Rider College

As a society, we define success and devotion to what a person does by the amount of wins, the amount of money, and the amount of respect a person collects during the tenure at whatever they do. But, when the work ethic does not translate into success, it is the leader's fault. The entire team shoulders the blame, and not just one individual. My baseball coach, Greg Trotter, taught me that it's ok to not always be successful numbers wise. But, if you believe you gave it all you could have on the field, then you have no regrets, and you gave your best, but on that day the best wasn't enough. Greg Trotter taught me that success is not measured by the actual number amount, but by the amount of heart it took to get there. I have known Mr. Trotter since my freshmen year in high school through baseball. He is a gym teacher at my school as well as the head baseball coach. Through my freshmen and sophomore years, Mr. Trotter guided me through several tough decisions I had to make in regards to balancing my schoolwork, with a job, as well as playing baseball year round. For my first two years playing baseball in high school, my job required me to miss a practice for summer and fall leagues. Because of my extenuating circumstance, I needed to talk to Mr. Trotter. I walked into his office and he sat me down, and we talked not coach to player; but man to man. He let me know that it was okay that I needed to miss time for my job. Ever since that talk, I have had a great deal of respect for not just the coach, but for the man that helps form the coach. Entering my senior year, this is a pivotal year for the team, as well as being a pivotal year in making choices for the next chapter of my life. After finding colleges I wanted to attend, I decided to talk to my parents about my decision. After our talk, I was still undecided on which schools I was going to apply to. I decided to go in and talk to Mr. Trotter because he was always gave me good advice.