Norfolk Baseball Memorable
The memories of my life with Norfolk Little League stretch from being in my mother’s arms, sitting in a stroller, playing on the playgrounds eyeing games, sitting on the bleachers watching games (all this time being a fan of my big brothers!) to standing at the plate with bat in hand and playing in the field. I became a member of NLL with great pride. Prior to joining, I had also been active on Team Howard’s back yard field made by my Dad and brothers. We had orange fencing from Home Depot roped around the yard for our own Fenway! Those wiffle ball games prepared me for my baseball days! Also, I was the bat boy for my Dad when he coached our Norfolk American Legion team. I am thankful to those older Legion players for showing me the ropes. Norfolk Little League opening day was always memorable. It seemed like the whole town showed up to see the parade. From opening day to the end of each season, there were always teaching moments for the coaches and learning moments for my teammates and me. I had gone from my siblings’ company to a new band of brothers. We learned to play as a team and work together. I am thankful for the patience and caring of my coaches each year. Baseball is a mental game as much as a physical game. I learned to focus and to stay in the moment on the field. I have taken my lessons from all my coaches to develop into the athlete that I am today. I know that preparation is so very important and can help someone have an edge over his opponents. This equates to success both in the classroom and field. I appreciate now at the high school level the skills and hard work given to me as a young man in LL. My favorite memory is winning the Major League Championship on the Orioles for two years in a row. It was the best and unforgettable especially our mohawks, shaving cream, and trophies!
Editor’s Note: Brandon Howard, above right, a Norfolk resident and graduating senior at King Philip Regional High School, won a $1,000 Joseph M. DiRienzo Jr. Memorial Scholarship from Norfolk Baseball. Former Norfolk Baseball commissioner Jim Fox, above left, presented an oversized check to Howard after the Opening Day Parade at the Little League field on Boardman Street on Sunday, April 25. The scholarship, presented this year for the fourth year in a row, is named for Joseph M. DiRienzo Jr., a longtime youth sports coach and organizer who died unexpectedly of a heart attack in February 2007 at age 50. The text of Howard’s winning essay, describing his time playing youth baseball in Norfolk, appears below. Photo by Matt McDonald
I would like to thank all my past coaches and the present coaches and some day I hope I can give back to my community like all of them have given.
