NEVER TO YOUNG TO BE SOMEONE'S HERO

Growing up as a child in Salisbury, NC I had my share of heroes and idols.   On the professional side, I always cheered for Hank Aaron,  Catfish Hunter , Reggie Jackson, David Thompson and others.  Those guys were idols to many during the 70's.    I also had a set of local athletes that I thought were bigger than life at the time.  Amazingly, I can still remember their names and the way they swung the bat or pitched the baseball.  Two names come to mind,  Coe Brier and David Eury.  They were local high school baseball players, but as a youngster, in my eyes they were major leaguers.  My dad would take me to watch them play American Legion baseball and boy did I get excited when they were on the field.   Brier was drafted out of high school by The Reds, but decided to attend Clemson and then later was drafted by The Twins.   He must have been one heck of a player, because people around my hometown still talk about him.

This brings me to my thoughts today now that I have a very impressionable 5 year old baseball playing son.  Tyler has a begun to develop his own set of local heroes.   At first it was Jordan Darnell, the tall, hard throwing pitcher at Ardrey Kell.  Jordan has moved on to Elon University and has been replaced by another Knight, Zico Pasut.  I am not sure if its the name or the fact that Zico is simply a heck of a nice guy, but Tyler sure does think a lot of him.   He loves the number 17 since that is Zico's number.  Luckily for Tyler, Zico will move on to my alma mater East Carolina University next year for football, so Tyler can continue to follow his career.  Although Zico will probably not wear # 17 again,   I am sure Tyler will still be able to find him on the football field.   Zico has always been super nice to Tyler, although Tyler gets really shy whenever Zico comes over to say hello.

Tyler has another local athlete that he thinks hung the moon and stars.  This athlete is only an eighth grader, but in Tyler's eyes he is a major leaguer.  Community House Middle Schooler Trent King has become a special friend and a great influence for my son.  Somehow an older boy can say the same thing to a young boy as a Dad, but the older boys words carry so much more power. 

In saying these words, I want to express to all the middle and high schoolers in the area, that you can be a great influence on younger children.  Anytime you have the chance to become friends with an admiring younger child, take advantage of the opportunity, share words of encouragement and invite them to attend your ball games.   It's hard to understand at your age, how much this really means, but when  you get older, you will be able to look back and realize the impact you made on someone's childhood.  Be a positive influence around them at all times,  you never know what trait or characteristic the child may pick up from you.

To Zico and Trent and the many others that have been so nice to Tyler, I say thank you.

Remember, you are never to young to be someone's hero.