Grateful Living

By Matthew Semon

The worst thing for any athlete to go through is an injury. 

Unfortunately for me, I’ve had to deal with multiple, and through each one, I know that I come out better and stronger each time.

My dad was my coach throughout Little League. From a young age, he always kept things black and white with me. He is not someone to waste time, and he certainly never would have wasted mine. 

Throughout my time playing when I was little, he always told me I had the talent to play this game for a long time. I took those words to heart, and I made sure to make every workout and practice count. I was not here to waste time; I was here to push myself.

When it came time for me to go to high school, I was faced with a tough decision. I grew up in Nyack, New York. The public school I would have been going to was not a nice school, and it certainly did not have great athletics. 

My family and I sat down, talked it out, and elected to have me go to Don Bosco Prep, a private high school in New Jersey with a storied athletic program. I came in there my freshman year, and I could not wait to get on the field. Little did I know that this would not be for a bit longer than expected.

I came in as a shortstop. I loved playing in the infield. That winter, however, I tore my ACL. 

This was heartbreaking for me. I remember sitting down with my coach and talking about what my next move should be. As a freshman, I threw pretty hard. I was usually between 82-84 mph whenever I pitched, which was not super often. I thought hard about what I wanted to do. 

In the northeast, it is difficult to be scouted by really good schools. I realized that pitching was a lot more numbers-based than other positions. If I were to try and get scouted as a shortstop, I would have to hit around .400 for multiple years and just hope that the right people were there to see me on a good day. With pitching, I knew all I really had to do was try to throw hard and get it on video. In my head, I thought, “if I can hit 90 on video, I can play Division 1 baseball.”

That became my mindset. 

I decided to switch my focus entirely to pitching. When I got back from rehabbing my knee, I hit the ground running. Within a few months, my velocity jumped from 84 to 89 mph my sophomore year. 

This was huge for me. 

I knew now that I had what it took to play at the next level. Luckily for me, both my high school head coach and pitching coach played baseball at St. John’s University. That was a dream school of mine growing up. 

Once I really started throwing hard, St. John’s gave me an offer and knowing so many people that had gone there, that made my decision to go to St. John’s that much easier.

I loved playing at St. John’s. 

I loved the people, the program, all of it. My freshman year was a huge developmental year for me. I kept working hard because I wanted to do whatever I could to get on the field. I started my freshman year coming out of the bullpen, and as the year progressed, my outings got longer and longer. I made 15 appearances that year, including a start. 

I felt good after the year, and I was ready for my sophomore year to come so I could get even better.

During my sophomore year at St. John’s, I was struck with another injury. I was throwing with a buddy of mine when I felt pain in my elbow. I then went to get it checked out and the results showed a tear in my UCL. 

This is a common injury for pitchers, but it is not a pretty one. 

This sidelined me for my entire sophomore year. I was back on the IL. 

Once I was able to begin rehab, I did everything I could to maximize my recovery. 

I kept working. 

Through all the pain and struggle, I remembered my dad’s voice telling me not to waste my time. Not taking physical therapy seriously would be a waste of time, and that was something I was always taught not to do. I pushed through it, and when I came back, I was better than ever.

After a solid junior year at St. John’s, I decided that it was in my best interest to enter the transfer portal. 

I pitched in multiple summer leagues to get my name out to scouts again. I wanted to be on their radar because I needed somewhere to play. About halfway through the summer, I decided to pitch for the Boca Raton Blazers, a team in the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League. 

It was a fun group of guys, and we kept pushing forward until the end. I found my last start of the summer to be in the championship game of the SFCBL. I remembered all the work I had done, and I went out to show everyone that I was ready to go. That was the best my arm had felt all summer, as I went out and pitched six innings, allowing only one run on 2 hits.

After going through everything that I have, I am thankful to have people like my dad to be such a strong support system for me. He has pushed me to become the best I can be, and I am grateful for that. I am thankful for everything this game has shown me. I know that I can overcome anything and come out of the other side better and stronger than I was before.

In sports, your game is as strong as your support system. 

Really anytime you find success, it’s more than likely someone else or a whole lot of someone else’s helped you get to where you are.

A simple thank you can go a long way…

Thank you to everyone who has helped me to this point, the show goes on.