- March 2019
Personal Statement
From the time I could walk and talk my family told me I always had a ball in my hand. I even slept with a ball as if it were a teddy bear when I was in preschool. Then, when I was four, my parents signed me up for tee ball. From that point on I wanted to play every day. I love the game and the challenges I face while playing. I have a few highlights that have pushed me forward in baseball and school. One of my first little league memories that made me feel secure growing up, was when I was about seven and we were out on the field for the little league opening ceremony, and I turned to my coach and said, "I love this place, I want to live here." My old coach still talks about this every time we see each other. Another memory that stands out, is the time when I pitched a perfect game, when I was twelve at the Spring Hill Dixie Little League . It was one of the final games of the spring season and I just knew I was on that day. I remember one of my best friends and a great short stop called out to me, after a few strike outs, "Robby, come on let them hit one. We're getting bored out here!" That made me smile even bigger, because he was one of the best players and hitters on our team. We went on to win the play offs that year and even went to win the Dixie World Series.
While playing for the travel ball team, The Spring Hill Marlins, I had some struggles along the way that have pushed me to work harder. I've had some hitting slumps that have put me to the bottom of the batting order and had knocked my confidence a little. There have been times when I took losses too hard and blamed myself, but I could not let those lows keep me down. I had to practice more. I watched hitting videos, got out in the yard and hit off the tee, did hitting drills and worked with former coaches. All of this built my confidence back up and now I'm hitting better than I have in years of playing the game. I learned how to place hit and be a better base hitter, in general. Coach Leo, my travel ball coach believed in me as a pitcher and gave me a chance as a catcher as well, and always pushed me to go further. It was as I catcher for my travel ball team that I learned how to frame the ball for our pitchers helping to get those strike calls. He took a chance on me when I was the youngest and smallest on the team. I believe that this helped me when I started, at Weeki Wachee High School on the JV team and was asked to play up, as a freshman for the varsity team. Now as a junior I'm batting around 600 on the varsity team and catching as well as being a back up pitcher.
Beyond baseball, but applying the same work ethic, I have earned a 4.1 GPA while taking some AP and DE classes. This puts me on track to earn my associates degree upon high school graduation. I am also pursuing a career in aviation, like my dad. He has been my biggest supporter and inspiration along the way. He works harder than almost anyone I know and never gives up. If I am given the honor of playing baseball in college, my team would get this level of drive and commitment.
