Personal Statement
James Molinari
217 Tuckahoe Dr.
Greenville, NC 27858
C: 252-413-8644
June 5, 2015
To whom it may concern,
I’m writing on behalf of Timon Harris, who is a player I have had the opportunity to coach since he was ten years old. Timon is a physically gifted baseball player. He can play every position on the field defensively, has been learning to switch hit over the past couple of years, and is one of the smartest baserunners I have ever coached at his level. Although his physical gifts on the field are what tend to be noticed most often by those who watch him play, they are nothing in comparison to the type of teammate, and young man he is off the field.
First, Timon is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach. In the past five years we have had our fair share of success, and failure on the baseball field. Not once have I ever seen Timon separate himself from his teammates in moments of adversity, or failure, or elevate himself in a moment of success. It is a very rare quality in a young player to possess the level of competitiveness that you want as a coach, but do so in a way that is always uplifting to his teammates, and never deflating. As a coach, it is rare to have your best player also be your best teammate, and Timon has always met both of those standards.
Second, since age twelve Timon has been one of the hardest workers I have ever coached. It’s funny when I think back, because when I first got Timon he loved to hit, and didn’t really care about anything else! During his ten, and eleven year old year I was constantly harping on him to give more effort on the defensive end. I remember specifically a game in Snow Hill, NC when he was twelve years old. We were on defense in the last inning holding a one run lead. The opponent had a runner on second base with oneout. Timon was playing first base, and the batter smoked a hard ground ball down the right field line,Timon laid out and knocked the ball down, quickly got to his feet and outraced the batter to first base. He then proceeded to throw behind the baserunner who started at second base, and was rounding third. He never saw the throw coming, and was picked off of third base to end the game. After the game I made ajoke about how we just witnessed something extremely rare (the punchline was Timon winning a game with his defense). Since that time he has been a relentless worker in all phases of the game. He literally wants to be good at everything on the field, and none of it comes from a selfish place. He simply wants to help his team win, and not have a hole in his game. This is also very rare in a talented young player, for most young players who are successful don’t have that drive to continue to improve, and become more complete.
Lastly, Timon is a very impressive young man off the field. He is respectful, sincere, and humble. I have been coaching at the youth baseball level since 2004. In those nearly eleven years I have coached over one thousand kids. Timon is in the top ten of most respectful, sincere, and impressive young men I have ever coached. Those ten or so kids that I think of in this light are kids that if I had a son, I would be ecstatic if they turned out like one of them. That is a credit to his parents, for they have done an incredible job with this young man. I cannot hold a young man in higher regard than I do Timon Harris.
Sincerely,
James Molinari
Owner - Carolina Elite Baseball
