“Staring blankly out towards the stark windy night in Norwich, CT, last May, I watched helplessly as Aaron Reesh lifted a fastball superbly hit into the dark sky. As had seemed to be our luck the entire night, we all saw it sail directly towards the Xavier left-fielder for the last out of the 2002 Flyer baseball season. Aaron hit first and without breaking stride, instead of veering left towards second base, continued out toward the right field wall. His legs moving both his body and soul wishing that, in fact, he could outrun the reality that was his last minute in a University of Dayton baseball uniform. His disappointment, as well as that of the entire team’s, was palpable seeming to press down on us from every direction. The hope and expectation of hoisting the Atlantic-10 Conference’s crown was gone, replaced with the emptiness of a gift expected yet not received.”

“That emptiness was something common on a team of thirty, yet beyond that band, I am sure that many have trouble empathizing. Many reading this have never really followed Flyer baseball and would be surprised to know that four players from last year’s team went on to play professional baseball. Still less have ever seen a game atop the hill at our humble home, the Stu. And because of this, I am sure that many of you cannot understand the sense of loss for we players at the end of last year’s last game. The previous paragraph probably seemed to reek more of melodrama from a bad Lifetime Network movie than reality.”

“My purpose this year is to make you a part of this reality. I am here to give you an inside perspective of what it is like to play a Division I non-revenue generating sport here at the University of Dayton. You will sit in the dugout with me during practices, moan with me as I slide across the gym floor in January, and probably fall asleep on my shoulder during the twelve-hour bus ride back from Philly in the spring. I will sweat all over you in the weight room and then we’ll rush right off to class and try to comprehend why viscoelastic behavior is so integral in understanding relaxation in polymers. In relating these things, I will attempt to give you a sense of what it is like to balance school, sports, and the social life of a Division I athlete. I am doing this so that those outside the program will be able to not only see the life of a student-athlete but to understand why this sport and this school have such a hold of us.”

“The grasp baseball has on us stems not only from our individual love for the game but also from the spirit and drive that the program as a whole embodies. In order to understand us as players, one must understand the program we work and play under. As it is with most organizations, in order to know the program one must first understand the boss.”

“Our boss is an energetic, intense Italian that when he wears his black jogging suit looks like he came straight out of an episode of The Soprano’s. Coach Tony Vittorio leads us with an energy and an expectation that few of the players have ever experienced before coming to Dayton. Status quo is a slur never to be uttered around the big chief. He has done more with less wherever he has gone. He has taken three programs, including ours, from sub-par to a level that excels. This happens because Coach V expects more. He expects more wins than a non-fully funded program in Ohio should get. He expects us to play and beat the big boys, the Notre Dames and Ohio States (which we did last year).”

“In much the same way, as a player, he expects more from you than you would really think possible. He expects you to have high energy every day. He expects passion and spunk at every practice regardless of weather, school, or any other thing that takes place “outside the lines.” Oftentimes, it seems as though Coach will criticize more for our body language and energy than our play. The message comes through loud and clear from the head man, “Give me effort, energy, and spunk” and performance in the skills of the game will follow. These three words are the cornerstone of V and our program. They drive and move us and dictate how every facet of our program is run. With this effort, energy, and spunk, Coach believes and has conveyed this belief to the rest of the team that we will always be “one up” on the opponent and consequently have the advantage in all that we do.”

“This energy that allows us to “one up” our opponents lies at the very core of our program. It is evident in all the things that we do. In practice, it is apparent many times even before we pick up a baseball. Practice starts at 4:30 here. Yet, if you show up at 4:30, go home because we have already started without you. V and the team as a whole are getting one up on everybody by starting early and working late. We are fifteen minutes early for everything from meals to 7AM workouts. But it is not enough to just show up fifteen minutes early and come walking into practice. Our program expects high energy and a workmanlike constant from the instant a player steps on the field. Consequently, it is demanded that you run onto the field after passing through the gate before practice. There is no strolling into the dugout before a game or practice here. Stepping onto the field means it is time to work and you conduct yourself accordingly.”

“And work we do. That’s the fun of it. It is not easy here but as Tom Hanks once said in A League of Their Own, “the hard’s what makes it great.” We go harder than the other programs around here. We give extra effort in everything we do to go a step further than those we compete against. One-up-manship is a habit. In this effort, the program takes hold of you. Dayton Baseball starts to mean something to you even if it doesn’t mean nearly as much to the campus community as a whole. You are proud of it. You have given much of your best to the program. That is why this sport and this program have such a hold of us. That is why Aaron Reesh just kept running. We believe in this small Division I program. It is part of us and it has enveloped us. In the coming months you will begin to see ever more clearly why.”