Dear 17-Year-Old Me Series: Letters to the Overlooked

At The ARMory, we work with hundreds of players each year, many of them chasing the same dream I once had at 17 years old: to be great, to be seen, to be remembered. And for a lot of them, the path is anything but easy.

So I’m starting this blog series as a letter to my younger self, and to every kid (and parent) who’s ever felt the sting of being overlooked. These letters will be raw. Personal. Sometimes uncomfortable. But always real.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late, whether you’re good enough, or whether all this work really matters, this is for you.

Dear 17-Year-Old Randy,

You don’t know it yet, but the world you think you understand is about to test you in ways you can’t imagine.

Right now, you’re standing in the dugout,  spikes laced a little too tight, gripping a dream that’s half fantasy, half obsession. You still believe, deep down, that if you throw and hit hard enough, play tough enough, and outwork everybody in sight, they have to notice you.

You believe the game is fair. That talent wins. That hard work is always rewarded. I’m not here to crush that belief. I’m here to refine it.

See, the road ahead won’t be straight. You’ll be overlooked. Cut. Injured. You’ll be told you’re not good enough, sometimes gently, sometimes with blunt force. You’ll fight through a haze of uncertainty that no one prepares you for.

And that’s when you’ll discover the truth:

The goal isn’t to be seen. The goal is to become someone who cannot be ignored.

Here’s what I wish you knew:

• Mechanics and technique won’t save you. But movement matters. Your body is smarter than you think, and it’s trying to help you, if you’ll just stop fighting it.
• Toughness isn’t silence. It’s not gritting your teeth and hiding pain. Real toughness is asking for help, admitting when you're lost, and showing up anyway.
• There are no hacks. No magic drills. No guru with all the answers. There’s only showing up, day after day, trusting a purposeful process even when you don’t see the results yet.
• It’s not too late. Not now. Not when you’re 25. Not when you’re 40 and wondering if any of this mattered.

One day you’ll coach. You’ll stand in the gap for kids just like you. The overlooked. The doubted. The hungry ones.

You’ll write books, build a facility, and lead a team of brilliant minds who believe in transformation over talent.

And you’ll learn that this game, this beautiful, brutal, sacred game, was never really about velocity or scholarships.

It was about redemption.

So, take a breath. The dream is still alive. Not because the world made room for you, but because you refused to go away.

I’ll see you out there.

Randy

If this letter hit home for you or someone you love, send it to them. Let them know they’re not alone.

And if you or your son is one of the overlooked, the doubted, the passed over, we built The ARMory for you.

Give us a call at 866-787-4533.

Let’s find out how far this dream can really go.