Dallan Lopez '22 Recruiting Profile

http://members.baseballfactory.com/player/dallan/lopez/1a9c4dd02ccf46e2aeb2d08efaa30150

Out of the many life changing and challenging moments that I have encountered and endured in my life, I would say the most motivating, challenging, and life changing activity that I have ever participated in is baseball. Ever since I can remember I have been playing baseball. Baseball has always been a way to connect with family, make new friends, and to push myself. Most importantly, baseball has helped me stay persistent and not give up when things got tough. While I used to view these attributes as specific to baseball, they can be applied to all other aspects of my life. Baseball has helped me in my day to day life by improving my social skills, motivating me, and helping in a team based environment.

 I was never one of the kids that were “naturally talented” athletically, and this was also true for my academic life . I was never one of the kids that was naturally smart, or advanced in subjects such as math  and reading. Because of this I would often find myself feeling lost and confused in the classroom and worst of all, I would find myself falling behind. Those factors often led to me feeling defeated and hopeless academically. Because of this I had to learn how to work harder and more effectively. I soon came to the realization that I would have to work harder than others do for me to succeed academically. Because, things didn't come as easy for me. While I used to view this as unfair and as a set back, I realized that this was a test of grit and a life skill that I use on a day to day basis.

Another way that baseball has really impacted and improved my life is socially. Baseball really helped me to step out of my comfort zone socially and now I view myself as an individual with strong social skills. I now have the skills to meet, understand new people, and I would consider this to be one of my personality traits that I am most proud of. I have gained the ability to see through a person's behaviors and understand why they act the way they do through the social skills that I have acquired from baseball. This strength has really helped me to make a lot of friends with all sorts of different personality traits and, I have baseball to thank for that!

And finally, another valuable skill that baseball has taught me over the years is the ability to work with others. I have always been taught that there is no “I in team” and this has proven to be true time and time again in and outside of baseball. The ability to work with others is crucial to be able to cooperate, work and collaborate in a group and as a team. Just like in baseball, if you don’t work as a team you won't succeed!

Baseball has helped me in many aspects of my life including academics, social skills, and working with others. Baseball has also helped to motivate me and to help me battle adversity time and time again. As a result I know that I can fit in and deal with whatever challenges are going to come my way. I feel these skills I have learned through baseball are what really set me apart and make me unique from other kids playing the game.  Everything that I have accomplished I worked for, it didn't come naturally or easy. Everything that I have achieved in baseball, and academically I worked hard for and so I know I can adapt to any  college team or environment that I am put into.