A Future Coach in Training
If a ballplayer is satisfied, he’s going to slip. You have to keep fighting to improve.
–Nelson “Nellie” Fox (1955)
My name is Nelson Rivera but to so many in my 35+ years of playing this game, I am simply known as “Nelly”.
If you grew up in Chicago and played baseball, it was almost impossible to not have heard stories about the great south-side second baseman named Nelson “Nellie” Fox. Now since we both had the same first name, it seemed no matter where I went I would also be referred to by my teammates as “Nelly”. It’s a nickname that has stuck with me throughout my career, no matter where I ended up.
It wasn’t a nickname that I embraced wholeheartedly, after all, to my family I was simply known as “Nels”. But over time it grew on me and was something that would come to represent my “baseball life”. A part of my life that makes me as much who I am today as the part of my life where I am simply known as “Nels”.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
–A quote from Marianne Williamson, as spoken in the movie “Coach Carter”
In the fall of 1990, I took a stab at fulfilling a dream of playing Division I baseball when I walked on at University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), coached by Dean Refakes. While I didn’t make the team, that fall, that experience gave me the confidence that I needed to realize I could play at that level.
So after a series of tryouts, during the summer of 1991, I was offered a scholarship to play baseball at Kankakee Community College (KCC) and so began my college baseball career. I had the opportunity to play for both Coach Nyls Nyman (’92) and Coach Bruce Philips (’93) at KCC.
After leaving KCC I continued my baseball career at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) in 1994 and during this season I fulfilled my dream of playing Division I baseball before having to cut it short for personal reasons.
Coaches, both good and bad, matter. At their best they make a lifetime of difference. This begs the question worth considering: what impact will you have on the kids you coach?
— Jim Thompson, “The Power of Double-Goal Coaching”
Along my career I’ve had the opportunity to play for and receive tutelage from many great coaches.
I played for Coach Carl Hunkler at Naperville North High School in 1990, an IHSA HoF inductee.
I received coaching and personal instruction from Jack Perconte while in High School and went on to work for Coach Perconte off and on from 1991-1994, getting some of my first early opportunities to coach young baseball players through his camps.
In 1991, I played for Coach Nyls Nyman. A former Chicago White Sox draftee, Coach Nyman was a soft-spoken coach who brought the best out of me in just one season. I am grateful for the door he opened allowing me to experience playing College Baseball.
In 1994, I had a brief opportunity to be coached by Pablo “Issie” Sopena at NEIU. Issie was our fielding and hitting coach and he might have had the most impact on me as a player in the shortest amount of time. While my season was cut short, for personal reasons, I always cherished the opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing Division I baseball.
The one thing I cherish the most from my years of playing are all the fond memories I have of my coaches, teammates, opponents and venues where I played. I remember opening our season at NEIU at the Metrodome in Minnesota against the Iowa Hawkeyes and playing a three-game series against the Wichita State Shockers. I remember the meticulously manicured field at KCC with the evergreens in CF as our hitting backdrop. I remember taking the smallest bus in the world on our southern road-trip through the Carolina’s and Georgia; players sprawled out across aisles to get some sleep. I remember taking in a Georgia Tech game on our night off and watching Jason Varitek and Nomar Garciaparra take on the NC Tarheels baseball team. It was one of the greatest times in my life and I’m grateful for the opportunities I received.
During the time period between 1995-2007 I was more focused on playing competitive softball before putting on my coaching hat in 2008 when I started coaching my kids in baseball.
Since then I have been coaching youth baseball in my hometown and taking every opportunity to craft and hone my skills as a coach. As the son of an educator my father’s passion for teaching was ingrained within me. While I wasn’t compelled to become an educator myself (perhaps I missed my calling), the passion for teaching was something I naturally internalized. I take every opportunity to continue to learn this game and the art of coaching and I’m having the time of my life.
If you have an equal passion for learning, teaching and the game of baseball; I would love to hear from you.
Thank you for stopping by and supporting my passion.
Nelson “Nelly” Rivera