What Would Your Occupation Be If You Had Followed Your Childhood Dreams?

Now, that I’m 62 years old I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I followed my childhood dreams. Many young boys across this great country dream and aspire to play pro-sports.

I was no exception. My sport of choice was baseball. I played other sports and loved them but baseball was king. My cousin Joe DeMarco was the person who got me very interested in baseball.

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He was a solid pitcher that played at Gabriel’s High school. He was almost drafted into pro-ball too. But, he had teams after he graduated from high school. He still was one of the best coaches I ever had! In football, they were called DeMarco’s Devils and in baseball, it was DeMarco’s Angels.

My parents and I moved to the west side after I was in third grade and I started playing ball at St. Gerard. They were always good in baseball. I honed my skills there. I did everything as a young boy to get better. I read baseball books and magazines, worked with a pitch back practiced down in our basement at the home I grew up in. We would always take trips to our family home in Hallandale, Florida too.

I would play baseball with the boys from Florida at a place they called the recreation center. My cousins would also come down there in the winter and would play ball also. That’s where I started to possibly dream of playing pro-ball. But, my parents would always tell me it wasn’t realistic and don’t put a lot of stock and belief in that.

But, I still did. I knew it would always be a long shot but still kept it in the back of my mind. The bottom line is it just wasn’t a possibility with my high school situation. But, one kid from our neighborhood did make it. His name is John Smoltz.

He attended St. Gerard and won a World Series with the Atlanta, Cy Young award, and is now a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. That shows your hard work, determination, persistence, talent, and never giving up pay off. What were your childhood dreams?