Our 2017 coverage of college baseball begins this weekend, and with more than little appreciation for those people behind the scenes. Before the first pitch, a message…from University of Dayton pitching coach, Ryne Romick.
As the season is less than a week away you begin to feel a ton of emotions. Then I sat back tonight to think not about myself or our team but the people who support us and also those that support players and coaches around the country. That’s when you start to think about the sacrifice they are about to make.
The college baseball season slams 56 games in under 3 months time and if you’re a northern team, the majority of those games are played on the road. A normal week starting this Thursday will mean boarding a bus on Thursday afternoon and heading south, playing a three game series, and arriving back to campus after midnight early Monday morning. Once you collect yourself and refocus for practice on Tuesday, you’re basically packing your bag for your next trip on Thursday.
For someone who loves the sport and loves the beauty of a season and the ebbs and flows that come with it, this is the best time of the year. But tonight I began thinking about those who remain behind and pick up the pieces for those players and coaches who leave. The spouses or kids of coaches whose life gets flipped one Thursday afternoon for the next three months. The families/parents of the players and coaches who’s Friday at work revolve around trying to get their work done early so they can watch the live stream or listen to the radio broadcast.
It’s an all-in sacrifice for families when baseball season rolls around. Whether the players and coaches are willing to admit it, they don’t want the support at home, they need it.
Ryne Romick is the pitching coach for the University of Dayton.
Baseball is built around failure. And a season is bound to kick you in the mouth at some point or another. Knowing that when you come back home from a weekend or even being able to pick up the phone after a game and hear “What in the heck happened in that 2nd inning?” is exactly what you need.
This will become the life for many wives, girlfriends, parents, sons, and daughters over the next three months. Long road trips, late nights, sketchy live streams, bad college radio broadcasts, and happy mixed with handfuls of fuming phone conversations. It’s a team effort and they’re as much a part of the team as any other member of the organization from the manager down to the bus driver.
So as we’re down to a couple days away from turning on the first sub-par bus movie, here’s to you: All of you who support all of us. Thanks for keeping it together at home.