FRONT ROYAL — Their backgrounds are as different as their appearances.
A South Korean in search of an American education. A kid from Cleveland fleeing a rough social scene. A young man from Massachusetts looking to enhance his grades.
The Randolph-Macon Academy baseball team is a study in cultural diversity, and its melting pot cast finds solace on a dusty diamond nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
"They get along better than any team I've ever been around since I started coaching here in 1986," R-MA coach Bob Lewallen says.
The 17-man roster boasts players from seven different states and a trio from South Korea. Each has a unique and compelling story behind his journey to R-MA.
Take catcher Mike Vi. His parents escaped Saigon in the belly of a C-130 airplane just hours before the city fell during the Vietnam War. Then his father died when Vi was only 5 years old. Vi was growing up in a single-parent home in Manassas when his mother sought to jettison the blossoming athlete from an unsteady environment.
So he came to R-MA. He leads the Yellow Jackets with a .410 batting average and speaks with an eloquence beyond his years.
"I know that being here is the best thing for me," Vi said. "Academically, it's much better here."
Junior Charles Olson used to sweat baseballs in the summer working in his father's cranberry bogs in Plymouth, Mass., and Pat McHugh's dad is a JAG officer for the U.S. Army in Baghdad, Iraq. Timmy Maypray is a four-sport athlete from Kentucky who plans to become a fighter pilot, and utility man Chauncy Rockwell's parents live in Saudi Arabia.
Difference is the Yellow Jackets' most direct similarity.
"You never hear these guys have any arguments," Lewallen said. "It's almost like they grew up together. Over the last few months they've developed a bond that's just incredible."
The team's three South Korean players have also been incorporated seamlessly. Infielder Chang Lee — in only his second season playing baseball — is batting .385, and puts as much work into his swing as his English. According to Lewallen, he's been combing the Internet for Korean translations ever since the word "balk" threw him for a loop.
"The Korean kids are so funny," Olson said. "They just say hilarious things and make fun of each other in Korean. We all just like to have fun."
While the South Koreans came to R-MA for an American education, the majority of the baseball players are there for the structured environment. Their intricate schedule begins with a 6:15 a.m. wake-up call, followed by group breakfast, military formation and academic classes, all at specific times. In between, their rooms must remain spotless.
If a student is so much as a second late to anything, they're punishment is a "tour," which translates to 30 minutes of drilling in full uniform. Anyone can earn a tour for any indiscretion. In fact, one R-MA player missed the start of Wednesday's practice while finishing his punishment for eating out of turn in the cafeteria.
"It's great for me," Maypray said "Everything is a structure; it keeps me busy and it keeps a lot of kids out of trouble."
Maypray especially has taken advantage of R-MA and its offers. He's an accomplished athlete in baseball, basketball, football and track, and is enrolled in a flight program that will help him toward his goal of navigating fighter jets. The inspiration behind Maypray's lofty goal? Will Smith's character in the movie "Independence Day," the cocksure pilot who saves Earth from certain alien annihilation behind a flurry of daredevil moves and witty one-liners.
"Timmy probably will [become a fighter pilot]," Lewallen said. "He's a very special kid."
Lewallen has a team full of them. After a sluggish start, the Yellow Jackets have rallied to win seven straight, in the process gelling into one of the best hitting teams in the area with a .345 average. R-MA (12-8-1) faces Colonial Beach today in the Delaney Athletic Conference semifinals.
Part of the reason behind R-MA's late surge is the team's recently developing chemistry. Each season brings a new cast of players with various backgrounds and skill sets. This year was no different for Lewallen and his staff.
"It's almost like a jigsaw puzzle [when the season starts]," Lewallen said. You have to find your pitchers and you have to find your catchers. You have find out who can do what."
It appears Lewallen has seen the light. R-MA is one of the hottest teams around, and they hope to ride their newfound momentum into the state playoffs later this month.
In the meantime, the focus is on today's contest with Colonial Beach, which hasn't lost a conference game this year. The Yellow Jackets are confident they can blemish the Drifters' record, what with their strength in their differences and all.
"Now we've really learned about each other," Maypray said. "We're comfortable, we know what each other can do and we're coming together as a team."
