- July 2018
Personal Statement
My name is Gordon H. Smith, a current junior at Mount de Sales Academy, an independent Catholic school, with diverse college-preparatory students, in Macon, Georgia. It is my hope to play collegiate baseball, while successfully balancing my college studies, at your institution after graduation in May 2019.
Like most athletes seeking to play at the collegiate level, I have been playing baseball since T-ball, including recreational league, middle school, travel baseball, and now high school. While most would tell you they played; I will tell you I am preparing. Over the years, I have played every position on the field, with the exception of pitcher. My love for the game has not decreased, but grown. My focus is now as a middle infielder, particularly as a third baseman (3B) and shortstop (SS). I made the decision after my sophomore year to transition from a two-sport athlete, football and baseball, to focus on baseball and books during my junior and senior year. I started on the JV team as a freshman and sophomore as a middle infielder (3B, SS), and also practiced and traveled with our Varsity team as a sophomore. I continue to play during the summer months with Kal Daniels Titans, based in Warner Robins, Georgia, and most of our tournaments have been hosted by Triple Crown Sports at LakePoint in Emerson, Georgia, and East Cobb in Marietta, Georgia. I am a 6’2” third baseman with good game instincts, five foot arm span, fundamentally solid with fielding, and I like to play in the dirt. My maximum throwing velocity across the field is ~82 mph, ball velocity off the bat was clocked at 78 mph, and my 60 yard dash time in mid-November 2017 was 7.1 seconds. My longest hit in a game, using a wood bat, has been 345 feet. As I continue to train and begin our season next month, I am going to get bigger, stronger, and faster.
Outside of baseball, I am grounded by my parents, Drs. Jimmie and Monique Smith, and two older sisters in college. I am an active member of First Baptist Church, where I participate in Sunday school and serve as an usher on Youth Sundays. I am active in Jack and Jill of America (Macon Chapter), and I have served as an umpire for Vine Ingle Baseball League. In 2017, I was selected to participate in the 2017-18 cohort of the Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students (GCAPS) Youth Commission in Macon-Bibb County. I am one of 100 youth selected (statewide) by the Georgia Department of Human Services to participate in the Youth Empowerment Series, a year-long experience examining critical issues facing Georgia youth. Finally, I remain active in Boy Scouts of America, Troop 170, and earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2016. My project was to honor four Negro League Baseball players- Lemuel Hawkins, Marion Cain, Robert Scott, and Ernest Fann- who were natives of Macon, Georgia, and had never been recognized for their contributions to professional sports in their hometown.
My name is Gordon H. Smith. I am an athletic, fundamentally sound, grounded, middle-infield baseball player that is academically eligible, wanting to learn your system and compete for a roster position.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
