The knock on the door happened somewhere in the vicinity of 6:48 AM. Not surprisingly, nine-year-old Jason was ready to see if his year of being good was going to be rewarded. Two days before, he was finally able to sit down with Santa and go over that all-important list. The most important group of items on that list was an entire set of catcher’s equipment. I realize that Santa doesn’t have to pay retail, but even at the cheapest Internet sites, it was going to take $175 to make that little boy happy. Luckily Santa came through and all was good.

Jason wasn’t alone in his pursuit of baseball happiness. His older brother, Justin, had on his list a $130 bat. Not a true believer, he was willing to cast fate to the wind and not mention his list to Santa when he had the chance. As all adults know, however, Santa has his ways and he was able to find out about Justin’s list and come through on Christmas.

It wasn’t long before Jason was running around the house in full garb and Justin was in the basement taking a few cuts. Everyone was happy, especially the folks at MasterCard.

If my parents were still alive, they would be shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at such expenditures. What they don’t know is that my children are not alone in their craving for equipment, one-on-one training, and baseball camps. In a society that pays the average Major League baseball player several times what the President of the United States makes, money becomes no object in the pursuit of a better ball player.

As for myself, I stepped over the edge and made the decision to give my kids every opportunity to excel at a sport that I dearly love and was fairly miserable at. Both have been receiving $35 per 30 minutes training from an ex-Major League pitcher. They have gone to four baseball camps in the last 53 weeks and have already begun practices for their respective travel teams. When spring rolls around, my wife and I no longer have lives. We become glorified taxi drivers in the pursuit of excellence.

Don’t get me wrong. I do not have the key to the back door at Fort Knox and every opportunity to save a buck or two is still relished. I drive a beat up car at 160,000 miles with the knowledge that my $35 per half hour is going to a good cause. Yet, just spending money does not get the job done. Knowing that they are getting the proper instruction is the key. Five minutes after my favorite ex-Major Leaguer began working with Jason, he miraculously lost the bad throwing motion that I had been working on for 1 ½ years to correct.

Two of the four camps that my sons have attended in the last year-plus have been Christmas baseball camps put on by Tony Vittorio (UD’s head baseball coach) and friends. Tony is the kind of guy that you would love to coach your child. He is no-nonsense but not afraid to have some fun at the same time. My kids have been talking about coming to this camp for months and enjoyed every minute of it.

I certainly love the fact that each of the boys got the opportunity to swing the bat in excess of 200 times each of the three days and got a good deal of one-on-one instruction, but the real key is the message that each of the instructors sends with their words and actions.

About mid-way through the first day, Tony sat all of the boys down and asked, “How many of you tell your parents that you love them?” About half of the ball players reluctantly threw up their hands. I knew this straw vote was somewhat biased in the fact that both of my sons put up their hands and I know that Jason only uses the word “love” when it is closely followed by the word “chocolate.”

Tony spent a good deal of time talking to the young men about the lack of respect that he has seen children throw at their parents. “These are people that would literally give up their lives for you,” he thundered. “They wiped your butt when you were not able to and do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

This is not the type of language or wording that our kids hear in school, but it is certainly relevant and may actually be heard. Just like the instruction that Jason received about his pitching motion, these kids hear Tony a lot better than they do their own parents.

Tony’s wasn’t the only message given here. Mark Pieper, the head coach at Franklin (IN) High School, talked about the importance of faith, family, and friends. John Rigney, the head coach at Batesville (IN) High School, talked about the importance of “team.” Terry Pool, an assistant on Vittorio’s staff, talked about what it takes to get to the big leagues and how a great work ethic is necessary in both baseball and during the time we spend outside the lines.

Yes, there is a good deal of talking, but the main emphasis is making the 60 players in attendance better baseball players. Tony mentioned to me during one of the breaks, “These people have spent $100 to come here and I want them to get their money’s worth.” They come from all over, including Texas, and represent all ages as one six year-old was shoulder-to-shoulder with the 18 year-olds. Every day emphasized hitting with two hours of laying bat on ball. The last two hours each day consisted of base running drills, pitching, fielding, and a ball game or two.

Tony Vittorio has been able to put together a program at Dayton that he can be proud of. There are 13 fully funded programs in the state and only three that are partially funded. Dayton is one of those that is partially funded, but must play with the big boys when it comes to getting talent and lacing up the cleats. Vittorio has been able to get every ounce out of his players and facilities and isn’t afraid to do the same when he puts on a camp. You definitely get your money’s worth with Tony both on the field and in the classroom of life.