Ryan Creps '14 Recruiting Profile

  My desire to play baseball in college is not only based on the love of the sport, but also because of the many valuable life lessons it has taught me. I have learned that success in both baseball and college requires a solid work ethic. This should serve me well not only in baseball, but also with my intended major of premedical or engineering. To succeed with these majors, I need to be organized, hardworking, and a self-starter. This will help me with the possibility of playing baseball at the collegiate level. Baseball reinforces the core values, and traits, that my family has taught me since I was young. These traits are perseverance, passion, and pride.
     Playing baseball teaches me perseverance and how to be patient so I can fight through any situation with confidence. Coming off my little league season, I had a batting average of .700, lead the league in homeruns, and successfully played shortstop and second base.  I then stepped into a junior legion year of negativity. That negativity came from my coach who was known for being a demoralizer. At the age of thirteen, it was a struggle knowing that if I made an error in the field, I was going to be benched. The vast majority of guys playing for this coach quit baseball; I chose to persevere. I found another team to play for and became their starting second baseman. We won many different tournaments that year. Playing baseball for most of my life, I have a genuine passion and respect for the game. Having passion makes me want to work harder, knowing that if I do well, my extra efforts have paid off. If I would have no passion, I wouldn’t have any purpose for what I’m doing. Practice to me is a joy, allowing me to further my passion of the game while improving my skills. Pride in baseball inspires me to do everything as well as possible; knowing what I do on the field and in the classroom demonstrates to everyone, what kind of pride I have. That pride I have is for my team, my family, and me. Life is not just about me, but the bigger picture. My actions and reactions to various situations should reflect that though. During games, if I strike out, I walk off showing no emotions. This is part of the game and it makes me more determined to come back stronger the next time at the plate. In the classroom, I take great pride in the 4.0 that I have carried all year. I have worked hard for those grades and I always challenge myself with difficult classes.

     As I move on to college, these traits will continually play an important role in my life academically. College can be stressful, so having perseverance will help me get through tough times. Most major universities consider their freshmen math and science courses as ‘weeder’ classes. The intent is to ’weed out’ the lesser students. If I choose not to persevere, I could potentially get a poor grade. That is not an option. I’ve already experienced this during my years in high school with the various high level math courses that I have taken. Perseverance has helped me accelerate in each course, receiving the high grades that I expect of myself.  The passion I have for my major in college and eventually my career choice will only make me want to work harder. Pride is believing in myself and my work ethic. This doesn’t mean just making me proud, but more importantly; making my university and family proud.

     Through all of my experiences in both baseball and life in general, perseverance, passion, and pride come into play daily. These traits are my cornerstone. They will help me reach my goals in both athletics and academics.