"Coach's Corner" with Travis Beausoleil
A lesson in perspective
Thursday, March 8, 8:00 p.m. – Somewhere over the Mid-Atlantic
A week prior to our spring break trip I envisioned every possible scenario in which our trip could, and in my opinion inevitably would, go wrong. Now I don't say this speaking about our play on the field. I am confident in our abilities and, although there will be growing pains, I think we have a strong team. My hesitations stem from things like the bus, airport, plane, hotel and traveling. It is easy, especially when flying, for things to go wrong, and being our first trip I was almost expecting something to go awry.
Yet, as I walked out to my truck at 2:30 p.m., the entire team stood outside the Yarnall Center waiting to take their seats on the bus that would take us to Bradley International Airport. The bus wasn't scheduled to depart until 3:30 p.m. but there they all stood trying to act cool and confident, attempting to hide their nerves with coy smiles and anxious laughter.
Although it took me a few test runs, everything we needed was packed and ready to be stowed under the bus. I received our team's meal money and dispensed it to the guys, hoping it would not be lost on stupid bets and card games in the airport and hotel (the same way I always lost my meal money as a player just a few years back). My scouting reports and charts were packed and we had a good idea of our lineup for Friday's season opener.
At 3:15 p.m. I sat back in the chair in my office and took just a few seconds to look around and take a few deep breaths. "So far everything has gone smoothly," I cautiously expressed to myself. We were not only on time…we were early! I waited until 3:32 p.m. to walk out to the bus because as I have learned from head coaches Roger Bidwell (UConn Avery Point) and Jim Penders (University of Connecticut)—two coaching legends and mentors for me—when the head coach walks on the bus, it is ready to take off. I proceeded to sit and we departed for Bradley. An hour later we arrived at the airport, the first stop where I anticipated things could derail.
We took the trip with our softball team and had about 45 people checking bags. I was waiting for the boys to run over and tell me they had forgotten their uniforms or that their bags were over the allotted 50-pound limit. I walked to the counter and our front desk agent for JetBlue, Chasity, could not have been more angelic. She was funny, energetic and ran both teams through the checked baggage process quicker than I have ever been through it before.
Twenty-five players and two coaches later the Mitchell baseball team was ready to walk through security and had not spent a dime in extra baggage. So far so good! Surely there would be problems at security, I slowly warned myself. I went through our security line flanked by Mitchell Athletics jackets. Arriving on the other side of the security machines, shoeless and beltless, I once again looked around and saw the majority of the team already through and running to the same McDonald's that I had eaten at a number of times last year with UConn. I grabbed my bags and my coach's skullcap, slipped my shoes on, strapped on my belt and walked to our departure gate two hours before boarding!
Now, sitting on the plane, I am uncontrollably relaxed. My attention is on tomorrow's game and focus on determining our best lineup. My mind begins to wander. I start to look at the boys on the plane. Some are watching television (JetBlue now offers satellite TV), some are playing cards or reading, and some are attempting to catch up on some sleep. And of course there is Joey Caradonna, a freshman pitcher, with his headphones on. Those headphones never leave Joey's side whether it be in the dugout, study hall or class (three places he knows he should not have them). The 25 guys all look ready and look like a team. Yet, I feel there is a big piece of our team missing.
It was then that I realized my perspective for the entire day had been wrong. Instead of believing that the trip would be a cake walk and we had prepared and could adapt to overcome any problem that arose, I instead took the pessimistic route in EXPECTING something would go wrong. My perspective was off. Perspective is a word we have used a lot with our boys this year. Having the right perspective forces you to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. Perspective allows you to stay positive when faced with extreme adversity, and with a team of 19 freshmen there will be many challenges we will have to overcome this upcoming season.
The Mitchell College baseball team has already learned a hard lesson about perspective this season. One of our middle infielders, Blaze Iannetti, was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer during our fall season. Blaze is a junior transfer from Raritan Valley CC. A skinny slap hitter with a pretty good glove, he possesses the maturity that we so strongly need on our youthful roster. Blaze was expected to play a key role for us this spring and was having a pretty good fall. He picked up our systems very quickly and was doing a good job of helping the younger guys play the game at a higher level.
With one week left in our fall season Blaze was experiencing some medical issues. Late one night he asked teammate Lucas Mariani to drive him to the hospital at 2:00 a.m. Lucas, without hesitation, agreed and drove the hour to Yale General Hospital. With very little information we continued on with our fall season hoping Blaze would return with a clean bill of health.
It was approximately a week later when I received a call from Blaze informing me he had been diagnosed with cancer. A tidal wave of emotions hit me and I could not have been more apologetic for the battle he was about to take on. He apprised me that it was a very common form of cancer and both his doctors gave a similar diagnosis. With the right treatment he would not only overcome this battle, but would return to school and baseball, potentially for our spring semester.
Blaze was forced to take incompletes in his classes but began working at home in New Jersey to finish his semester. Both Blaze and his parents were exceedingly optimistic. It was inspirational to listen to this family only focus on returning to Mitchell and baseball. His teammates have persistently asked about his welfare and even visited him in the hospital a number of times. These young 18-22 year-olds recognized that life is much more than the nine innings we have from game to game.
Perspective! I recognized that in all my complaining about our lack of hustle, or the battles I have trying to turn this program into a regional contender, there is some element that I am missing, and that is the correct perspective! We should be focusing on the negative only to use it as a catapult to feed our desire. We should always say, "Look what they have compared to us, and we still find ways to win."
Our spring break trip will be a tough schedule, and with a thin pitching staff we are going to take on 68 innings in just five days. I know we are going to take some bumps on the trip, but it will help us grow up quickly and WILL help us in our quest for another conference title!
Blaze's battle is close to being complete. If everything stays on the same path it looks like he would have knocked it out of the park! His last scans were clear of any cancer and they were going to run him through one last treatment of chemotherapy just to be sure. He had successfully come out of surgery and I received a text from his father on the day of our first game.
"Hi coach, it's Jim Iannetti, Blaze's father. He just came out of surgery and I just wanted to let you know the first thing he said in the recovery room was 'is the team winning?' Please keep us updated on how the trip is going because Blaze is constantly asking and misses the team so much!"
As we took the field for the first time against Eastern Nazarene a number of our players wore "Blaze" tattooed with black Sharpie on their arms! I think they also took with them the correct perspective and a little more wisdom! They were not just getting an education from school and baseball. We were teaching them about life and how to handle adversity. I think these 26 Mariners in uniform and 27 Mariners in our hearts will be quite ready to handle any adversity we come across this season!
Our prayers stay with Blaze and the Iannetti family and hope that he can return to our family at Mitchell soon!
For the first time in what will hopefully be a long and prosperous collegiate coaching career… keep the correct perspective!
TMB
