Personal Statement
My name is Matthew Rheaume and I’ve recently moved back to Houston, Texas after living overseas in London and Abu Dhabi for the past 11 years. I started playing baseball in London when I was about 6 years old with the London Youth Baseball League on a former US Air Force base, and have continued to play ever since. I love to play and watch the game, which drives me to do anything or play anywhere needed for the team. I have previously played every position, however am now focused on 3B, RHP, and C as that is where my strengths are best utilized.
In recent years I have begun to take baseball more seriously and my goal is to play competitive baseball in High School and College. During the last 4 years in Abu Dhabi I played baseball with the Dubai Little League, a 90 minute drive which we did numerous time each week from our home in Abu Dhabi. Each year I was selected for the DLL tournament travel team and was fortunate to travel to other counties in the Middle East and Asia to play competitive baseball. With baseball I have been fortunate to travel and play in Kuwait, Thailand, Singapore, The Philippines and South Korea. The 2016 tournament in South Korea was a Little League World Series qualifiers, which South Korea won eventually going on to lose the final in Williamsport.
In addition, the past 2 summers I have been playing in the US with the WBS Colts (World Baseball Showcase) 18U travel team to gain more playing time and experience. Travelling through California, Washington, and Oregon gave me the opportunity to get up to 28 more games each summer and live like a semi-pro team - always on the move, staying in motels and playing ball every day.
My goal is to play competitive baseball at the NCAA Division 1 Level, while also ensuring that I obtain a quality education. I believe I can achieve this goal within my next 2 years of high school by continuing to work hard and play as much as possible. The reason why this is my goal is because I want to play professional baseball one day, and Division 1 will give me the best opportunity to achieve that goal.
I have been attending American international schools during my 11 years overseas, and have lived in countries vastly different than the U.S. I have been fortunate enough to study with, and play baseball with people from all around the world. I believe these experiences have allowed me to be very open-minded when it comes to dealing with people, the exchange of ideas, and many situations. I have maintained a +3.5 GPA for the first two years of high school, and plan on raising it this upcoming year to +3.7 as I attend Memorial High School in Houston, Texas.