The main focus of the week at the National Team Championships North Carolina has of course been baseball and while they may feel like they eat, sleep, and breathe the game 24/7, these players have plenty of stories to tell about life off the field.
For a lot of guys, baseball is the primary focus, but not the only sport they are playing. Football, hockey, basketball, and swimming are just a few of the other sports played by different members of the 14U National Team Championships North Carolina rosters this week. Texas locals on the Dulins Dodgers Prime will emphatically let you know fishing is one of their favorite sports along with the nation’s pastime. When asked what they do when they are not on the ballfield, one player put it simply: “whatever we can do outside.”
Sports aren’t the exclusive hobby though, as a lot of players enjoy using downtime to play video games. The competitiveness on the field does translate to the controllers, though, as quite the argument arose in the Richmond Braves National dugout when the question of who was the best Call of Duty: Warzone player was posed.
But the athletes do take a break every now and then from competition to relax. Players from the Miami-based Elite Squad were quick to say, “The beach. Every weekend.” when talking about what they do when they’re not traveling. While sports, video games, and going to the beach seem like normal things for teenagers to enjoy, some tournament participants have more unorthodox ways of spending their free time.
Nolan Bernard from the East Cobb Astros spends time working on a cattle farm in his hometown of Pineville, Tennessee.
“My parents run the farm, so it’s kind of like the family business. If I’m not playing, I’m doing something to help out there,” he said. Bernard would like to continue following in his parents’ footsteps as both were Division I athletes at the University of Alabama; his mom was a swimmer while his dad played baseball for the Crimson Tide.
John Lash of the South Charlotte Panthers would also like to continue a family tradition – and it’s a tradition he’s working towards at the National Team Championships this week.
Lash’s dad is a former member of Team USA. But not for baseball.
At the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, he competed on the United States handball team and won gold at the 1987 Pan American games.
“That’s a huge deal,” the younger Lash said about what it would be like to represent his country on an international stage. “Getting to wear ‘USA’ across the front of your jersey would be an honor.”
After all, that’s why all these players have traveled from across the country to be here this weekend. And the southpaw made waves on Friday when he topped out at 89 mph on the mound in two clean frames for South Charlotte.
With the chance to compete for gold at this tournament and possibly for a spot in USA Baseball programming too, the stakes are high this weekend. And with bracket play set to begin tomorrow, this is crunch time.
The video games, beach, and cattle farm can wait. It’s showtime.
