30 June, 2005


Getting up to speed in CCBL

Tied for first place with Wareham in the Western Division, the Bourne Braves are 6-3 after winning their last five ball games. As the weather heats up, so does the competition, with most teams being full strength now. As the roster solidifies, team chemistry starts to come into play.

"The team is starting to come together both on and off the field. You always worry about a team's chemistry when it is comprised of young kids from many different schools and many different parts of the country. This team is a very cohesive one, though," says Bourne's Andy Goff. "The chemistry happens by accident. We have a bunch of good guys who are all alike in that they love to play baseball.

"I don't know if [Coach] Harvey [Shapiro] had anything to do with it. He did yell at us once after a good win we had and maybe that brought us closer together," he adds.

Getting to know your teammates is part of the fun, says the Wake Forest sophomore-to-be.

"We hang out on nights that allow us to and we work well together on the field. A typical afternoon for the guys and me is to get at the field about 1:30, take BP, get ready to play. Then we play the game and then we eat."

After dinner, says Goff, there's often a little time to relax and find out what really makes other guys tick. Like how well they play Ping Pong.

"We try to relax or head out to one of the other guys' houses to hang out. Ping Pong is the early favorite as far as recreational activities are concerned. I have a table at my house in Pittsburgh, so I usually fare pretty well."

With another week behind him on the Cape, Goff is getting a grasp of what year-round baseball at this level really entails. A more intense schedule doubled with the need for self-motivation tends to make or break players.

"The schedule is more like professional baseball. You play every day and in college we played at most five games a week. The atmosphere is more laid back than my college team, though and that's part of the challenge. You don't have anybody really kicking you in the backside to get ready to play. You have to take it upon yourself to get prepared and I think that is also part of becoming a professional."

Seeing Wake Forest buddies on the Cape is pretty interesting, says Goff, and puts the league in more perspective.

"Matt Antonelli plays for Falmouth. We beat them last Wednesday. It was nice to see him, though. He's an exceptional baseball player and it showed as he had a single and a double against us. Josh Ellis plays for Brewster. We have yet to play them but I'm looking forward to it. Casey Sterk was with Orleans as a temp, but he got released this past week and is looking to catch on somewhere."

Goff says he starting to feel what it's really like to be away from family and friends for an extended period. Coming to the Cape was hard, he says, because he spent just a few days at home before heading out after a long college season. His host family is making him feel right at home, though, and teaching him how to play Frisbee.

"My host family has been great. Vic and Ann [Aviles] have welcomed me into their home with open arms and make me feel as if I am part of the family. Mrs. Aviles always has a meal prepared for me when I get back from the ball park and Mr. Aviles waits up to hear about the game and how I played.

"The kids are also a lot of fun. Thomas is the oldest and he is 10, almost 11. Catherine is 8 and Stephanie, 6. The other night we all hung out and watched a movie after they taught me how to play Frisbee. It's a lot harder than it looks."

Andy Goff, a freshman at Wake Forest College from Pittsburgh, is sharing his experience on and off the field as a first-time Cape League player with the Bourne Braves.

 
By Andy Goff and Silene Gordon
sgordon@cnc.com