Bring it on! With this time at bat, Bryan hit a single and drove in a run!
Approaching the plate
On his way to steal towards second!
A perfect weekend afternoon or even a more perfect summer evening will involve watching Bryan play baseball. When Bryan was born, and as a toddler, Bryan had access to some form of baseball bat, ball and glove. His father made sure of that! I recall Bryan learning to catch a ball as it was rolled to him as early as he could sit up by himself....which was around five months. I also recall Bryan laying on top of Ed's chest at around that age and Ed tossing a soft ball up in the air, holding Bryan's hands/arms up in the air to catch it as it came back down. The look on Bry's face, even at that young age, was so intense, as he concentrated fully on catching the ball. As Bryan got older, he played T-Ball, and Farm League, and Little League, and Babe Ruth (with his father coaching him most of the journey!) ....progressing from the the Colchester Middle School teams to the Colchester High School team, as well as the Colchester Junior Cannons to the Colchester Cannons baseball team for the summer months. During the summer breaks from Vermont, Bryan also played on the Green Mountain baseball league...a local wood bat league based in S. Burlington. Bryan has played every position, and has excelled as a pitcher, catcher, and center fielder for which he received state high school and legion honors.
Bryan chose to attend the University of Vermont, knowing full well that the University hosted a Division One, very competitive baseball team. To Bryan's credit, he tried out diligently each fall for his first two years, as a walk on for a pitcher slot. Unfortunately, the competition for the team was highly selective with most of the slots on the team recruited earlier in the year. Each year he made it to the final cut and walked away somewhat disappointed, however, elated that he put himself out there and gave it a good shot! We were very proud of him for his determination and pursuit of a goal; for his love of the game. Eventually, during Bryan's sophomore year, UVM disbanded the baseball program due to athletic/program budget cutbacks. However, the following year, UVM was able reinstate baseball as a competitive club sport. During the spring of 2010, Bryan was playing ball on Centennial Baseball Field, sporting a Vermont baseball uniform!
As he enters his senior year at Vermont, we look forward to the Fall schedule of games, as well as a full Spring schedule as well! We will be in heaven at the ball park, once again, watching Bryan play a sport he loves and grew up with! What a lesson of life to never stop pursuing your passions no matter what obstacles. We love Bryan and we love baseball!
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