Perspective…..
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I’ve been thinking a lot about perspective lately.
Find out what's happening in Deerfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Thinking about perspective as I sit in the stands this Spring watching a lot of youth baseball. Say what you will about the pros and cons of youth sports having “blown up” in today’s world, with all the feeder programs, travel teams, year-round training, elite designations, and kids being treated like blue-chippers by their parents starting at around 7 years old. In this world, perspective can take a back seat.
Since our baseball season started this year, I’ve seen several cases where perspective was a little lacking. A dad who isn’t a coach, despite being asked to stand down and let the coaches coach, insists on pushing his way near the team’s bench because he’s the second coming of Joe Torre. Another dad, who for years from the stands has not so subtly ridden these young players who are just doing their best, continues again to routinely embarrass himself with this type of abrasive conduct at games. A month ago as I was watching live coverage of the bombing at the Boston Marathon, where people had innocently lost limbs and loved ones, I was simultaneously alerted to an earth-shattering issue where a parent was simply out of her mind about a piece of her son’s uniform having been delivered a little too big. You would have thought our equipment guy had murdered someone himself the way she was carrying on.
1. “My kid’s a shortstop, not a left-fielder! What’s wrong with this coach???”
2. “I can’t believe how bad the umps have been this year!!!! We can’t buy a call!”
3. “What do you mean my son made the B-team??? He’s one of the top kids in the program!”
4. “ANOTHER error by Joey!!! Get’m out of the game!!!”
That’s four out of a million.
Perspective…..
I was starting to feel pretty bad myself about what I was seeing and hearing this season. I was having trouble seeing the good in something that for years has meant so much to my family and to me. Ironically, I too was having problems putting all of this in perspective.
So I decided to go search out a young man from our program who I know has a wonderful, inspiring perspective on sports and life, and to tell his story. Hopefully, reading about him will help give the less-grounded youth sports parents a dose of something they may really be lacking….perspective.
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This is the story of our newest coach.
As a youth travel baseball director, I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to be around some of the best baseball coaches in our area. Great high school and youth coaches, many former high school, collegiate and professional ball-players, and all life-long baseball guys.
But none of them quite like our baseball program’s current 12-and-under (12U) assistant, high school senior, Coach Luke Strotman.
Now Coach Luke isn’t your typical travel baseball coach. He wasn’t blessed with the size or athletic skills to have been much of a ball-player back in his own playing days. In fact, at 5’1” and less than 100 lbs, Luke never played one inning of travel ball, let alone for his high school team. Not that he didn’t want to. He revered his two older brothers, now out of college, who were both decorated athletes in both baseball and football. His oldest brother, Jack went on from high school to play college football at St. Norbert, and his brother, Mark played both high school baseball and football. Luke’s younger brother, Matthias competes at a travel level in multiple sports. Even Luke’s dad, Bill competed in sports at a high level, playing four years of volleyball at Notre Dame.
Luke did play youth baseball growing up (as well as some basketball), but by his own admission, he wasn’t all that good at it. Now most of the guys coaching at this level weren’t just good players, they were exceptional. They have waged battle after battle on the field as players, and have used those experiences to become great teachers of the game. To become great teachers of young men.
But if being battle-tested is one of the marks of a successful baseball coach, then Luke Strotman may be the most exceptional coach of them all.
Luke has waged war on cancer and won. Three times.
Luke was first diagnosed in 1999, at age 4 with a solid tumor (neuroblastoma) in his chest and abdomen. His prognosis then was 20-25%. But following chemotherapy and radiation, Luke defied the odds and the tumor and the cancer were gone.
Luke was cancer free until the end of 7th grade when a routine blood exam showed leukemia, most likely caused by the earlier treatments. Despite another poor prognosis, Luke was able to find a bone marrow match in his brother Mark, and following treatments, Luke was again back in school by the end of 8th grade. For a second time, the cancer was gone.
But Luke’s struggles were unfortunately not over. About one year ago, in the summer of 2012, another routine blood test revealed the cancer had recurred. After a long struggle, they found an anonymous marrow donor, and he went through more extensive treatments in late October.
