you choose to give it back to me, and all I ask is that you keep this box and its contents within your home. You are not to share this box with anyone else outside your parents and your brothers, and by accepting this box you and I are entering into a contract which I expect you to fulfill by taking responsibility for your own recruitment effort. I will always be there to help you through the process, as will your parents, but you must always remember that it is not our responsibility to make you the better player, or to get you recruited.

That burden is yours - and yours alone.

Whatever you put into the effort is what you will become, and at the end of it all, your successes and failures will be your own.

As you read through the cards, you can choose to do only one of the cards in the box and perhaps you will become recruited; or you can choose to do all of the cards and your chances increase substantially. Whatever you choose, understand that as a baseball player in high school, the clock is always ticking: You only get the opportunity to become recruited once – so why not do it right:

"Why not do as many of them as you can?"

"For now, all I want you to do tonight is read only the first card, and complete the assignment. Tomorrow night, as long as it's ok with your mom and dad, I'm going to come over here again, and we're going to get together and review your answers as this will set the foundation for everything else you do.

We nodded for Kent to continue.

"Please read to me what the first card is titled," said Kent.

Austin said, "Card #1. Develop your wish list."

"Ok, for tomorrow night, I want you to put together the Top 20 schools you want to play for in college. Remember that there is no right or wrong answers to this first assignment, so answer them as honestly as you can."

Austin looked at Kent and thanked him. He stood with the box in hand; asked to be excused, and ran down to his room. I listened as his bedroom door slammed shut, and looked across the table at Kent who was sitting there smiling.

"I think we may have created a monster," I said.

"I would have never given him the box unless I felt there was a reason he should have it," he said. "I know Austin wants to do this and I appreciate your allowing me to help him pursue his dream. We don't know how successful he'll be, but I'd be willing to bet that at the very minimum, the future is going to be an interesting one for him."