Concidentally that Fisher article talks about how valuable his football experience was. You often hear that the year-round, almost-professionalized youth baseball player is missing out, not just on life experiences, but on being a more well-rounded athlete from not just repeating the same tasks only playing one sport year-round. Years ago, the kid would have just played football in the summer and fall and baseball in the spring. But now...
Fisher said playing football and baseball allowed him to keep his body loose and move in different ways. Playing football in front of big crowds and friends also fed his competitive nature: “There’s not much that’s like Friday Night Lights,” he said.
At times, it was weird to be a two-sport athlete at baseball tournaments, Fisher said, competing with kids who were “gone all summer from their homes, playing baseball.” He was typically at a tournament with his club team, Artillery, one day, then returning to Evansville for football practice the next.
One night before a tournament in summer 2023, Fisher went to a football scrimmage at 4 p.m. on a Tuesday, playing in seven versus seven and 11 versus 11 scrimmages. He got home around 7 p.m., throwing a few baseballs to his mom in the little daylight that was left. They were on the road to Hoover, Ala., for a tournament shortly after.
We got into the Hoover area, like 2:30 a.m.,” he said. “We woke up at 5:30, and I got myself ready to go pitch at 8. After that game was over, around 10, we packed up and made the five and a half hour trek back home. I was back for football practice that night — Wednesday night. It started at 5:30 p.m.”
Ross, who has scouted for 20 years, said there were more players like Fisher when he began scouting — less coached, more natural ability, more multi-sport athletes.
