At the beginning of every school year teams come together after coming back from playing in their respective summer leagues. The first meeting of the year gives teammates the chance to share stories of the summer and meet the new incoming freshman. Some of the new players that the team doesn't get to meet are players who attempt to walk-on to the team. In college sports, a walk-on is a player who doesn't get recruited to play; they try out for the team in an open try out.
In the past our team has welcomed walk-on players with open arms. Walk-on players, such as Eric Helmrich, made huge strides over the season and ended up making an impact on the team. This year, we have one walk-on player, Eric Molinaro. His story is rather unique in the world of college sports. Not only did Eric walk-on to our team, his girlfriend, Nicole Van Loan, walked on to the softball team. It’s not every day high school sweethearts are able to come to the same college and walk on to Division I teams.
The two have been in a relationship for three years and decided that it would be cool to attend the same college. Not being too far from home (30 minutes) was also a factor in their decisions. Nicole decided before coming to Marist that she was going to try out for the team with the support from Eric. Eric was unsure of whether he would try out for the baseball team. In the end he decided that he would regret it if he didn't try out. With both sport's rigorous travel schedules, they have found support from each other as they undergo the taxing experience that is Division I athletics.
In the mean time we are in Richmond, Virginia to face off against the University of Richmond for a weekend series. We will be checking back in after the weekend to fill everyone in on how it went.
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