Posted:
Friday, May 6, 2022
The following text we re-posted on our Instagram page of a post from the father of EEBA athlete Tyler Lopez (Miller Place 2023):
"This is Tyler’s life. He’s passionate about it. He loves it. He works his butt off for it and he’s good at it. I am impressed by him. I never thought I’d be a father of a pitcher. I always thought Tyler would wind up as a third baseman or catcher. He’s a ballplayer. So I always thought that he’d pitch but his main spot would be in the field somewhere.
On the bump, he’s calm, cool, and collective. Me, not so much. I squirm with every pitch. I have anxiety in every situation. I often find myself doubting his choice of pitches and he always proves me wrong. It’s very stressful but I love it. I may be his biggest supporter but I’m not the only one. His mom twists and turns along with me. His two sisters are invested and always ask how he did. Gram rarely misses a game and is on GameChanger the rest of the time.
What I’ve learned this season is he has an army of other supporters too. After a recent excellent outing, other high school coaches reached out to me along with an umpire. His friends are interested along with my friends and coworkers too. And I can’t forget his teammates and coaches. Along the way, Ty made a positive impression.
He handles everything thrown his way. The highs and lows. His school work. My expectations (unreasonable at times). I am tough on him but he’s tough on himself. For all this I’m so proud. I’m proud for the person he is and the person he’s becoming. I’m proud to be his father. I don’t know where this journey will take him but I will be by his side the whole way.
