Orientation and Being a Mentor

Now that's two hours of my life I want back. I just had to sit through the Student-Athlete Orientation, required for all incoming freshmen and transfers. It was two hours of time management and "Here's How College Is Different From High School." What a waste of time for me.

You should have seen the looks on the other baseball players' faces when I told them no, goddammit, I'm NOT a freshman, I DON'T live in a dorm, I'm a graduate student, I'm 22 years old, and I already graduated from one college.

As an aside, this puts me in an interesting position. There's one incoming freshman, we'll call him "Chris," who I hit with today. The kid, simply put, is talented. He hits the ball harder and with more consistency than I do, and with a lot less effort. Not that big, but you can tell that he hasn't even filled out yet. The thing that separates him from the other players, though, is his attitude. He might be the most gifted freshman, but he is a worker. Always looking to see what he can improve, what he can get better, listens to advice, so on. Many of the other idiots were going through the motions, taking bad hacks, and not getting the most out of their time in the care. Not Chris. Every swing had a purpose.

Naturally, he reminds me of me.

So I took Chris aside and told him a little more of my background. I told him that I had already been through a career, including being a standout and captain. I told him I was impressed by his work ethic, and how important it was going to be for him to keep that in the face of his surroundings, that he couldn't afford to be derailed by the other players not giving their best. There were other players talking about how they would be skipping the 6 AM workouts starting next week, and I noted that those would be the guys who would get cut first. He told me he appreciated the guidance, and he wanted to continue to hit and throw with me outside of workouts.

Whoa. Did I just get a student? Can I handle that? I mean, I'm used to being a captain, and being a mentor to younger players. But I was also one of the best players on the field at my old school. Can I still fill the role of mentor, even though I'm fighting to make the team just like the players I want to teach? And will the other players on the team be upset that I'm okay with that role? Such are the issues facing a 22-year-old first-year player, I guess.

I imagine some of these questions will sort themselves out. Again, if I can swing it, it's probably in my best interest to show that I am capable of being another authority figure on the team...kind of a half-coach, if you will. Maybe that makes me more valuable to the team? Hopefully?

Whatever. I can still catch fly balls better than anyone I've ever seen. I have a better shot relying on that than I do on anything else.