This is a story about a kid who thought he had it all, realized he lost everything, then fought to make something out of it. That kid was me, Mike DeVecchio, founder of DevX Player Development. 

 

After excelling on the national stage of amateur baseball and then High School, I thought I had it all. I had pitched to a 0.39 ERA in my high school career so far and had attracted interest from many of the best schools in the country. I figured I would either go to a high Division 1 college as a Pitcher or be a two-way player at a low Division 1 college. Life seemed great on the outside but deep down something was off. 

 

That something was Fear. It was always fear. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of the unknown, fear of letting others down. I couldn’t shake the fear. It clouded my judgment, hindered my work ethic, and led to many mistakes that eventually got the best of me. 

 

My inability to cope with my fears led to a rapid downfall that left me out of school, out of baseball, and without many options. I continued to make one mistake after the next for the next few years, squandering my prime athletic years and my dreams along with it. 

 

After being away from baseball for nearly 4 years, I reached a point low enough that I decided to make meaningful changes in my life. Instead of working on my baseball skills, I learned life skills that helped me continue to grow in the face of adversity. Skills that helped me become a better person, a better teammate, and a better leader. 

 

At 24 years old and 5 years after playing my last baseball game I decided to see if I still had anything left in the tank. No longer eligible to play D1 Baseball, I tried out for my local Junior College Baseball team that happened to be one of the top teams in the country. 

 

While I didn’t have quite the same zip on my fastball, I had just enough to make the team, earn All-Region Team honors, and go on to be one of our Starting Pitchers in the D1 Jr. College World Series. 

 

I went on to finish my College career, earn my degree in Business, and learn one of the most valuable lessons one can learn in life. Nothing that comes easy is worth anything.

 

After starting a family and graduating college at 28, I thought about what was next in life and it became clear to me that I wanted to help ball players reach their ultimate potential on and off the field. Something I never got the chance to do. The idea of DevX was born. I spent the next 2 years researching and studying the very best minds in baseball. Now here we are today, home to some of the best young athletes in the country. I coudn't be happier to be able to shape the lives of ball players and help them discover what they are truly capable of.  

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Thanks for reading, 

Coach Mike

DevX Player Development