The Bigger Picture
By Kevin Klemme
As in any sport, baseball teams have coaches all around—managers, coaches for pitching and hitting, base coaches. Any of these teachers can play a pivotal role in the development of an athlete. There are also coaches—mentors, if you like—who can guide a young player without setting foot on a baseball field.
Damon Maxey, a 17-year-old second baseman for Broad Ripple High School and the Indianapolis RBI team, learns from such a mentor. Damon met Lowell Bartel, a retired pastor in the United Methodist Church, through the Executive Service Corps—a group of retirees who contribute back to their community by sharing their skills with students. While Damon learns how to play baseball from his coaches on the field, Bartel helps him understand how to integrate his passion for the diamond into a life that realizes the young man’s potential.
Damon has found success on baseball teams. He’s played since starting out in T-ball when he was six years old. Although years of hard work and play led to a recent, week-long trip to California for the RBI World Series, Damon’s thinking about baseball is oriented toward team achievements. When asked, he doesn’t remember his personal stats from the World Series games, only that his “best moment was hitting a double against Philadelphia.” Regarding his objectives on the field, he wants “a winning season, to win the IPSAC conference title, and to finish at least third in the city”—all team goals.
Pressed, Damon will admit to personal targets, too. He wants to hit at least .500 (his average was .595 last year) and make the All-City and Super Teams, with an honorable mention at the all-state level. These on-the-field goals have led Damon to participate in other activities, as long as they support his baseball development. He also plays varsity football to stay in shape and attends a dance magnet school, in part for “flexibility, speed, and stamina.”
Damon readily admits that “baseball is my big motivation.” But there’s a bigger picture, and that’s where Bartel comes in. It’s fine for Damon to want a shot at playing baseball in college and the pros. Bartel, however, recognizes the need for “a safety net,” a way to “round out life.” Together, they work on Damon’s plans off the field.
As a mentor, Bartel notes that “Damon is obviously a very good player.” He knows how important baseball is to Damon, and that “skills bring dreams and visions, which is good. My job is to keep them balanced.” He does that by working with Damon to examine possible colleges, checking on grades, keeping track of key dates in the application process, and discussing options for majors. So, when you talk to Damon, you hear about his off-the-field goals just as quickly as his baseball exploits. He plans to graduate on time, select a good college, and study for a career in physical therapy.
Bartel is pleased by Damon’s choices and credits RBI with contributing to Damon’s development. The league “is very important—Damon can’t stop talking about it. It’s not just the game, but the exposure to the people who are involved, quality kids and adults. It makes a difference to him and has been very important in formulating who he is as a person.”
Damon loves RBI and focuses on its contributions to his baseball play. “They’ve been very supportive, and help me develop a lot of the skills-- baserunning, hitting, fielding, and pitching.” But the bigger picture is coming. He also says, “People should know that no matter how small or how big your goal, you should still reach for it.”
Bartel hasn’t seen Damon play baseball yet, but he will once the season starts. He supports Damon’s efforts to play at any level, but knows as well that he’s helped a promising young man prepare for other paths in his life.
Damon Maxey
