While the differences between a collegiate baseball experience and a professional career appear most obviously in different sounding bats, aged men with classic facial hair (most notably Brian Wilson’s beard), and constant media exposure, the most trying adjustments for a player in transition occur behind the scenes.

College provides an individual with the opportunity to learn structure and accountability under a real-life facade, an archetypal means to discover personal strengths and, more importantly, passions. Daily routines consist of early mornings punctuated by classes, seminars, and endless meals succeeded directly by strenuous practices and lifts, culminating with a team meal, some quality fellowship and, if you’re lucky, a good night’s rest.

Though the rigidity of this schedule occasionally seemed burdensome, I now realize the lessons I have inherited through the years. At this stage in my professional career, the weight of my future falls on experimenting and discovering what it takes to succeed … without the accompaniment of teammates in the offseason. Don’t get me wrong, the University of Virginia instilled a brotherhood within each of its alumni that has drawn us closer through separation (something we deemed impossible), but organized baseball-specific interaction is few and far between.

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