Friday Night Lights by Vanessa Ramos Photography |
We Are Barrington by Steven Alton
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Bittersweet by RJ Nowicki
Nonfiction
The day finally ended, school was over, my math test was finished and there was only one thing left to focus on for the day: The MSL Championship. It was an important day for the baseball team as we would be playing host to the Buffalo Grove Bison. After practice yesterday we could all sense that the next time we would be out on the varsity field, we would be playing for a championship and a chance to make it to the IHSA playoffs. At the time of this game I was a sophomore pitching on the team. My coach had told me the day prior to the game that I would not be starting the game, but I would come out of the bullpen. Which was fine by me because I had been doing that all season. I had done my homework on this team and knew they were going to be a tough task if we wanted to come out with a W. But that’s what makes it so fun, playing against a very good team with a better record than us and being able to play the game at home; it doesn't get much better than that!
We went through our pregame warm ups and stretching and the game was underway. I took my usual spot in the dugout and had my baseball glove with a ball inside, ready to go warmup whenever my name was called. The game got off to a good start for us and we were leading 2-0 after 3 innings of play. This was the time of the game where I knew it was getting close for me to go warmup and eventually play in the game. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach already! This would be the first big game I was going to pitch this season, and really any season, so I wanted to perform well. Trouble started to brew for us as we had given up a few runs and all of a sudden we were down 3-2. That's when I heard the magic words from Coach Pohlman, “Nowicki, start getting loose.” Before he could even finish saying those four words I was already grabbing my glove and running down to the bullpen.
Walking out of the dugout I took a look around the stadium and just thought about how many people were watching. There were A LOT. So many that from fence to fence there wasn't an area that was empty. I looked up and told my warm up partner, who was a senior, “Sheesh, there's a lot of people here, I don't know if I have ever seen this many people at a high school baseball game before.”
He responded by saying, “Yeah, there is a lot of people-- so don't blow the game.” What a nice thing to say. But he was right. It was a big game, with lots of people in attendance and probably some college scouts, not necessarily looking at me but it was still interesting to think about how many people were there. As I started to warm up, I tried to remain as calm as I could before I went in. I threw a few pitches, turned to watch the game unfold and did that cycle a few times before I saw my coach call timeout. I knew this was it, I was going to enter the game and I was as ready as could be.
He raised his left arm which was my cue that I was coming in. I threw one more fastball and started to jog . As I ran in I looked around at my teammates, at the people in the stands who were watching and just told myself, “Stick to your game, don't try to do too much or be something you're not.” I got to the mound and I was actually tired from running. It wasn't even that long of a run but I was panting like I just ran a marathon. Coach Wire even asked me, “You good, kid?” And I just gave him a thumbs up since I was still trying to catch my breath. We ended up losing the game and I was a big reason why. It was probably one of the toughest moments in my young career because all I wanted to do was come through for my team and I didn’t. Looking back on it now, it still stings a little to think about what I could have done differently.
But the moral of the story was that with this being my first year on the team I've been able to learn a lot about myself as a player and a person. It was the first time I was playing with guys who were older than me, so in a certain way I would look up to them as role models because they knew what it took to be great players on a winning team. Which is important because it makes you think differently about the choices you make because you finally have someone to relate to that’s a player, not a coach. They can show you the ropes, help you become a better player and things in that regard. I loved the senior group for that. The thing that really stuck out was being looked at differently by upperclassmen as the season went on. They knew after some time that the way I was pitching wasn't a fluke, it was who I was. And that was the most important value from this experience, learning who I was as a player, teammate and an individual. Of course I made mistakes, but I was accountable for them instead of being an immature high school student and not wanting to learn what I was doing wrong. I give huge credit to that group as well as our coaches. It helped shape me into the player and person I am today.
We went through our pregame warm ups and stretching and the game was underway. I took my usual spot in the dugout and had my baseball glove with a ball inside, ready to go warmup whenever my name was called. The game got off to a good start for us and we were leading 2-0 after 3 innings of play. This was the time of the game where I knew it was getting close for me to go warmup and eventually play in the game. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach already! This would be the first big game I was going to pitch this season, and really any season, so I wanted to perform well. Trouble started to brew for us as we had given up a few runs and all of a sudden we were down 3-2. That's when I heard the magic words from Coach Pohlman, “Nowicki, start getting loose.” Before he could even finish saying those four words I was already grabbing my glove and running down to the bullpen.
Walking out of the dugout I took a look around the stadium and just thought about how many people were watching. There were A LOT. So many that from fence to fence there wasn't an area that was empty. I looked up and told my warm up partner, who was a senior, “Sheesh, there's a lot of people here, I don't know if I have ever seen this many people at a high school baseball game before.”
He responded by saying, “Yeah, there is a lot of people-- so don't blow the game.” What a nice thing to say. But he was right. It was a big game, with lots of people in attendance and probably some college scouts, not necessarily looking at me but it was still interesting to think about how many people were there. As I started to warm up, I tried to remain as calm as I could before I went in. I threw a few pitches, turned to watch the game unfold and did that cycle a few times before I saw my coach call timeout. I knew this was it, I was going to enter the game and I was as ready as could be.
He raised his left arm which was my cue that I was coming in. I threw one more fastball and started to jog . As I ran in I looked around at my teammates, at the people in the stands who were watching and just told myself, “Stick to your game, don't try to do too much or be something you're not.” I got to the mound and I was actually tired from running. It wasn't even that long of a run but I was panting like I just ran a marathon. Coach Wire even asked me, “You good, kid?” And I just gave him a thumbs up since I was still trying to catch my breath. We ended up losing the game and I was a big reason why. It was probably one of the toughest moments in my young career because all I wanted to do was come through for my team and I didn’t. Looking back on it now, it still stings a little to think about what I could have done differently.
But the moral of the story was that with this being my first year on the team I've been able to learn a lot about myself as a player and a person. It was the first time I was playing with guys who were older than me, so in a certain way I would look up to them as role models because they knew what it took to be great players on a winning team. Which is important because it makes you think differently about the choices you make because you finally have someone to relate to that’s a player, not a coach. They can show you the ropes, help you become a better player and things in that regard. I loved the senior group for that. The thing that really stuck out was being looked at differently by upperclassmen as the season went on. They knew after some time that the way I was pitching wasn't a fluke, it was who I was. And that was the most important value from this experience, learning who I was as a player, teammate and an individual. Of course I made mistakes, but I was accountable for them instead of being an immature high school student and not wanting to learn what I was doing wrong. I give huge credit to that group as well as our coaches. It helped shape me into the player and person I am today.