Homeschooled Red Sox

In many states, homeschooled students cannot play on public school sports teams. Homeschoolers should fight for equal rights—they pay taxes to support those schools—but big talent has a way of beating discrimination.

That’s the big news encapsulated in a tweet last week from the Wake County (N.C.) Homeschooled Warriors: Warriors pitcher Pat Goetze signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox and headed to the Red Sox training facility in Fort Myers, Fla.

As blogger Izzy Lyman informed me, “Pat has never played on a public or private school sports team. He found alternatives, outside the mainstream, to exercise his talents and stuck with them.” One of those alternatives: A baseball team with the great name Homeschooled Warriors, made up of kids from the North Carolina county that includes Raleigh, the state capital.

Goetze has a large frame (he’s 6-foot-6) and a large willingness to give thanks:

“I’m really blessed and thank God for this opportunity. It’s very special to have a pro team come look at you. … [I]t wasn’t easy for me to get that opportunity. … Give God the Glory. I will be the best I can be.”