Now his latest blood work shows no sign of cancer, and I’m told that with > 98% of his new cells being donor, that’s as good as it gets. So for a third time, Luke has fought cancer and won.
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I met Luke about three baseball seasons ago. I was coaching my son’s Bronco game (11-12 year olds), and Luke was the umpire behind home plate. I took note that they had placed such a young kid at an upper-level game, although he was a solid ump with good command of the game.
Turns out he wasn’t as young as he looked.
But what Luke lacked in size, he more than made up for with his enormous heart. He was a regular in the stands at all his brothers’ games, cheering not just for guys named Strotman, but for his program and for his community. To anyone who has been at a game where Luke was also there, they always knew Luke was the biggest fan in the park.
Despite being small and very thin, Luke for years would play house league baseball with and against his friends. There wasn’t a fiercer competitor, a more positive teammate, or a more gracious adversary than Luke. Win or lose, Luke’s presence itself was the definition of success.
When his health dipped, so to did his ability to play the game he so deeply loved. But despite being dealt a difficult hand, he never quit. Instead, Luke Strotman sought out to reinvent what it meant to be a team guy. A program guy. A sportsman.
Out of the pure love of the game and his community, he became trained as a baseball umpire, as a baseball equipment manager, and as a high school football ball-boy. And even though nobody would have blamed him for taking a proverbial knee as things got more difficult health-wise, Luke ended up working just as hard or harder than his more able-bodied teammates. If his brother’s team was playing, Luke was there keeping the stats. If a big equipment delivery came to the baseball shed, Luke was unloading boxes and packing equipment bags for hours on end. If the high school football team was playing in wet conditions, Luke was running in dry balls from the sideline to the line of scrimmage on every offensive play (true story). And when the team was down and out, Luke was there to remind them of the big picture; that while sports sometimes feels like life or death, they are not. And that true sportsmanship isn’t about wins and losses, or individual records or team championships, but instead about the love of the game, the love of representing your community, and the love of your teammates, friends and family. Luke represents and embodies all those things and many more.
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When I heard Luke was sick again, for the third time, during this offseason, I was shocked and saddened by the news. He would go through extensive treatments for months that left him weak and tired. I had heard that he might not even be back this summer to his usual spots, behind the plate, in the stands or behind the counter at the equipment shed. Our baseball organization without Luke just wouldn’t seem right.
So a few of us on the Board got together and decided to put Luke where he so rightly belonged. We would place Luke, the hardest working baseball guy we have---a guy who has played for us, officiated for us, worked for us and cheered for us ---place him in one of the most coveted and sought-after spots in our program. On the bench coaching one of our top travel teams. We had one team especially in mind. That team had a catcher on it with a lot of talent and a ton of heart. He was a great kid from a great family. He also shared the same type of determination and will to succeed as did Luke Strotman. That player’s name was Matthias Strotman. He is Luke’s 12 year-old brother. He would also be coaching alongside one of our strongest managers, a guy who had also mentored Luke on the high school football field when Luke began working for the football team. Our Board unanimously approved Luke’s baseball coaching appointment, and Manager Mark Januszewski welcomed Luke to the 12 Reds bench the very next game.
Luke’s father Bill tells the story of when Luke first got the job. He walked into his parents’ bedroom with his new team cap, eyes gleaming, and proudly proclaimed, “Dad, I finally made a travel team.” Bill Strotman says that following in his older brothers’ baseball footsteps has always been on Luke’s bucket-list, and now that one has finally been crossed off….
