This weekend, Lance Burnett and his New River Community College teammates dropped a 4-3 decision that ended the dream season of the Muskies, just short of the Promise Land that is the Championship in Alton, Illinois.

The game was played on a field that I’m way too familiar with as it served as one of our numerous home away from home fields for West Virginia Tech University.

  We go back to the beginning, every child who picks up a glove, bat, basketball, or soccer ball, dreams of playing the game for as long as possible. The final time that  a person can put on a jersey varies from person to person, and there is a wide margin. John Elway will always have one of the greatest hang-ups of the spikes stories of All-Time.

But we all know that the Elway walk-off was a one in a billion type ferry tale, and some stories never made it past Rec Ball. Others make their way onto a middle school team or the next step up – Junior Varsity.

Sports are designed to be a safe place for our youth, but even at the beginning levels, it has become a challenge to protect the environment that the games are played in.

Back to the story about young Lance because he is the latest example of someone who grew up on The Hill, was educated by the teachers at our schools, coached up by some quality leaders. What is a success story ? Let’s go to the dictionary for some help with that question…

Lance, surrounded by family and friends, stopped at a McDonald’s yesterday evening, and while it wasn’t a grand ballroom or in front of cameras from the likes of ESPN but his words were nothing short of elegant.

Having eaten at every McDonald’s between Charleston and The Hill, I can picture the moment. Having met NRCC Head Coach Wes Adcock last week, there are options that would allow Burnett to pitch a third year. Our skipper at WVU-T, Lawrence Nesselrodt, would welcome a young man who has been a shining star both on and off the ball diamond 💎.

That’s the beauty of the Burnett story in itself. The baseball side of life doesn’t have to end right now because he has reached the end of the road. It’s time for Burnett to get on the road to the success away from the game.

The young man who Adcock describes with pride in his voice, the same young man that the staff openly believes, was the first Domino that led his program to its newfound heights, has been equally successful off the field.

Sydney Nester took her ability to throw a softball and turned into two degrees spread across six years. Nester story was equal parts drive, determination, and family roots. Going from The Hill to NC State and finally on to Marshall University. Knowing the road from Huntington to Laurel Fork, I’m sure that the Nesters have frequented the same McDonald’s as the Burnett sign off.

Let’s get to the third member of this trio, Adrienne Harris(  McGuire). After four years on The Hill, Harris took her soccer talents over to Emory and Henry and worked on her degree. Due to the Covid outbreak, Harris had a window of opportunity to return to the Lady Wasps for a final season on the Pitch.

  Instead, Harris returned to The Hill, traded her spikes for a whistle, and put her education to work in the classroom over at Hillsville Elementary School in a kindergarten class.

Nester maximized her playing career at Marshall with it ending just shy of the Herd making it out to Oklahoma City for the College World Series.

  While we have masses that live and die with Cavalier sports. We have select residents who think sports are a waste of time but that’s the beauty of this particular story. It’s not a sports story!

This is an example of what can happen when a youngster is raised in a loving home and educated in our school system. Then they played a sport which had them being coached up by our staff.

Yesterday evening, a young man, born and raised here, set down his ballglove, and he did it with both elegance and grace. If you’re reading this and had an ounce to do with it, take a second and smile about your efforts.

Trust me, this is not a baseball story….