Pitcher Bryan Morgado attempts to make a splash this Spring with the Miami Marlins.

As we continue exploring DREAM week on The Y Life, we thought it was a perfect opportunity to feature some Y dreamers who are making BIG strides in pursuing DREAMS comprised of fantastical scenarios!

I first met Bryan Morgado in high school, it just so happened we both attended a Private School in South Florida and although I began home-schooling during my Sophomore year to pursue my own DREAMS, we shared a few of the same friends and I knew of his vicarious journey in the world of Baseball.

Florida is the perfect breeding ground for the boys of Summer, with the climatic disposition to practice all year round, Floridian Millennial athletes have always held the upper hand.

Bryan first began his journey when he was four years old, his parents had the conundrum of quite the hyper child on their hands, needing to distract the boy, they put him to play Baseball and it stuck. We caught up with Bryan to get a little dose of inspiration, and while speaking to him we realized that DREAMS don’t always come true the first time at bat, sometimes you have to strike out before you hit the home run.

Knowing that family plays a vital role in Y success stories, we asked Bryan how his family core has helped mold his life?

“They understand what it takes to be successful in something, my parents when they were growing up, they didn’t have much- other than family. They had to support their parents, my grandparents growing up… so my dad was a huge sports fanatic and as well as an athlete, and he couldn’t make it, so it was his life long dream to have a son or a daughter to play a professional sport…they dedicated their whole lives to supporting me and my sister… they have always been there for me.”

When I asked him who his biggest inspiration has been, there was no surprise who the MVP of his life was…

“My biggest inspiration was my father, who taught me everything I know. He had to give-up Football when we was younger… and through that I learned a lot and I realized that life is not all about sports, but if I can do something to better myself and to always give back and be more appreciative of everything I have, I go for it.”

Originally drafted out of high school by The Boston Red Sox, he felt the urge to have a proper college experience, during which time at Tennessee the White Sox and the Phillies made him draft offers. At 21 Years-old Bryan joined forces with the Phillies and began to climb that pro- baseball ladder.

But what does it take to be a successful athlete? Yes, most of us have dreams, not too many people actually see those wishes blossom into fruition. With varying levels of dreaming also comes variant levels of success, to which I share a lesson I learned along this road less traveled… the moment you realize, you love what you do, that is success!

Recently picked- up by the Miami Marlins, Bryan is hitting the field with his left handed fast ball, and this 26 year- old pitcher is hoping to strike out more than just his doubters, he is throwing his way to playing amongst the ‘Big Boys’.

Speaking of that… This old’ Boys Baseball Club had some myths we just had to debunk; one of which was, do baseball players still chew tobacco? “Yes, they do it all of the time. I guess they do it to pass time… I prefer to chew gum and listen to music before I pitch, to keep me focused and locked in and prepared…”

Morgado went on to explain the reasoning behind these Baseball “traditions”… “we are very routine people, we are very superstitious. We tie our shoes a certain way, we wear our pants a certain way, for example me, I have to chew gum, like I can’t go pitch without chewing gum – I feel like it’s part of me… I tend to listen to music before I pitch!”

One thing is for certain motivational music will be playing through Bryan’s buds starting next week, like the lyrics of Phil Collins, which he finds soothing and his favorite song ‘In The Air Tonight’ actually helps him focus… You see, The Boys of Summer begin their much anticipated Spring Training in March and Bryan who is now pitching with the Miami Marlins is motivated to be their best fish in the C this Spring.

“It’s a great opportunity. It’s another chance, to play for the team that I always rooted for my whole life; it’s big deal for me, because it’s always been a dream for me to play professional baseball one, but to play for the Miami Marlins is something that I always dreamed of as a kid.”

This opportunity means everything in the world to Bryan, but it also means he has to work his A** off…

“Absolutely, I work very hard! During the off season I work about 4 to 5 times a week and now that we are getting closer to that time, I lay off the weights more and focus more on practicing, pitching and getting ready for Spring training.”

I have always wondered what an athlete’s workout entails, haven’t you? I mean when he says ‘work- out’… it couldn’t possibly be the kind of working out normal people would do, right? I can pretty much guarantee an hour or two on the treadmill doesn’t cut it!

“Our workouts are just more sports specific to what our position entails; I do more agility, squats, more fast twitch training, a lot of shoulder and back exercises— remember baseball is 162 games, so it’s a really long season, our bodies have to last that whole entire time, so we prepare our bodies for that, if we don’t our bodies will be exhausted by the time May or June rolls around.”

As quite the baseball novice, I picked-up on a few tricks of the trade during this interview, but through the eyes of a Millennial dreamer— I had to ask where Morgado saw himself this time next year?

“Hopefully playing in the Majors with the Miami Marlins”

We were even able to pick up a YFoodie tip from Bryan… What is the best meal for a Y Athlete?

“A little bit of everything. You have your protein like chicken, like I said Broccoli, you get a little bit of carbs, like rice, but brown rice preferably and a glass of wine wouldn’t kill you every once in a while, but mainly you want to stay with water, because you need to hydrate yourself .”

L snapped a Selfie with Bryan, when I caught up with him in Miami this month.