Every baseball player has a ‘why’.

The reason why they first picked up a bat and why they’ve continued to do it every day since. It’s different for every player, but it’s what unites them every time they step onto the field.

For Taz Tulowitzki, it’s how he bonds with his dad, Troy, who played shortstop in the majors for 13 years and is now an assistant coach at the University of Texas. He spent his early childhood in professional locker rooms, mimicking the batting stances of his favorite players and growing to love the game his father made a career out of.

“I like [Edwin] Encarnación’s [stance],” Taz said. “I think I was [best at it.]”

Meanwhile, Cooper Thissen loves the high energy environment that allows him to meet new people and show off his best skills. When the Iowa native isn’t dealing on the mound, he’s anchoring the outfield from center or crushing balls at the plate, similar to his major league role model, Cody Bellinger.

“His game is a lot like mine; he’s fast and he’s a lefty,” Thissen said.

Participants at the 12U National Team Training Camp begin the week motivated by their personal ‘why’. They arrive in Cary, North Carolina, as strangers hailing from different teams all over the country, but they don’t leave that way.

They’re assigned a team – the Stars or the Stripes – and a roommate, and given a schedule and set of expectations to uphold throughout the week. In order to make it to the next step in the selection process, they have to buy in – which means doing all they can for the success of the team. It means playing for the name on the front of their jersey, the U.S., not the name on the back.

After five days of rigorous training, players are tied together by an experience not many have the chance to take part in. They leave as teammates, brothers and friends, which is Antonio Rolando’s favorite part.

He said the best part of Training Camp was getting to know the other players and making friends, but he also learned a lot from manager Wes Brooks and the rest of the coaches.

“Do your laundry and be organized,” Rolando said when asked about his biggest takeaway.

It was his biggest takeaway because that expectation is set on day one. Brooks runs a tight ship, encouraging his players to be great on and off the field – which involves making your bed each morning, turning in your laundry properly, and other small tasks that require a level of self discipline.

He often emphasizes that he wants the boys to be good baseball players and even better people. That’s his ‘why.’

For Aiden Green, playing baseball is an opportunity to work on both.

“I love baseball because it helps me grow my mental game,” Green said. “I’m growing as a person and a player.”

Throughout the week, Green not only absorbed the wisdom of the seasoned coaching staff, but forged new bonds along the way. When asked who his favorite baseball player was at the end of the week, he started listing off his Training Camp friends rather than major leaguers, and he’d only met them that week.

Each player has their personal ‘why’ that gets them out of bed and onto the field each day. But once they’re out there donning red, white, and blue, it changes. There wasn’t a silent moment in either dugout during the four Stars versus Stripes games this week, as the players cheered each other on.

With the exception of a few who play for the same travel team, most guys met this week, but supported each other as if they had been friends for years. In these moments, their ‘why’s’ changed, whether they realized it or not.

Even at 12 years old, they were playing for something bigger than themselves. They were playing for each other and for their country.