Luke is beyond special. I have never met someone with his kind of spirit and determination. Especially not someone so young. But don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what several of Luke’s “guys” had to say about him when asked if they wanted to contribute to this article:
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"Luke is the example of toughness, both mentally and physically. I don't know if I have met anyone who is as tough as Luke. He is going to do well at whatever he does in life because he has the toughness to fight through any type of adversity. Luke has been a huge help with the 12 Reds. Luke does the book for every game, then writes an article/recap of every game. This takes so much off of my plate. I can't thank him enough for what he does on a daily basis." Mark “Zues” Januszewski, Manager, Deerfield 12 Reds
“What has always impressed me about Luke is his positive attitude throughout his treatments. His is upbeat, energetic, and ready to help any way possible. He always wanted to fulfill his role in the football program, no matter his current condition or stage in treatment. This year he tried to schedule his treatment time so he could be at our games, and I know it was killing him inside when he could not attend. This is a kid who was going through a life and death treatment, and was concerned about how I and the team were doing. When he was not there he wanted to make sure his replacement did the job well. He is an inspiration to me not just how he has fought through his condition, but with the attitude he has. I never heard a negative word, never felt sorry for himself, never thought about failure. Instead he tried to win the small daily battles that added up to a victory." Steve Winieki, Varsity Football Coach, Deerfield High School
“Luke is the model employee. Always prompt, professional and communicative, he has been one of the top umpires for DYBA over the past several years - in no small part due to his boundless enthusiasm. Despite battling cancer, Luke has always expressed a desire to remain involved. His love for baseball and commitment to Deerfield are unparalleled. For this reason, Luke received a promotion to Umpire Supervisor prior to the 2013 season. In his new role, he can continue to teach, train and mentor younger umpires, now in an official capacity. Luke has been an invaluable asset to the DYBA umpire program, as he has to countless other programs and causes”. Victor Rudo, DYBA Director of Umpires
"I have many strong memories of Luke during our DYBA years – many of them reflect Luke’s influence on those around him as much as Luke’s specific accomplishments or actions...Maybe it was because of Luke’s battles with Leukemia, but I think it was more because of the way Bill and the Strotman family have always approached DYBA – Bill…always understood what DYBA is supposed to be about. I hope I’ve learned even a little bit of that in our years together in DYBA. The Strotman family and Luke have had a tremendous positive effect on the people of Deerfield. For that we should all be thankful." Harry Steindler, Past Commissioner, Director of Baseball, DYBA
“I have had the good fortune of coaching baseball for fourteen years. Luke Strotman is, without question, the most amazing young man I have ever known.
You may be aware of Luke’s incredible story: a three time cancer survivor, a person with an indefatigable spirit unlike anyone I have known. But you may not know how great an impact Luke had on his teammates.
During T-Ball and Coach pitch days, he was a diminutive player who was loved by his teammates because of his great desire and will to win. As he grew older, his teammates began to understand his real story; his trials and tribulations in fighting cancer. He never spoke openly about it, he never wanted anyone to feel sorry for him. He just wanted to be the best teammate he could be and compete with his friends.
My fondest coaching memory occurred during a tie game in the bottom of the sixth. The bases were loaded with two outs. Due to his size, I was kind of hoping Luke would coax a walk. Not today. First pitch, he lined a game winning base hit over the shortstop’s head. Needless to say, his teammates mobbed him as the hero of the game. But to the credit of the opposing team, his opponents all came over and congratulated him also, and presented him with a game ball.
I can personally attest to the tremendous impact Luke had on his teammates. Every single player on his team that knew his story would marvel at his competitiveness, his love of the game, and his unbelievable desire to be the best teammate he could be. He was, and is, loved by all.
No one embodies the principles of youth sports quite like Luke. I’m not sure anyone ever will. Luke is a young man that overcame incredible odds to become the best teammate a player could have”. ---Tim Shanley, one of Luke’s long-time coaches
“My feeling on how sports has impacted Luke’s life is that it gives him normalcy…..it allows him just to be a kid. He’s never known not being a cancer survivor and for the most part it defines him and he is more than ok with that. But he also wishes he could have skipped that part of his life and just been like his brothers. That is why he cherishes being a manager for the football team..and I know it’s what was in his message when DYBA made him a coach for the 12 Reds and he came to me beaming holding his Travel hat saying, “Dad..I finally made a Travel team.” Bill Strotman, Luke’s dad
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I watched the 12 Reds a few weeks ago as they hosted the Lake County Lightning. It was a chilly night and only the true baseball fans were at the field for that one. Sitting on a bucket, in his red “D” cap and his black “D” baseball pullover, was an assistant coach charting the game. Every now and again, he’d look up and say a few words of encouragement to his players. Then right back down to his task. We won that night 14-8.
But really, we won that night before the game even started.
We won because we have Luke Strotman.
And Luke’s a winner.
He’s 3 and 0.
And that’s perspective.
