The 2021 Rams Reflect is the sixth in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of Suffolk teams have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Suffolk.
For a complete listing of past and present Rams’ Reflections, click here.
Tim Brigham | Hometown: Cape Elizabeth, Maine | Marketing
To the next #13,
Don’t look back. Not even for a second. You’ve made the best decision of your life joining the Suffolk University Baseball program. Coach Anthony Del Prete and Coach O’Brien will give you everything you need to succeed, and your teammates will become brothers who will push you to get better each and every day. But, it’s up to you.
It’s up to you to play for the name on the front of the jersey and for the guy next to you. It’s up to you to empty the tank on that last set in the weight room on a cold November afternoon when you could be doing something else and there is no one around to hold you accountable. It’s up to you to do everything in your power to help the group succeed. It’s up to you to take every rep at practice seriously because how you perform in the game depends on how you perform at practice. It’s up to you to be there for your teammates on their good and bad days because it isn’t always going to be easy if you want to reach the top. It’s up to you to not be timid, because part of being a Mutt is having confidence in even the most trying times. It’s up to you to not only make that commitment to yourself, your teammates, the coaching staff, and the school, but to stick by it with all you’ve got.
Soak it all in, and be proud of wearing #13 for Suffolk University. I say it’s up to you, because it really is. Each man involved with this program from the last guy off the bench, all the way up to Coach will be doing all they can and more to be champions, but if one link breaks, the whole chain will fall apart. If you remember that and always play for the guy on your left or right, then you’ll be golden. Individual accolades are nice for a bit, but they fade. What sticks with you longer is the disappointment and emptiness of not achieving what you and your teammates set out to do 12 months earlier. What also lives on is the joy you get to see on your teammates faces when you win a championship and you feel an immense sense of accomplishment together, knowing that you held up your end of the bargain, and so did they. That’s what life is all about. Working together to achieve something that will still make you smile when you are 85 and decrepit and can hardly remember the days of being able to play this great game in 38 degree weather with the wind blowing in your face at 8 a.m. on a Saturday in East Boston, Massachusetts. Life is all about choices, but one I know I’ll never regret is the firm commitment I made to this program over the past few years because it has paid me back immeasurably already, and I’m sure will continue to for many, many years to come.
So, thank you to Coach Del Prete for his willingness to deal with me the past few years. Thank you to Coach O’Brien for his ability to provide great baseball insight and bring a smile to my face before even the most pressure-filled moments. Thank you to the other coaches over the years who gave their time to the program like Mark Fusco, Jhonerris Mendez, Mac Jacobson, Jay Parker and Billy Uberti. And of course, thank you to all my teammates from my time as a Suffolk Mutt. It was an honor to pull on the blue-and-gold with you boys. I’ll treasure the memories we made for the rest of my life, and will always be willing to go to bat for any teammate of mine.
Signed,
Tim Brigham #TB13