Like so many other young athletes, I went to college to play sports. The unfortunate thing is I did not go to be a college student. I was not prepared for the reality of being a student; regardless of being a student-athlete or not. Playing college baseball had always been a dream of mine and luckily I was able to get at least a sample of my dream. However, I never made any money playing baseball, so I found my passion in law enforcement. In 1995, four months after graduating from Longwood College, I became a police officer. I dabbled in coaching for the better part of my adult life. This included being a high school pitching coach, American Legion Head Coach, coaching my son from t-ball through Minors and now as an assistant Varsity Baseball Coach at St. Anne's-Belfield.
My law enforcement career brought me to Charlottesville, Virginia where I am a Sergeant on the Albemarle County Police Department. I am one of the Supervisors for the Daylight Patrol Division. This keeps me very busy, but it also allows me time to spend with my true passions; my family and baseball. Several years ago I met my now wife, Allie, while I was rehabbing from one of my many surgeries (both shoulders, both knees, right elbow and several others). She was an assistant where I was rehabbing. We eventually married. While we were dating, she was working on her Master's Degree in Sports Management from Virginia Commonwealth University. She encouraged me to get my Master's since I was always talking about it and sitting in on her classes (on-line). Initially I thought I wanted a Sports Management degree as well, but as it has turned out, I have a genuine interest in the business side of sports. With that being said, I am completing my Master's in Business Administration with a Concentration in Sports Management from Tiffin University.
As I progressed through my degree, I found that many of the classes were challenging, but not impossible. I always had a phobia about getting my MBA since I never took a single business course at Longwood. I think I have been looking forward to this portion of my degree requirements for a long time. I have to admit though, I never thought I would be doing the Mentorship with the UVA Baseball team. As the time drew closer and closer to try and get started on my Mentorship I started making cold calls to various departments at the University of Virginia Athletic Foundation. I do a lot of work with the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Virginia through my position at the police department. I thought my passion for sports and fund raising lent itself nicely to the Foundation. I was able to get several interviews, but nothing was a good fit beyond just being a volunteer. I want to maximize this experience, so I needed to be in a business setting. Luckily, one of my wife's coworkers is friends with someone in the UVA Football program. He agreed to meet with me to discuss possible options. Although he didn't have anything available in the Football Office, he was kind enough to make a call to the Assistant Head Baseball Coach, Kevin "Mac" McMullan. Coach Mac mentioned the idea of bringing me on as an intern to Coach O'Connor. I met with Coach O'Connor and discussed some of his ideas. I clearly was excited just to be in Coach O'Connor's office and he seemed to like the idea of having someone of my skill level working on his projects.
So, here I am, working on my Sports Management Mentorship while I overlook Davenport Field and the team is taking batting practice. Gotta say, this is pretty cool for a kid that always wanted to experience big time college baseball...I guess I'm finally getting my opportunity. Who says hard work doesn't pay off?
My law enforcement career brought me to Charlottesville, Virginia where I am a Sergeant on the Albemarle County Police Department. I am one of the Supervisors for the Daylight Patrol Division. This keeps me very busy, but it also allows me time to spend with my true passions; my family and baseball. Several years ago I met my now wife, Allie, while I was rehabbing from one of my many surgeries (both shoulders, both knees, right elbow and several others). She was an assistant where I was rehabbing. We eventually married. While we were dating, she was working on her Master's Degree in Sports Management from Virginia Commonwealth University. She encouraged me to get my Master's since I was always talking about it and sitting in on her classes (on-line). Initially I thought I wanted a Sports Management degree as well, but as it has turned out, I have a genuine interest in the business side of sports. With that being said, I am completing my Master's in Business Administration with a Concentration in Sports Management from Tiffin University.
As I progressed through my degree, I found that many of the classes were challenging, but not impossible. I always had a phobia about getting my MBA since I never took a single business course at Longwood. I think I have been looking forward to this portion of my degree requirements for a long time. I have to admit though, I never thought I would be doing the Mentorship with the UVA Baseball team. As the time drew closer and closer to try and get started on my Mentorship I started making cold calls to various departments at the University of Virginia Athletic Foundation. I do a lot of work with the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Virginia through my position at the police department. I thought my passion for sports and fund raising lent itself nicely to the Foundation. I was able to get several interviews, but nothing was a good fit beyond just being a volunteer. I want to maximize this experience, so I needed to be in a business setting. Luckily, one of my wife's coworkers is friends with someone in the UVA Football program. He agreed to meet with me to discuss possible options. Although he didn't have anything available in the Football Office, he was kind enough to make a call to the Assistant Head Baseball Coach, Kevin "Mac" McMullan. Coach Mac mentioned the idea of bringing me on as an intern to Coach O'Connor. I met with Coach O'Connor and discussed some of his ideas. I clearly was excited just to be in Coach O'Connor's office and he seemed to like the idea of having someone of my skill level working on his projects.
So, here I am, working on my Sports Management Mentorship while I overlook Davenport Field and the team is taking batting practice. Gotta say, this is pretty cool for a kid that always wanted to experience big time college baseball...I guess I'm finally getting my opportunity. Who says hard work doesn't pay off?