I didn’t know much about sports at 8 years old… but I knew enough to stay close to my best friend and follow the crowd.

It was my first time trying out for anything. I didn’t even know what “tryouts” really meant—I just knew Vance told me to come with him to Woodland School Grounds. It felt like the whole neighborhood was out there. I tried to play it cool, but inside, I was overwhelmed. Still, I couldn’t let anybody see that. At least I tried not to.

The team I was trying out for was called the LaPlace A’s. The Head Coach of the 10–12-year-old boys was Coach Donald Ceaser—we called him “Too Bits.” The 13–14-year-olds were coached by Mr. CJ Watkins.

That first day was a blur. But I remember faces—Kerry Brown, Sugar Bear, Leo Joseph, and one name that stood out most in my young eyes: Randy Brown. These were legends in LaPlace. At least to me, they were.

The Woodland School Grounds had it all—basketball courts, football fields, and, of course, that dusty baseball diamond. It became the proving grounds. And Coach Too Bits? He was the General. Practices were filled with running, 6-inch drills, and a no-nonsense attitude.

What a lot of people didn’t know is Too Bits wasn’t just a coach—he was also a janitor at our school, John L. Ory. And trust me, he carried that same strictness into the hallways. I learned that the hard way more than once.

I didn’t make the team those first two years… but I kept showing up. I tried to outwork everyone. And when Coach lined us all up against the fence for final cuts, I’d always sneak as close to Randy Brown as possible—hoping maybe, just maybe, he’d point at Randy… then point at me.

Didn’t work. Got cut both times. And yeah—I can laugh now, but back then? That hurt.

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Coming up next:
I’ll take you into the Saturday mornings at Woodland—where I sat in the stands and soaked in every detail, even though I wasn’t on the field yet.