Brock Murtha: Why I Chose Notre Dame

(Editor’s Note: Brock is a 2020 graduate of Sayville HS. He has played varsity since eighth grade, and his coming off a historic 2017 season in which he smacked 10 HR, won six games on the mound and recorded a save. He became the first ninth grader to be named first team All-Long Island by Newsday. He announced his verbal commitment to the University of Notre Dame this past week. The following words are his own…)

by Brock Murtha

Ever since I was a really little kid, I loved sports; baseball and football being my favorite. I never wanted to play with LEGOs, matchbox cars, video games, or other things that little kids were into. All I cared about was throwing a ball around. It didn’t matter the season, I wanted to be outside having a catch. The other thing I loved more than anything was the University of Notre Dame. My family is Irish and I am very proud of that. I think I was about eight when I saw the movie Rudy, and from that point I convinced myself that I would get there someday–no matter what.

Growing up in a small town like West Sayville, I was given a lot of opportunity to try different sports. One thing that always bugged me was that people would say kids from small towns almost never–or at least very rarely–get play Div-I sports. My parents, especially my mom, would tell me never give up on your dream, and a kid from West Sayville has just a good of a chance as any to go to a big time program if they really want it. I believed her and stopped listening to people that would say otherwise. Lucky for me, I have a younger brother that loves sports as much as I do, so we spent a good part of our lives playing ball in the yard. He is a beast, so the competition was solid (although I destroyed him in every wiffle ball game!) I played every sport Sayville had to offer, including lacrosse and basketball, but baseball and football were always the front runners.

I knew that grades were going to be a big part of getting to college, so I really tried hard in school and always challenged myself to get good grades. My parents are also really strict about grades so I knew I couldn’t mess around with that. Another thing my parents told me was that sports and grades are important, but you need to have something else to make you stand out from other student athletes. This is why I also never gave up my trumpet playing, and still play in the Sayville band today. I worked hard at football and baseball, and I was lucky to be pulled up in 8th grade to play both. I was shocked and beyond excited when I made the varsity baseball team as an 8th grader.

I had a lot to prove, but I never gave up and I was determined to work hard to reach my goal of playing D1. I started going to travel tourneys and camps, and I got some interest from some great schools like Duke and Boston College, which was awesome. I visited both those schools and liked things about both. Then the opportunity came up in January to go to a camp at Notre Dame. I couldn’t believe it. I was going to visit Notre Dame!

I trained hard for this camp, knowing that if I didn’t make an impression my dream could die. I had the awesome opportunity to meet the coaches and get a tour the day before camp, it was the coolest place I have ever been. The entire campus–not just the sports-were truly unbelievable. I knew this is where I belonged. I gave it my all at camp, and I was really happy with my performance, but didn’t know if it was enough. I met with the coach after camp and he said they would come see me play for Sayville this spring and to keep working hard and keep doing well in school. I’m not going to lie, I was hoping for an offer on the spot, but I knew I obviously had to keep getting better, stronger, and faster. The coach told me to keep in touch and follow up with a phone call the next week, which I did. When I called and he said they want me to come play for ND class of 2020 I thought I heard him wrong. It was the best day of my life so far. I had a week to think about it and talk to my parents. For me, there was nothing to think about. Going to Notre Dame is every Irish athlete’s dream, and I’m one of the lucky ones. It really still has not hit me 100%. I am lucky for all of the coaches, friends and especially my family who believed I could do it. This is honestly a dream come true. Never give up and Go Irish!