Last June I was lucky enough to start working at Next Level Sports Academy here in Pembroke, NC. NL (Next Level) is an indoor baseball facility that provides batting cages, pitching lanes, and one-on-one hitting and pitching lessons. There are also several youth teams ranging from nine to 13-years-old. There is also a Next Level softball program for young girls. Currently, I am the pitching coach at Next Level and coaching with our 13 and under team. I also help out with the other teams when needed. I am at the facility for usually a couple hours Monday-Saturday, and for some of that time I'm not even getting paid — I just really enjoy being there and being around young players eager to learn baseball.

Not being able to play baseball this year, I was worried about not being part of the game or being on a team. But all we do at NL is play baseball, so I'm around the game every single day. Every week I get to work with a great group of kids some young, some old. Right from the first week I started here, I knew I was part of the Next Level team. Getting to coach young baseball players who love the game is awesome.

Getting to coach young baseball players who not only love the game, but also listen and have a desire to get better, is all I can ask for. Fortunately, I get to see a lot of players like this each and every day. The stand out players we have was not the biggest thing that stood out working at Next Level. Since I have been coaching for about seven months now I have gotten to see how the coaching staff has really helped most of our guys develop on and off the field. Our coaches all know baseball and understand how to teach the right way to play. I have learned so much from working with both the coaches and players.