Pitcher inspired by Jim Abbott

He never cared about newspaper headlines or the chase for a college scholarship.

He was not concerned with racking up strikeout totals in Little League or one day leading his high school team to a championship.

All Sullivan wanted was the chance to take the mound and play the game he watched on television, and he was willing to do whatever it took to live out his childhood dream.

He was 6-years old and a long way from becoming the winning pitcher for Paramus High School on opening day, which he was 11 days ago. He never gave any thought to how daunting the realization of that dream was going to be.

“I watched two games and I fell in love with the game,” said Sullivan, a senior. “I was going to be a pitcher; I remember asking my dad, ‘Can I learn how to play baseball? The only promise his father, Steve, made was that they were going to try.

There were going to be challenges, considering Bryan was born with cerebral palsy and suffers from hemiparesis, or slight paralysis or weakness that affects the right side of his body. He would be forced to learn how to catch and throw with only his left hand.

The Sullivans hoped for the day all Bryan would have to worry about was earning playing time, keeping his ERA down and adding a few miles per hour to his fastball, but they knew his quest would involve so much more.

“His determination was there from the very beginning,” said his mother, Donna. “He always believed that, with hard work, he could achieve anything.” Bryan certainly has achieved something special, and not only with what he has done, but how he’s gone about doing it.

Today, the 18-year-old is a pitcher and a remarkable one at that, one of the greatest examples of what perseverance and dedication can produce, yet not without talent and an uncanny ability to master technique despite obvious physical limitations. Bryan was not given the ball as Paramus’ starter April 1 against Kennedy – he earned it.

“I never would have projected him to be a varsity pitcher when he was in the ninth grade,” Paramus coach Joe Cervino said. “Since then, he’s managed to put it all together, and most of that has clearly come from his own will.”

Included in that will is an undeniable passion to prove he can. At least five times a week for the last four years, he has awakened at 4:30 a.m. for a grueling workout at the Gold’s Gym in town.

He was one of the youngest to enroll at the Parisi Speed School and has trained there since the age of 7. No one could have imagined that level of training regimen for someone who underwent physical and occupational therapy for six years, starting at 10 months old.

Note: from Art, after our FALL 2008 season I wrote this blog in reference to you gotta have heart!