Imagine sitting in the dugout of the ivey-lined Wrigley Field in Chicago, one of the most recognizable and historic stadiums in baseball. Countless baseball icons have sat in the same place, including everyone from Babe Ruth to Jackie Robinson to many more. Now, imagine standing on the pitching mound in the middle of a gigantic stadium, with all eyes on you, not to mention the thousands of others watching you on ESPN. Not every high schooler has the opportunity to experience this, but one of our very own Jesuit students did.
Kyle Muller ’16 was selected to play in the Under Armour All-American game, held over the summer at Wrigley Field. He was one of forty players from all over the nation to play in the game, beating out countless others who have worked just as hard as him. It was also televised on ESPN, so that all of his fans back in Dallas could watch him compete and represent his school on a national level.
In order to be considered for this incredible experience, Kyle said he went to “multiple nationwide tryouts” while Coach Sean Gavin added that he was “evaluated by college coaches, pro coaches, and pro scouts” before he made the roster.
When he first found out about being named to the All-American team, Kyle said his initial reaction was “extreme excitement,” adding that he “was running around and instantly called [his] parents because [he] had wanted to make the game since sophomore year.”
Commenting on the actual experience of playing in the game, Kyle said that “playing in the game was unbelievable,” adding “Wrigley Field is the coolest field in the country” and he enjoyed sharing “the same field, dugout, and locker room with players like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and so many others.”
Always showing good sportsmanship, Kyle appreciated the teammates that he played with, commenting that “the experience playing with all the other All Americans was awesome because [he] will be competing with them for the next couple of years” as well as reminding him “of how much work I have to do to be better than them.” He also learned a few things from his experience of playing with the best of the best, saying “what I learned from the All American game was to never take a practice rep off by going one hundred percent every time and keep up the intensity through the entire game and practice from start to finish.” These are wise words that can be translated to anyone at any level of any sport.
Now, you may wonder how the effects of Kyle’s pitching in the All American game, pitched in a major league baseball stadium and nationally televised, will be translated to the Jesuit baseball team. Coach Gavin says that Kyle’s as well as the team’s “confidence levels soar” because “no environment is going to be too big for him,” meaning that the stadium and situation will not affect him, because he has played in a bigger ballpark on a national level. He also said that “the team can feed off of that because they feel confident that they can play with Kyle, who is one of the best players in the nation.” Overall, he commented that the “team confidence level next year, as a result of Kyle’s stardom and the major playoff run last year, should be through the roof.”
Given all of this success and stardom, however, Coach Gavin said that Kyle’s expectations have “absolutely” heightened, not only for the team, but also for himself. Gavin added that Kyle “set a lot of personal and team goals,” as his main goal is “to be a better leader” by helping his teammates be better. Even though the baseball team made a historic run in the playoffs last year, a run that led them to the state championship, it seems that Kyle still wants to get better, which is the mark of a true leader. He is going to work because he wasn’t satisfied with coming in fourth place out of the entire 6A, and he wants to win. Let’s hope that his and the team’s hard work will pay off.
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