On April 14th, Coach Rogers provided breakfast for the MSP baseball players to reward them for their academic and athletic accomplishments.
Zack Boone, Pearl River Community College baseball player, spoke to the players about setting goals and working hard to achieve them. He began by sharing a little about himself and steps he has taken that he feels has led to his success as a student and an athlete.
He stated that that a team must work together, have a positive attitude, have each others back, and work hard. He stressed to the students that in the game of baseball, they will face obstacles and the best way to face these is to listen to their coaches with open minds and work hard to be the best that they can be.
Zack used the following scenarios to demonstrate what makes a successful baseball player: If you think about it, baseball is a huge game of failure. Great hitters hit .300 average. Look at it this way, it means you FAIL 70% of the time. That’s a huge percentage. You are guaranteed to fail. As a pitcher, Zack said there are times when the fielder makes an error which causes a man to get on base. It is his responsibility to pick up his teammate and work hard to help get the out in order to finish the inning. He told the team you will always face adversity, but it is how you respond to it that makes the difference between good players and great ball players.
Zack closed with I Timothy 4:12. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Zack stated that it doesn't matter that they are young because God has a plan for them. He encouraged them to work hard, make good choices, and practice good character.