Dear 11 year old Kevin,

It seems as if you're walking on air I know, but trust me, it's real, and it's only going to get better.

You just won the District 5 Championship with your 11 year old Shrewsbury Little League All-Star team, but the game of baseball has much more to offer you, my friend.

You probably don't believe me now, but this game will take you all over the country. I know you think Shrewsbury is the best place to play baseball, but it's not. You'll get to play in Jersey, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and you rocked fourth grade geography so I know you know where all these places are.

You'll play top competition from Georgia, Michigan, Canada, Nevada, and I know you're gonna freak out when I tell you that you'll even get to pitch on ESPN for your hometown the summer before you go to college.

But K-Hum, listen to me buddy, none of this is going to happen if you don't work hard and don't listen to what anyone says about you.

There will be a lot of people who think you don't have what it takes to play college baseball, there will be a lot of people who think you don't have what it takes to even play in high school. But I want you to know that you do have what it takes. You will work hard and push through anything that anyone says to you.

Also, buddy, quick side note, when Dad asks you to go outside and hit, just do it, he knows what's best for you.

Side note number two, listen to your mom when she tells you not to throw your helmet when you strike out for the third time in the day, it makes you look like a real jerk dude, you're better than that, and you're not in the MLB so, take a chill pill.

But I want you to do me one favor, do it for the people who doubted you. Do it for the college coach who said you didn't throw hard enough and were too skinny to play college baseball. Do it for the coach who took you out of the game when you made one error to put his kid in who made four. Do it for the guy who said you should switch to cross country. CROSS COUNTRY KEV! Tell me that doesn't get you fired up and want to go throw a ball through a window.

Anyways, there's going to be people along the way that want you to change the way you act. They're going to say you're "over the top" or "too arrogant" but I want you to stay true to yourself.

If you bend to their standards, you'll never get to be the kid that "does it all"

So, be you, and don't let anyone change that. You're going to be alright kid.

Sincerely,

19 year old you