Views From the On-deck Circle

The perspective of a writer in-waiting.

Photo by Garrett Butler on Unsplash

In baseball, hitters who are next in the lineup prepare for their at-bats outside the dugout in what’s known as the on-deck circle.

Here, hitters go through their own, often meticulous, routines to prepare to go to the plate. They stretch and get loose, time up the pitcher and analyze his performance, and generally make all the adjustments they need to be at their best when they step into the batter’s box.

Baseball players use the on-deck circle as a proving ground to ensure they’re both mentally and physically prepared for the job they’re about to do. Although it’s a very routine part of the game, many players believe at-bats are either won or lost in the on-deck circle, underscoring the importance of focused, intentional repetition.

In many ways, for the past few months, I’ve felt as if I were standing in an on-deck circle of sorts. Mine is, of course, figurative, but the feeling I have is the same as when I stepped onto the literal on-deck circle back in my high school playing days.

My journey to become a writer began nearly a year and a half ago when I realized that the feeling of dread I got when I went to work was worsening. Over time, the sensation evolved until I became miserable. I loved the people I worked with, but the job itself was slowly but surely taking its toll on me.

So I did what any person does when they want a new job. I scoured LinkedIn, Indeed, and every other job board out there for positions I felt would bring me the fulfillment I was looking for. But every job I applied for, every posting I read only brought back this same feeling of dread I was desperately looking to escape from.

I began looking for other alternatives, but short of going back to school, I was hitting a wall in every direction I went in. Something had to give.

On a whim in the fall of last year, I created Storm the Field, not necessarily to become a writer, but simply as a creative outlet through which I could vent some of my professional frustrations.

I was quickly entranced. The melodic rhythm of researching a topic, creating an outline, and pouring my enthusiasm into a story had me hooked. And this was only the beginning.

From blogging I took on additional writing duties, working part-time for Fansided’s Fighting Gobbler covering Virginia Tech sports. Although it was a far cry from The Athletic, I finally had a by-line with my name on it. The feeling of pride I felt when I saw it for the first time was immense, and I realized I hadn’t felt that way in years.

It was then that I began toying with the idea of pursuing sports writing full-time. Though I was very new to it — one could argue I still am — the notion was extremely compelling to me. I had always loved sports and felt I was improving at this writing thing, so it didn’t seem completely out-of-reach.

But I knew I wasn’t in a place to go after it as a career just yet; I hadn’t gotten nearly the amount of experience necessary for anyone to seriously consider me for a “real” writing job. So, like a hitter waiting for his at-bat, I stepped into my on-deck circle and decided to hone my craft in earnest to ready myself for when my opportunity came along.

The drive I had then, and still have now, to make something of this is hard to describe. Never in my life had I felt such a strong conviction to pursue something with everything I had. This ambition drove me to bring on additional ventures that would prepare me further.

These came to fruition earlier this year. I began helping The Stadium Insiders, a growing group of sports enthusiasts looking to improve the fan experience for live events. As part of this effort, I helped create a comprehensive stadium guide for Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. that provides detailed, firsthand insights to help fans know how to best travel to D.C., how to navigate the city’s public transit, where to stay, which tickets to buy, and what to do before, during, and after a Nationals game. I also began publishing editorial pieces for TSI that detail ticket sales, stadium news around the world, and scheduling updates for every sports league out there.

Then in April, I began working as a freelance sports reporter for the Winchester Star in Winchester, Virginia. This has allowed me to cover five area high schools’ athletics programs as well as those of one NCAA Division III university. This opportunity has brought me the closest I’ve come thus far to being a “real” journalist. Conducting interviews with players and coaches and crafting narratives for a bona fide newspaper has been as exhilarating as I had hoped it would be.

These, and other promising avenues I’m pursuing behind the scenes, are my own routines to ensure that I’m ready for opportunity when it strikes. Although it hasn’t been easy, this process has afforded me more personal and professional growth than I’ve experienced in a quite a while.

So, as I continue waiting until my name is called over the loudspeaker to step to the plate, I’ll continue to methodically prepare with the aim of hitting one out of the park - not by luck, but because I took every practice swing seriously.