"The Final Inning - My View From the Stands" (5/8)

A funny thing happened on the way to fall ball 2015. My intent was to put together a team, but the calendar pages kept turning and I wasn’t getting enough names for the roster. What made it difficult was an Ohio High School Baseball rule that says, once you hit August 1^st, no team can have more than four players who play for the same high school program. That meant I had to find about a half dozen or more kids who didn’t play at Northwest.

Eventually, I had to abandon my effort and then, quickly, find a team for Bryce.

On the Stark/Summit County Baseball League (SSBL) website, they have a section entitled, “Teams Looking for Players.” I recognized the name of a coach and team that we had competed against for several years. Tim Johnstone coached the Ohio Xstreme (Later changed to the “Storm”) out of North Canton and he was holding tryouts for his fall team as well as his “showcase” team for the following summer.

I gave him a call and we had a nice chat. He said that he was very familiar with Bryce and that he remembered every diving catch that Bryce had ever made against them. He said that no tryout was necessary. If Bryce wanted to play on the team… then he had a spot for him.

Coach Tim said he’d like it to be a package deal… if Bryce played for the Storm, he’d like for me to coach with him.  Fair enough.

Bryce’s fall season with the Storm was his absolute best work on the mound. I feel like that was the season he became a complete pitcher.  I wish I still had the stats. I do remember that he pitched seven consecutive, complete game victories in one stretch… with the proper amount of rest between starts, of course. (I feel like I must explain the “rest” thing or people will think that he pitched night after night). He was flat out in a groove. He seemed to be able to hit his spots at will with every pitch in his arsenal. It was fun to watch.

The Storm easily won the SSBL Fall League.

Donnie Macko

Sophomore year… Bryce played a second season on the Northwest JV team but with a new coach. Coach Mac was elevated to coach the varsity team with the retirement of Coach Ries and Donnie Macko took over the junior varsity.

Coach Macko was a young guy, just out of college. He was a Northwest alumnus and a heck of a ballplayer, from what I hear. He played his college ball at nearby Walsh University.

 

Bryce absolutely loved playing for Coach Macko. He related well to the kids. He was a real baseball guy… strategic and knowledgeable.  He liked to banter with the kids but was also a coach with whom the players could have a serious and honest conversation.

 

The important thing was that he never used his position to humiliate, belittle and embarrass the players in front of their peers. Self-image and self-respect tend to be a bit fragile through the high school years and those in positions of authority need to be cognoscente of that fact.

Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes a coach needs to chew some tail… raise his voice… lay down the law… push his players. I coached for 40 years… I get it. Having a hammer is important but it is not the tool prescribed for every project. If you want to break the spirit of your players, then rake them over the coals every chance you get.

Coach Donnie Macko seemed to find the right formula right out of the gate. Kudos to him. He made an indelible mark on the life of my son.

Bryce dressed for a handful of varsity games and was on the play-off roster. He got in a couple games as a pinch runner or a defensive replacement. It was good exposure and it gave him the opportunity to mingle with the varsity squad. His turn was coming.

Soon after the high school season had ended, late May, the Storm scheduled a practice game against one of the best teams in Northeast Ohio… The Ohio Hitmen. This would prove to be significant a few months later.

Bryce was the first pitcher on the mound and blanked the Hitmen for the first couple innings before moving out to centerfield and allowing a few other pitchers to get some work in. Starting in the third inning, the Hitmen went on a barrage and scored 19 runs on the Storm. Not a great start for the team as a whole… but the Hitmen were a talented bunch.

The summer of 2016 was a summer of traveling, eating out and hotels. The Ohio Storm Showcase team played all over Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The cost to play was about $1,200 and that didn’t count travel expenses. And that was cheap compared to some teams on the travel circuit.

Bryce had a good summer. He was the first option on the mound and when he wasn’t pitching, he found himself in his familiar spot… centerfield. He batted lead-off for the Storm. We were done by mid-July.

The Storm held their tryouts in late July for the summer 2017 team. I helped evaluate the new talent and Bryce had already cemented his position on the roster.

The first week of August… Jeana, Bryce and I vacationed at a resort in Cancun, Mexico. We had a wonderful time.

While we were there, I received a text message from a buddy of mine, Steve Meese, who was one of the coaches in the Ohio Storm organization… before he quit the month before. He told me an interesting story.

The Ohio Hitmen were holding their tryouts in Akron and Steve brought his son, Chase. When the Hitmen coach, Tony Tupta, saw Chase’s “Storm” jersey, he immediately asked Steve about the little blonde, lefty who pitched and played centerfield for the Storm. Of course, Steve knew he was talking about Bryce.

Apparently, Coach Tupta had been trying to track Bryce down ever since that practice game in May. He said he wanted that kid on his team. Steve texted me his number and asked me to contact the coach of the Hitmen.

Long story short, Coach Tony said he wanted Bryce on his team… no tryout necessary. After thinking it over for a couple days, Bryce thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. It was a chance to play with a higher caliber team and the challenge was intriguing. Bryce accepted the offer.

The hard part of that whole deal was telling Coach Tim that Bryce wouldn’t be playing with the Storm after all. Bryce really liked Tim and he knew that this news would disappoint him… but he felt that he had made the best decision for him.

I couldn’t help but think about how far Bryce had come in his baseball career thus far. From making a community travel team only because they lacked numbers to being sought out and offered spots on elite teams without even trying out.

 

The need for improvement was always present… regardless of some of the success he’d experienced. He seemed to realize this. I preached humility and hard work and for the most part, Bryce seemed to listen and take it to heart.

Bryce sat out that fall season and began to prepare for his junior year of high school ball. He had a great shot at landing a starting spot on the varsity team, but he would have to earn it.

To be continued...