The Double Play Shot
From West Vigo to Indiana State and ultimately to the MLB, Jeremy Lucas and Tyler Wampler have been unstoppable baseball teammates. Together, they led West Vigo to the 2009 state championship game. And together they played at Indiana State and were drafted to the MLB. So it follows that Jeremy and Tyler had one criterion when it came to their trick shot - they had to do it together. Hence, The Double Play Shot.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Camaraderie. Togetherness. Team. It's what Jeremy Lucas and Tyler Wampler emanate upon first impression. From the "I got your 6" to the "through blood, sweat, and tears", Jeremy and Tyler have done it all together on the baseball diamond. Add those two with those morals to the other formidable players on that 2009 West Vigo baseball team, and you have something special. Something much more than a baseball team - you have a dynasty.
As soon as the daffodils bloom in the spring, take a trip to west Terre Haute. That is if you want to experience the 'Viking country' baseball. You won't make it through the town without hearing the baseball anticipation. Get the lawn chairs out and buy the sunflower seeds because the West Vigo Vikings are gearing up the 10-run rule the opponent.
We wanted to represent this great baseball culture at Trick Shots For Charity. So what better way than to get the MLB draft picks from the 2009 team do a trick shot? Seemed logical, so we give Jeremy and Tyler the call. We plan the trick shot at the West Vigo baseball field. The stage is set.
The first renditions of the trick shot involved hitting the ball from third base to second base and then hitting the ball again from second base to first base into a goal. This turned out to be difficult. At its surface, just hitting a ball with a bat into a goal is difficult. Now add hitting that same ball when its flying at you from 90 feet away.
We move the start of the "double play" from third base to shortstop. Now the trick shot attempts are close. The competitive trick shot excitement surfaces, as Jeremy and Tyler realize their trick shot can soon become reality. However, there is one more wrinkle we need worked out to improve our chances of hitting the trick shot
- the inflation of the volleyballs.
If you were hosting a trick shot involving a baseball swing, how much would you inflate the balls? Intuition tells us that the volleyballs aired up the most would jump right off the bat, right? Wrong. Through trial and error, we quickly learned that the volleyballs that best flew off the bat were the balls mildly deflated. It defies physics. Actually, it probably indicates that we don't know physics. Kinematic equations and spring constants
turned around to bite us.
We continue the trick shot with mildly deflated balls. Jeremy takes one round at shortstop hitting it to Tyler at second. Once we make it through all the balls we have, the two switch positions. Like good teammates, they don't care who gets the glory. Camaraderie. Togetherness. Team.
It takes an hour and a half to sink The Double Play Shot. The final scene had Jeremy hitting the ball to Tyler, and then Tyler hitting the ball into the goal. It also involved the beautiful "West Vigo" writing on the school wall in the background for a cinematic touch. But the best part of it all reverts back to teamwork. After Tyler hit the trick shot, the person who was most excited was his teammate, Jeremy.
But it gets better. Before Jeremy and Tyler's trick shot, the Trick Shots For Charity team brainstormed the idea of gathering autographs from all the athletes for later auctioning as a charity fundraiser. Thus, prior to the trick shot, we purchased an official MLB baseball for Jeremy and Tyler to sign. When hearing this idea, Jeremy one-upped us: he selflessly autographed his game-used MLB bat and donated it to us. It was the only MLB bat Jeremy has ever owned and he donated it. That's character.
So The Double Play Shot is in the books. It was our first trick shot involving multiple athletes, and it worked great. We gained another trick shot, but perhaps more important, we were re-inspired by the selflessness of Jeremy Lucas and Tyler Wampler. It's the crux of charity work, and it's a lesson to keep as our youthful Trick Shots For Charity continues forward. Thank you Jeremy and Tyler.
Click the image to learn more about Jeremy Lucas and Tyler Wampler