The Newlywed Nolands: Its not how you win, but how you play the game...

Our world seems to revolve around the standard things in life. In the south, we love our Lord and Savior, we love our family, we love sweet tea, and we love our ball. Rickey and I have both grown up in the sport and have developed a passion for it. Baseball has been the way that we met each other, its been our career, its been our biggest heartbreak, and its a future that we look very forward to. If you talk to Rickey's mom, Mrs. Dana, she will tell you that when Rickey was little he would be asked what he "wanted to be when he grew up". His response? "I want to be a professional baseball player". He played all through his youth, winning championships and titles. When he was 12 he played for the Denham Springs Tigers and won the USSSA World Series. He played high school baseball, won a junior college world series at LSU-Eunice, and finished his career at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. Rickey, who has played the catcher position all his life, was a college baseball standout. Among many of his accolades, he was voted Gulf South Conference co-West Division Player of the Year, All Conference, All American, the list could go on and on and on. Our dreams came true on June 15th, 2008 when Rickey signed with the St. Louis Cardinals organization to play professional baseball.

Rickey will kill me when he reads the above. He never brags or boasts of his talents. He is not a record keeper, doesnt keep stats, just loves the game and the nature of the sport. Rickey is one of the most talented baseball players I have ever seen in my life... But he got released. Not because he wasnt a good player, not because he didn't perform, but because they had to release SOMEONE, and that someone was MY someone. Professional sports is one of the hardest careers to have. Its a day to day dread, wondering each night if in the morning you will wake up and have a jersey in your locker to play the next game. It's never about the talent, even the best players get released at some point. You work your ass off in spring training, play your hardest each and every game, and at the end of the inning you are never guarenteed your spot. Every year there are younger, faster, better guys vying for your spot and in the game of baseball, everyone deserves a CHANCE. I am so proud of the hard work that Rickey has achieved and proud that the time he and I spend traveling and watching him play professionally. It was one of the most exciting times of my life. Rickey has a bright future ahead of him with his coaching career and I am more excited to see how far he will go as a coach!

Recently, we have had many friends get drafted and many friends get released from the league. Its a hard reality to accept. One of my best friends that I met while Rickey was playing ball for the Cardinals talked with me about her heartbreak. Her boyfriend and Rickey's former roommate was released from playing and they were feeling what we previously felt. They felt lost, dreams had been shattered, and the future was dark and unknown. Its hard to figure out "what to do" when you've put your entire life into the present, into this game that you love, and it gets taken away from you in a second. Rickey and I relied on God to help us overcome our feelings and move on, and in that many doors opened for him (And myself). Many people think that baseball is just a game, but to us all, those in the field and those in the stands, its our lives. You realize ultimately that these men in uniforms are little boys at heart, and all they want to do it play.