07-09-2008, 07:25 AM
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Head Coach
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Total Points: 500,245.23
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All CVa: It?s a Long way to the top of CVa
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Saint Anne?s-Belfield?s Kyle Long is headed to Florida State after leaving a indelible mark on Central Virginia baseball.
By Jay Jenkins
Published: July 3, 2008
Kyle Long quickly noticed the enormous moving truck parked behind the fence in right field.
In a matter of moments, the muscular left-handed slugger turned batting practice into hunting season.
Clank. Bang. Ding.
Inside fastballs were no match for the St. Anne?s-Belfield star as the truck paid the ultimate price.
It just so happened on that humid day two years ago that the truck belonged to David Lourie, STAB?s newly hired headmaster.
?We were out there three or four times a week hitting and I remember when we saw them out and I was like, ?fresh meat,?? Long said with a smile. ?There hadn?t been a car there in months since Dr. [George] Conway had moved out.
?When I saw it I was fired up because coach [Eric] McGrane would throw it inside and I would try to pepper the truck. After a couple of balls, we forced them to move out and into the driveway with the moving truck.?
Lourie, entering his third year as headmaster at St. Anne?s-Belfield, learned quickly on moving day that the house that sits perched in the midst of the school?s plush athletic facilities was a prime target for Long?s batting practice sessions, something that altered more than just traffic patterns and parking scenarios.
?It was sort of like a short pop fly for Kyle to hit that truck in front of our house,? Lourie said. ?If there is a baseball game going on, I had to think twice about letting my son shoot hoops in the driveway.?
Those batting practice sessions, many of which were crammed into the later hours of the night to avoid a swarm of Major League Baseball scouts, changed lives.
?If it?s late at night and the lights are on over there, we would walk over and watch him hit, and he gives my son Jake his full attention,? Lourie said. ?Kyle is just a very kind person in that way. He always remains approachable and humble and he is really a remarkable young man.?
The countless hours of practice paid off ? Long was named the 2008 Central Virginia baseball player of the year after dominating in two-way fashion.
At the plate, the Florida State-bound slugger hit .400 with seven doubles and two homers and swiped 24 bases. En route to All-American honors, the southpaw also went 5-2 on the mound, posting a 1.91 ERA as he fanned 95 batters in 50 innings. Long also capped that career by being drafted in the 23rd round of the MLB draft, falling largely becaue of signability issues.
?It such a great honor because there really is great baseball being played around Central Virginia,? Long said. ?To get that award shows what all the work that you have done meant, and I am really excited about it.
?I have had a lot of great coaching and support from my family and friends. I owe it all to them and the coaching that I received from Eric McGrane, Alan Swanson, John Blake and Larry Mitchell. It was all about the help that they gave me.?
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All CVa: It’s a Long way to the top of CVa | Charlottesville Daily Progress
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