The All-American That Nobody Wanted

(Editor’s Note: Nick is an outfielder for Nassau Community College)

by Nick Marino

Throughout my whole life I’ve mostly played for my dad. I played one year with the Long Island Titans but I knew that he enjoyed coaching me and I also just like playing for him. Maybe that cost me in the long run with connections and so on but the time playing for my dad is irreplaceable.

So fast forward to junior year of HS at Bethpage –probably the biggest year for someone trying to get attention from college coaches and I flat out played terrible. That year I was just mired in a season long funk and I just couldn’t get out of my own way. I wound up losing my starting spot, and for someone who was supposed to lead the team, I felt beyond embarrassed.

After that year I said you know what I’ve spent my whole life doing everything baseball all the time, that I’m gonna change it up a little. I decided to play football. I wound up being one of the best defensive backs on the island and even got offers from a Div-III school in Illnios and LIU Post to play football there. Now that was shock to me, I know I played well but FOOTBALL? Wasn’t expecting that all.

So now it’s spring of senior year and I had nothing to lose with baseball. My coach left me off the top 100 in favor of two of my teammates. That motivated me a ton. I wound up coming four doubles short of the Nassau County record and was named MVP of my team and All-Conference. Still though No coaches called except a Div-III team called Keuka College. I wasn’t going to attend that school because I knew I could do better if I was just given an opportunity.

I decided to forgo the football offers and the one baseball offer and go to SUNY Cortland. I had contact with the coach there but that team was already set and I just didn’t see where I would be able to fit in. I played club baseball instead. Anybody who know about club baseball knows it’s somewhat competitive but no one really cares and it just is what it is. I was fine with that. I just wanted to keep playing and enjoy my time at school, but I also just kept feeling like I can do more than this. I should be somewhere else. I talked to the Football coach at Cortland and gave him my tapes. He was impressed and told me to come down to the spring practices. I was on the verge of following through with it until I had a change of heart.

No matter how much I loved Cortland for everything it offered, I made a decision that I would come home to Nassau for my sophomore year. Now that decision was mostly major related but I said to myself, I’m gonna play baseball again and I really went hard in the gym at Cortland and that summer to prepare myself. I had something to prove and that motivated me. My feeling on playing at Nassau was– If I play well I’ll go back another year and hopefully play somewhere. If I don’t play well then this is it. I’ll just go to any school to be a student.

Tryouts come and I was unsure if I was even gonna make the team. Throughout my life I’ve just been accustomed to people over looking my abilities for some reason but I just needed one opportunity from someone to show what I can do.

That’s why I can’t thank my coaches at Nassau enough for giving me the opportunity that no one else would.

I played well, I got recognized for my year but that’s not enough for me. You can always be better. If you’re content in life you’ll never be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be.

(Editor’s Note: Marino was named All-American and also to Baseball on the Island’s All-Long Island team for his year–.371 AVG/.491 OBP/.663 SLG, 4 HR, 31 RBI, 18 BB, 7 K, 8-for-8 SB)

All those accolades were great, but we still didn’t win. That’s my goal–WINNING. That Suffolk loss motivates me and a lot of the other guys that are returning. We’re hungry now and we’re looking to get to a World Series. No egos, no nonsense, just wins. All you need in life is an opportunity and myself and my teammates are going to seize it.

I’m just looking for that same opportunity at my next school, wherever that may be.