My Story.

Question of the Day: Is Roy Halladay's decreasing velocity a sign of a Phillies team on the decline?

I consider baseball to be the greatest sport on Earth. It is my passion, my first love. I revolve everything around baseball and because of that I have gained an incredible knowledge of the game when it comes to statistics, history, and know how. I can watch baseball videos on YouTube all day long, or read articles on players and teams for hours on end. Baseball is what I lean on when I am in a dark place or in need of a break. It has always supported me whenever I needed it to, and with that, I have the up most respect for game that I had played for 14 years of my life. While baseball has been my escape for years and over the past couple of years, I have only gained a larger love for it because I lost my ability to play the game that I love the most.

My parents never knew that I was on the baseball team, they always wanted me to focus on my education and while that was a big part of my focus in school, baseball was the main priority. I messed my knee up pretty badly in my final semester of high school. I was rounding first base and the next thing I know, I'm on the floor clutching it and thinking to myself, "I'm done." Fast forward weeks and I'm on crutches. I was a constant burden for my family, my schoolmates, and to my friends. My doctor told me I have a slight tear in my ACL and that I would have to go through an intensive month of physical therapy and that when it was all said and done, I'd be able to play and do whatever I wanted. With my hopes up I muscled through physical therapy and yet, I had no progress in my knee. I went back to multiple doctors and they told me I wasn't going to be able to play baseball anymore. I mean, I was off crutches, and I can walk some what better, why couldn't I just play? It destroyed me. Until I realized that maybe maybe I can express my love for baseball in a different way than competing, so I decided to use all of my knowledge to teach others about the game that I love so much in the form of writing. 

I don't want anyone to go through what I have gone through.. having to hear that you cannot play the sport that you base your life on is incredibly hard to deal with. I still wear a knee brace, it has become apart of my daily attire and I walk with a slight limp  I still miss playing baseball. The smell of the grass, the feel of the bat in my hands, and the feeling of happiness that I got when I hit the baseball is something that I consistently dream of but I did not let my disability to take away from my love of the game. As long as I can spread my love to others and have my writing grow an appreciation for the game, I am content. 

Questions or comments:
Tweet me: @NeilShelat6
Email me: nshelat6@gmail.com