Super 8

The Wolfpack

Tonight, story six, is one I didn’t expect. When I sent my high school baseball coach, Ryan Wolfsheimer (Coach Wolf), the scoop for doing a story, I didn’t even think about this piece of his life. But I certainly remember it vividly. As much of a figure Coach Wolf is in the community, people don’t always realize the humane side of such figures.

We all go through spurts of time that we can’t control, but here’s how Coach Wolf turned to faith to build his family…

“My cell phone is ringing at 5:15pm on Friday March 11^th, 2016. It’s Ashley, my wife, calling me as I’m finishing up practice and preparing for a scrimmage the next morning at Patterson Mill High School. I say to the coaches walking off the field with me, “Why is she calling me??? She knows I’m on the field. So I answer the phone even though part of me wanted to decline the call and send her to voicemail. “Hey dear, what’s up? I’m heading in from practice, what’s the deal?” That’s when I heard Ashley say, “The baby’s heartbeat stopped…”

Trust is a Must

For the fifth story I heard from the legendary Shea Swingle. She is truly exactly how she describes herself here, as the ‘responsible one.’ Shea welcomed me to Radford originally with open arms, and I quickly got to learn what made her such a positive force amongst her peers.

Since graduating, Shea has been pursuing a Masters Degree in speech pathology in George Washington’s graduate program. The Northern Virginia native spoke on trust for us, something she has learned through her young adult life.

“I’ve always been one that tries to predict what will happen next in my life. Avoiding situations that I feel could lead to negative consequences, predicting how others will react in response to my actions, typically playing it safe in regards to “major” life decisions. But as I get older, I find this is one of my best and worst qualities.

Life is a Journey

Today’s fourth story comes out right after 8:00 where our fourth guest is living out in Nashville, Tennessee. This is a summarized life story of how Steve Ross learned to reach self-actualization. Just as he has always been supportive of me and my career, he is one of my favorites. His CD is always in my car player, and now his story is on my blog.

Enjoy…

“I’ve got a question for you. Are you self actualizing? Are you working on being a better version of yourself? Well, I can tell you, it’s never too late. My life’s journey has had way too many twists and turns to cover in this short story. Suffice to say I came from an extremely volatile background. One filled with death, abuse, alcoholism, lack of faith and betrayal. I never knew my mother, my father passed when I finished college and my brother took his life before he reached his 30th birthday. I spent the better part of my life in survival mode, trying to piece together some semblance of normalcy.

Logan Love

I wanted to put this third story out earlier in the day today to give it enough time to resonate. I think it’s the most detailed and impactful account so far. When I created this week-long initiative, I did so with people like Lauren in mind. Lauren Miceli is my oldest first cousin, and she stepped up to tell us a story that I genuinely believe to encapsulate all eight values.

Here is her beautiful story about one of my personal heroes…

“It has always been my dream to be a Mom, to raise amazing little humans, teach them to be kind, compassionate, and hardworking people and to watch them make their mark on this world. Family mealtimes, bedtime stories, time spent together learning and growing and making memories, it was all those simple joys that excited me the most.

Communicating the Super 8

For the second story of this series, Nina Gayleard volunteered to take us through how faith, family, sacrifice and discipline have impacted her path into the ‘real world.’

There’s not much more to introduce about Nina, she does it all and explains it beautifully. Enjoy…

“I tried to think of an interesting way to introduce the fact that I am a master’s student studying Communication Management at Towson University, but this will have to do. To understand how the Super 8 apply to my life, it’s helpful to introduce what I’m doing now and how I am involved in academia as a whole, as it is a large chunk of my short and long term goals.

Chop Wood, Carry Water

This is the first story of eight for our Super 8 Stories Series. Tonight’s account comes from a very talented baseball player, but an even more compassionate human being. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Max through the baseball community, and have always been impressed with his view of the world and how he strives to make it better.

Maxwell’s writings focus on discipline, because it took his own discipline for him to climb the ranks of Baltimore R.B.I. program baseball player to projected MLB 1st-Round pick next spring. I knew Max would give us something short and sweet to chew on from his own experiences in his life. Tonight, in the leadoff spot for the story series, is the University of Maryland’s clean-up hitter…

Introducing The Super 8 Stories Series

Hope Requires Action

It has been a little while, but I’ve been at a loss for words recently. I’ve had trouble organizing my thoughts into a way that can tackle the world’s issues and personal issues as well. Although this year has felt dismal at times, there are lessons in everything. Some we see on our own, others we don’t understand until we live, and most we can’t grasp at all. As I’ve been thinking about what to post for days on end, I’ve realized most people are concentrating on hope.

Hope is a powerful feeling, ultimately synonymous to faith and prayer. It’s a feeling of wanting more, wanting betterment, wanting peace. But it is only a feeling until it is acted upon.

We Need Us

When I started this website I obviously did not foresee a global pandemic and so many more struggles deterring us from what used to be normal life. I had anticipated being able to share experiences as they happened, writing posts on the buses to a weekend series, and being able to share both successes and frustrations. But today, I write frustrated with the concept of being a student-athlete right now.

In a world of such uncertainty, universities, schools, staff, students or athletes don’t really have a grasp on what’s going on. None of us have been here before and it’s uncomfortable and weird. I personally have no idea how things are going to operate in the next few months. Some schools are remotely learning, some are hybrid, and some are still trying to meet in person. So let’s break down all of the perspectives involved.

How Did I Get Here?

I was six years old throwing a rubber baseball off of the brick wall at Warren Elementary, right across the street from where I grew up. I was waiting for my dad, who was inside the school chatting with the director of the Cockeysville Recreation Council. I had only played one year of coach pitch baseball to this point, but I had started to develop an affinity for the game.

On our walk home from Warren, I asked my dad if I could play travel baseball. Little did I know, just moments before, the rec council director had asked my dad if I wanted to fill the last roster opening on the 7-8 team. Dad originally shook off the question, concluding that it was too soon for me and assuming that I wouldn’t be interested. So, when I coincidentally asked about playing, he was stunned.