EPISODE 3: The Professional Dream
By Jackson Odden
Hosted by Abby Smith

Official Transcript:

[THEME SONG – ORGAN.]

Abby Smith:

Hello everyone! This is the Mustang Post: The Home Turf, our new sports podcast, where we dive into not just the home turf of Sheyenne but the home turf of the love of all sports for fans and athletes who invest themselves and their lives in their passion. In this episode, Jackson Odden speaks with two Sheyenne baseball players about how they balance sports with education and their personal lives.

Here’s Jackson.

Jackson Odden:

Hello my Name is Jackson Odden I am a sophomore at Sheyenne High School and I will be interviewing two other sophomores.

Gavin Satrom:

I’m Gavin Satrom I’m a sophomore at Sheyenne high.

Ashton Loe:

My names Ashton Loe I’m a sophomore at Sheyenne High School.

Jackson Odden:

Every child has a dream. Sometimes those dreams are as simple as getting that new toy. However, there are those times where dreams become more complex, more life-impacting, bigger than big. Something like, “I want to be a pro athlete. A pro baseball player.” But what impact would attaining a dream like that have on that child’s life and the lives of his family and friends.

However, there’s a lot that goes into building that road to becoming a pro athlete. Namely, there those seemingly simple stages like preparing for a game. Gavin, a sophomore at Sheyenne High School plays on its C team and prepares for that moment he steps up to bat versus the pitcher.

Gavin Satrom: “Well, like if you scout the pitcher, you can like see how he throws, but um, I don’t really scout pitchers that much. So, I really just get there in the game and, like, see how fast he throws and try to time him up.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

Ashton, also a sophomore at Sheyenne high school on the C team, is a bit more focused and determined.

Ashton Loe: “When I am in the dugout or the on-deck circle I try and time him up, look at how he’s throwing what pitches he’s throwing basically all the mechanics of it.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

In order to accomplish the goal of playing professional baseball ball you need to know what goals to have for yourself and for the future. And more specifically the goals you have in life after you have gotten your high school diploma.

Gavin Satrom: “Well, I want go to college to play baseball, and then hopefully we get to the professional level, but like if not, then something probably something in like the accounting business.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

Ashton may share the same goals as Gavin but has a different perspective of life after high school.

Ashton Loe: “First I want to continue my baseball career in college and then if that doesn’t work out somewhere in the medical field like athletic trainer or something like that.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

Having a belief in yourself is a difficult thing to do when your goal is so high as to make it professionally. But it is a requirement in order to have confidence in yourself to accomplish it.

Gavin Satrom: “Well, I would like to say I am pretty good, but, like, you never know what’s going to happen. Its baseball it is up and down a lot of the time. You do good one time, really bad the other.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

Ashton Shares being honest with yourself about your ability can be difficult but necessary in the path of life.

Ashton Loe: ” If I am being honest I don’t really know because a lot of the players around me are really good and watching videos everywhere I see players younger than me that are throwing really hard so I don’t know.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

How does a baseball player maintain their focus amidst adversity, such as when they encounter struggles on the field? Can they find the inner perseverance, despite if they may be struggling in baseball?

Gavin Satrom: ” Well, like honestly you got to leave the last at bat or like batter when pitching behind you. And you just move on next batter, next at bat, all that.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

How can seeking out different environments to practice in help a baseball player regain their focus and improve their performance during tough times?

Ashton Loe: “Whenever I’m struggling on usually I just try and practice that more like go to the Ballyard practice that and get better at it.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

How has the discipline and teamwork learned from playing baseball translated into success? How have skills honed on the field, positively helped you in aspects of your life?

Gavin Satrom: “Baseball’s helped me by like keeping me in like so like for baseball, I have to focus on like on what ever I am doing, and then I can use that like in school too or for like what ever I am doing in my life.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

How does playing giving a person a good mindset in baseball and a peace of mind?

Ashton Loe: ” I like playing baseball because it gives me something to do all the time I am always practicing it.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

In the intricate dance between failure and success on the baseball diamond, how do you navigate the fine line, seeking growth amidst strikeouts and home runs? Can you share the strategies and mindset that help you maintain in your journey as a baseball player?

Gavin Satrom: “Well, Like balance the success is really just how hard I practice and all that, but then with like the failure I can just practice even more and harder to like get that success back.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

Keeping to yourself and working on you can be a great way to challenge yourself.

Ashton Loe: “Well, usually I try to ignore how other people are playing, focus on myself, and make sure I am working hard.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

As the crack of the bat echoes through the air, what specific milestones and improvements do you envision achieving in your upcoming baseball season, both individually and as a team, to make it a truly successful and memorable?

Gavin Satrom: “Well, really, it’s just to win the season and the tournament, so win as much as we can and play as best as we can.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

Self challenges can make you a better leader and player than you think you are.

Ashton Loe: “I want to play really good hit a lot better than last year, and hopeful our team can win the tournament again.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

What aspirations and objectives do you envision for your journey through college and beyond, and how do you plan to achieve them?

Gavin Satrom: ” Well, with college, I hope to still play baseball and keep up good grades, but then after college, I want to play professionally; if it doesn’t work, then something in the accounting business.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

What would you do if everyone didn’t look at you what if baseball doesn’t work out?

Ashton Loe: “For college I want to continue my baseball career hopeful go D1 maybe make it to the majors otherwise probably stay in the medical field like I said before.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

How do you navigate the challenge of resisting comparisons to peers of similar age who might be excelling in various aspects of life?

Gavin Satrom: “When I’m playing the game of baseball, I don’t really look around to see how people are doing; I just care about how I am doing myself and think if I can perform better or, I guess play better.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

Comparing yourself to others can be a tricky thing how do you try to avoid it?

Ashton Loe: “Although I do see a lot of better players I just try and ignore them focus on myself get better get better than them.”   
 

Jackson Odden:

“How do you manage the juggling of your academic studies while also dedicating significant time to practice and play baseball, and what strategies have you found most effective in maintaining a balance between these?”

Gavin Satrom: “Well, I mean If I can focus on the grades, then I can go out and just play baseball.”   
 

Jackson Odden

One of the most beautiful parts of playing sports is you are a student athlete how do you balance being a student and an athlete?

Ashton Loe : “Usually I am pretty good at keeping my grades up keeping eligibility so I just focus on baseballs a ton during school.”   
 

[THEME SONG – ORGAN.]

Abby Smith:

There you have it, with one athlete confident with his rise to the professional level and another riding the wave, who knows what the outcome will be.

This podcast was recorded by Jackson Odden and hosted by Abby Smith and our thanks goes out to Ashton Loe and Gavin Satrom for their time which helped make this podcast possible.

In our next episode of The Home Turf, Reise Berg and Aiden Johnson, take a look at the world of professional basketball.

Goodbye everyone. We’ll see you soon.

This has been a production of Mustang Post News.