Schley looks back on first pair of H-years

04 December 2015

- How did you get to join a baseball club, why the Beckerich Hegdehogs, and how do you like it?



Funny story indeed… I had been a fan of baseball for 25 years, following the MLB kind of every day… Three years ago over a few beers my new neighbor, an American, told me he was playing baseball, and whether I was interested to join him one day to check it out. I was amazed to find out there was a ball club just 10 minutes from my house, and I had never heard of it despite its 10-year existence. Anyway, it turned out my neighbor’s job schedule did not allow him to play anymore, so I went to practice without him, and I haven’t looked back since. We still have beers together sometimes though 



- What do you like the most about the Hedgehogs?



Without a doubt: the team spirit and the international atmosphere. There are folks from many different countries, I love that. Playing baseball helped me through difficult times; it allows me to escape the everyday stress at least for a few hours a week, so that’s great too.



- How would you rate your first two full seasons with the Hedgehogs?



It’s loads of fun ! The team spirit is unique, amazing, it’s an awesome bunch of guys. I have learnt a fair bit, but still need to improve A LOT to become even an average player. At my age, it’s not as easy to acquire new techniques, etc. When I joined the Hedgehogs it was initially only for the fun and to exercise a bit, but I must admit I now also love the competitiveness. We want to have fun at practice, but we also want to win, as a team.



- You mention your age… You are kind of an atypical player, in the sense that you started a competitive sport from scratch at a relatively late age, and of course baseball is not really the easiest of sports to learn. How did you experience this?



Bar some long distance walking in my early 20s, I never did anything that you could call a sport without blushing. Starting to do some sport was kind of my personal 40th birthday resolution. I am glad I actually managed to put this into practice. Baseball is the only sport that motivates me to move my butt though. I very much regret I didn’t know about the club 10 years earlier. You are right, it’s a pretty difficult sport to learn - jogging would have been far easier. As I said, I still have to learn a lot, but I am extremely motivated to do that. The fantastic team spirit helps of course.



- Do you have any specific goals in relation to baseball?



I am desperate to win a championship. I hate losing. We are currently rebuilding as a team, but I really hope we manage to win the finals at some point while I am active. Go Hedgehogs!



- What would be your message to people your age who might ponder over whether they are too old or not to have a go at something new in sports?



Well I am not a sports expert, so I prefer to put it more generally…: Never be scared to try something new in life! Feckin’ go for it!