Baseball! The word brings so many memories up along with so many life lessons. My father handed me a baseball before I could even walk. The grandson of a drafted Yankees ball player who chose to go into the Air Force instead but never lost the love for the game. He passed this love down to my father and my father to me. We were a baseball family. It started off with a pitch, a hit, a throw and grew to be my love. With the help of my father, I did learn to play every position even being a lefty. My favorite position was first base but as I grew older, I did pitch and played less at first base(teamwork- you go where you are needed the most). This game teaches so many lessons from ambition and drive but most importantly, humility and loss. You can never know that feeling of believing you have this game in the books sort of like the game of life and then BAM, life throws you a curveball just like baseball. When I was eleven, my father created a travel ball team. He wanted so much to be able to share his love and his knowledge for this wonderful game. For 2 seasons, he worked 80 hours a week at work and struggled to make this team succeed. He had players and families who worked relentlessly with him to make their dream a reality. Life was good. We created a winning team through hard work and determination. My dad had us practicing 7 days a week. We were taught to be strong and to understand that it isn't always about winning. The lessons learned are worth winning too. Then came the biggest challenge to overcome, the diagnosis of metastatic kidney cancer. Unfortunately, it would take my father's young life quickly. He fought hard and in this hardest challenge of his entire life, he taught his players to never give up no matter what you are facing from the easiest of ground balls to the scariest part of your life -death. My dad always had one important question at the end of every game. " Did you have a good time?" My dad always knew that you needed to have a good time to enjoy playing this game that teaches us so many life lessons. I know my dad smiling from heaven on the day of his funeral when his players filed out of church all behind me as we all showed our dedication and love to our coach. We wore our Pelican uniform. We cried, we laughed, we honored Coach Ryan's memories. To this day, almost 10 years later, those players of the Northshore Pelicans remember the coach who taught them ambition, drive, respect, and love of the game of baseball. The game that teaches you so many different things but most of all to never give up until the end. You just never know what may happen in the 9th inning.

I lost my father to metastatic kidney cancer when I was 13. Before I could even think about a diagnosis so severe, he was gone in 3 short months. He was my hero, my best friend, my coach and I was lost without him. I can honestly say that it was the worst time of my young life. As always through my life - my whole 13 years- was my mom! She was a shining light in the darkness. She helped me through those first few days when all I did was cry in disbelief that he was really gone. My first day back at school was one of those days when I just wanted to stay home. I didn't want to go to school. I didn't want to see my friends, my teachers and have everyone ask if I was ok. But my mom got me up that morning. She held my hand and helped me to realize that my dad would want me to get up and keep going. She did not let me "off " from doing my schoolwork or continuing to study because dad was gone. She pushed me to do better every day. She encouraged me to study, to push past the pain that my young brain was feeling and dwelling in most days. She took me to the library. She encouraged me to read. She taught me how to write a book report. She would read the same book as me so when we had discussions about that book, she knew the details of the book How many parents would take the time to read the book their child was reading to help them with their studying? And what I discovered was reading is a wonderful avenue for many things besides just studying as I soon realized. She encouraged me to go to school every day to better myself, to enhance my unique thinking that I had always had but didn't know quite how to use to my advantage. She is one of the strongest people I have ever known, and I am so proud to call her my mom. She has struggled to make sure I have every opportunity available to get the best education I could ask for. So, with all that being said, my mom is the one who supported me the most. She guided me through not only the worse time of my life but forward through high school to become the best person I can be. Lastly, she has always told me how brave I was when my dad was ill. She has always said I was her rock in time of chaos but truly, she was mine.

The most difficult time in my life was the unexpected death of my father. I was 13 years old in October of 2015 when I received the most devastating, most terrifying information of my young life. My father, my hero, my baseball coach, my mentor was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic renal cancer. My entire world changed in a blink of an eye. Within a few short months, 3 months to be exact, he was gone. I was devastated as any one can imagine. At this time, I was unsure what to do next with my world. My life as I knew it was destroyed and gone. My mother is wonderful and so supportive, but she was not my dad. I had to learn to go on without him. I trudged forward with each day at school. I still made straight A's while in junior high. I continued to play baseball. My heart was not in it, though. Every time i rounded second base to turn to third, he was not there. My heart was broken with each and every step. I decided to stop playing baseball after that season. I do love the game and it was the memories of my father that helped me decide to go back to the game and pitch again for my senior year of high school. My adversity I had to overcome was that all of the other pitchers had not stopped for the last 4 years. I decided I would overcome the adversity of this tragedy and play again just one last season. I went out for the team, and I was welcomed with open arms. I started against one of the major teams of my district and threw for 3 1/2 innings with no runs scored. What a way to start back!! With each team we battled against, with each adversary we met, I put my heart and soul into every pitch. And in the end, I found myself walking onto the mound to close out the game for the semi finals on my birthday! We did win that game and what a special day it was for me. I know that my father was watching from heaven and enjoying the victory as much as I did. I overcame so many obstacles and adversaries to win that game for the teammates that I had grown to love as brothers. I am not playing college ball but did decide to coach as my father did. I continue to grow and learn from all he taught me. I continue to meet adversity every day in my life without my father to go to for advice but i feel him with me everywhere I go.

I want to coach baseball I am coaching little league travel baseball at this time but would love to continue to do this. I was I spirited by my dad who was my coach who passed away quickly from metastatic kidney cancer when I was 13. He took a group of kids and made them better people just by knowing him