Personal Narrative: Hall Of Fame

When I was in the fifth grade a friend and I had made that decision that I should become a part of his town baseball team. When I got home from school that day I asked my mom if I could join and her answer was no. The next day at school I talked to my friend and he told me that his practice was that night and that I should come and try it out. He told me that he usually rides his bike because his dad is not home and that we could meet up and go together. So when I got home my mom was home and around the time I needed to leave to meet my friend she usually went to the nearby school to walk around the track for exercise. She had asked me if I wanted to go with her I declined and she left. I started my journey to the baseball field that was probably

Lights blaring into my eyes, the crack of the bat, the shouting of the overly-devoted parents, the salty aroma arising off of the freshly roasted peanuts, all came together to create the overwhelming presence of a little league baseball game. This was a place where I spent most of my time on week day afternoons, in the spring, watching my brother succeed at America’s pastime. He was really quite good at this sport called baseball; he had just been granted the position of starting pitcher for the team. Sometimes things that have occurred in my life, and stuff I have received, that I may not have necessarily deserve, can be taken for granted. However, after what was about to take place my eyes are given a new perspective.

Our most recent addition to the HSF Alumni Hall of Fame, Luis Sanchez, is truly an amazing success story. Who would have known that a child from a low-income household would grow up to be a successful Electrical Engineer and completely change his life around? In his recent induction interview, he mentions that thanks to the help he received from the HSF scholarship, he was able to become the first generation in his family to attend university and earn a Bachelor's Degree. He later pursued his Master's Degree.

A place can be any position or point with space around. A corner, a site on the internet, McDonalds, or even if you’re lost in the woods you're still in a place because of the space that’s around. A place such as The Mexican Restaurant, where my parents go on special occasions or when I talked to a friend at The Baseball field about certain point of every aspect of the game we play, or even when My family was so traumatized when our dad went out onto the ocean when the waves we crashing in. He tells us he’ll be fine so he heads out on the sand and starts walking the opposite direction of us, the waves came in and crashed into the feet of the cliff. We thought he was gone but he came back and said the waves almost got him but he found a crack

One of the proudest moments in my life is when I hit a homerun that won the game for my baseball team. I just completed the sixth grade and was looking forward to baseball season with my friends that summer. I was so happy we were all on the same team, the Red Wings. I was playing second base, and for the first time, I felt confident about my position. I didn’t let a ball get past me. I was catching and throwing that ball like a pro. In addition, I was hitting balls like never before, and scoring runs for the team. For the first time since T ball I felt like a real star!

As the crowd boos, you hear the New York Yankee commentator say “coming up to bat after a long year of suspension it’s the third basemen for the New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez”. I grew up in awe watching great Yankee third basemen Alex Rodriguez. I remember playing baseball and trying to do everything he did, like how he chewed his gum, and how he wore his baseball socks. I would also imitate his batting stance as played. But all of a sudden the player I once looked up to tested positive for steroids.

Throughout my four years here at Virginia High School, I have multiple positive contributions. One of the bigger contributions that I have made was being a leader through National Honor Society. This has given me the opportunity to set up the blood drives that happens every couple of months. It has also allowed me to participate at the food pantry. All of these activities have made me the person I am today and also allowed me to help the school look better in the community.

“Hoh! Hah!” The umpire shouts after my third strike, hencing that the batter has struck out. I jog to the dugout, put on my helmet and batting gloves, and as I walk out to the on deck circle, my coach, Nick, said, “You had a good inning, but you’ve gotta back up home if there is a runner on third and a ball hit to the outfield. Luckily, we have Sousa at centerfield. Stay hot.” Coach Nick is a short, strong twenty-seven year old who played in the Minor Leagues until he got hurt. He is patient and forgiving, but he does not care about winning as much as he should. Sousa, our fastest player and our third hardest hitter, hits a line drive to left center field and gets to first base. His first name is Alex, but my team calls him “Sousa,”

My profession as a baseball player has been all about development since I was a little kid. After reading the article and chapters from the book I can see where Strengths Based Leadership has been used on me to promote growth at certain times in my career.

We reached the baseball diamond and instead of taking our normal seats on the first base side, we turn to the third base side. Every other time we had ventured to Fort Dodge to play St. Edmond’s we were the away team. On this day, we were facing the Clarion-Goldfield Cowboys and they were in the first base dugout. I settled myself next to my parents on the bleachers that sat above the dugout. Once seated, my eye was instantly drawn to the field. The grass was glistening like an emerald in the sun and the infield had been drug to

The 8th grade went on an all day class excursion to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As we arrived at the geometrically shaped building everyone lined up to capture this moment. When we strolled into the building I was immediately in awe. As I gazed around I received this feeling of being in a futuristic scene, with angled ceilings, countless escalators, and hanging objects. It had the scent of a newly built structure with a hint of food and freshness in the air. At the time of our presentation we arrived in a miniature theatre, I did not find this very informative, nevertheless I did learn a fact or two about what events happened throughout the 60s. Following our speaking to, we got to wander around the building to wherever we wanted to go.

To be the greatest you have to start from the bottom and work your way up, work and train hard and wait for you opportunity and take it. Ever since I could remember I wanted to be the greatest baseball player there ever was and to do that I had to master the fundamentals of the game before I could truly become the best. This scholarship to me mean a little bit more than just money to me because where I learned my fundamentals from was Howard. My graduating class might be the last few players that actually remember Howard and I could be the last one to actually play a game with coach Bell. Since then I’ve always tried to focus on the little things in whatever I’m doing because I know that’s was coach Bell always tried to do. Because of what

If you happen to be at an IVC baseball game next semester, be sure to be on the lookout for our very own pitcher, Steven Panela. Or as his teammates call him, Panelita, for he used to be the smallest guy on the team. He played for the De Anza Bulldogs and helped take them to the CIF semifinals. Even though they lost in the semifinals, I have full confidence that we will be seeing great things from him and the IVC team this upcoming season. I say that because that same year that him and Calexico went to the semifinals, he was awarded Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-League for pitching.

Baseball has always been a passion of mine. I remember when I was younger I would eat, sleep, and breathe baseball. I enjoyed the lifestyle that I adapted as a ballplayer. As a shortstop, I was the captian of the infield. The field and the infielders were my responsibility, and I had to make sure everything was in line. Whether it was calling off a pop fly in the infield, reading the runnners to determine if they were going to steal, or calling for a pickoff move, it was always my responsibility to make the right decisions. However, the coaches always made an effort to show that what what you do off the field is what truly matters. They taught me that being a good person and helping others is more important than turning a double play for the

There is something hypnotic about an empty stadium after a home win. It’s simply so quiet. But the atmosphere is electric. Like the air itself has a pulse. Like I can still feel the eager thrill of the crowd on my skin, the adrenaline from his home runs maddening the heart of us all. It’s unhinging. I have to admit it’s intoxicating. Like the world is at my feet and in these quiet moments I can do whatever I want, be whoever I want. Maybe a bolder girl, or braver; perhaps selfless and fearless.