By: Storm Humbert – THE VILLAGE REPORTER
With school starting up, summer baseball has all but drawn to a close. However, there are some who refuse to stop playing and there are plenty of organizations happy to help them keep playing – provided they make the team, of course.
One of these die-hards is Nic Schieber, a sophomore at West Unity. Nic has played baseball since he was four years old according to his mother. It is his favorite sport, and he loves to both watch and play. His favorite team is the Detroit Tigers and his favorite players are Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, and C.C. Sabathia.
While Nic is currently getting his reps in with the Napoleon River Bandits in his Fall league, he has recently accepted a position in a far more exclusive program – Coast to Coast Athletics. In order to make this team, Nic attended two tryouts, one in Bowling Green, and one in St. Louis. These tryouts were held in 35 states and the program usually sees between 1,700 and 2,000 participants. Of all of these players, only 15 make the team, that’s less than one percent, and, this year, Nic found himself in that one percent.
This is especially impressive because Nic is one of the youngest in his age group (15-18), and he made it as a pitcher. Making the team presents Nic with two incredible opportunities. First, on December 27 through January 1, Nic will get to travel to Jupiter, Florida to attend camps and workshops as well as play a couple games. Then, next June, he will get to travel with the Coast to Coast team to play against some foreign competition in Puerto Rico. The best part is, aside from the travel opportunities, that the camps and the Puerto Rico games will be full of college and professional scouts which will allow Nic to drastically increase his visibility and chances of playing at the next level.
Nic has definitely given some thought to playing at the college level. The schools he would love to go to are South Carolina, Michigan, and Notre Dame. You may be wondering, ‘why these schools?’ Well, Nic has his reasons. He has family in South Carolina, so that would be comfortable for him (and who wouldn’t love to spend a couple years in either of the Carolinas). He and his father have always been big Notre Dame fans, and Michigan made the list because he doesn’t really like Ohio State, fair enough.
As you can see, Nic has some big dreams when it comes to baseball and talent to go with them. He does, however, need some help to make his Puerto Rico dreams a reality. The trips to Florida and Puerto Rico will run about $6,700 total. Luckily, the Coast to Coast organization knows that many of its players will need to raise funds to afford these trips and they’ve set up a site to collect support dollars. If you would like to give Nic some support, just go to www.reachingourgoal.org, click on “make a donation,” and type in Nic’s last name (Schieber). You can also call (419) 386-7993. Remember that every little bit helps, and if everyone gives a little, it will help Nic do quite a lot.
Storm Humbert may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com