Hi Friends, meet Nathan!
Nathan is a National Sales Executive at Lifetouch, the nation’s largest school photography company. Joining Lifetouch right out of college, Lifetouch is the only company that Nathan has ever worked for! He is proud of the difference that he makes day in and out, helping kids, families & educators to celebrate and share their memories and special moments through photography.
When Nathan Pierce isn’t at your school helping to photograph a fun and easy school picture day, you can often find Nathan volunteering his time in the service of his local youth baseball league. A big kid at heart, Nathan loves working with kids and helping them to learn that there are bigger lessons than just winning & losing. Nathan brings laughter, heart, and joy to his coaching and hopes that his impact on the players and families he serves leave a lifetime of impact.
The Greatest Lesson & Reward, in the Same Moment
By Nathan Pierce
I’ll always remember a moment when I recognized that I was coaching little humans, and not just aspiring baseball players.
It was a balmy late June evening down the South End with a light sea breeze blowing in to give just a slight reprieve from the early Summer humidity here in southeastern Massachusetts. My Pirates were up BIG. Like, really BIG. It was probably something like 17-3 (although the score isn’t what’s important here) and we were running away with it – our last and final game of the Rookie Division season! It was truly a season to remember for my beloved Pirates!
As a big fan of baseball, it’s been my pleasure to coach youth baseball for the past three years. My own boys have gone up through T-Ball, Rookie, and Minor League baseball, and I’ve loved every moment of their development. In baseball, as in life, there’s a roller coaster of emotions and lessons learned from the strikeouts to the big hits, and everything in between. For me, coaching has become so much more than wins, losses (and… ties now, who knew?!?) and the vaunted statistics that come with keeping the score books. I think of coaching as an opportunity to not only help our kids grow in the game that we love – BASEBALL – but a pivotal moment to encourage and underscore life lessons: kindness, teamwork, communication, planning, discipline, muscle memory, etc.
Here in New Bedford, Massachusetts, it’s said that about 40% of the kids in public school come from a single-parent household, and I can see the ripple effects represented in youth sports, particularly in our baseball league, the South End Youth Athletic Association (SEYAA).
My friends, colleagues & wife will often quip that within the first few minutes of meeting me, you’ll quickly learn that I am the PROUD head coach of my beloved Pirates!! My Pirates compete here in our SEYAA Rookie Division (Instructional Level/Coach-Pitch) for boys & girls ages 6, 7, 8. It’s really my favorite age group to coach – the kids are like little sponges and – if you make it fun – you can create an incredible environment for baseball. (yup, I’m the coach that brings all the Pirate dad jokes, and yup, our Pirates most assuredly DO walk the plank after games!) My wife will often remark that she’s got THREE kids – my 9-year-old, my 6-year-old…and ME!
As a Coach, I’ve definitely noticed that the makeup of my team reflects our community. Many of my players come from single-parent households, and several of them have never had a consistent male role model in their lives. In fact, several of my players’ fathers are incarcerated.
One of my exciting Pirate players is 8-year-old Ayzel. I’ve had the honor to be Ayzel’s coach for the last 3 years, ever since he was a 6-year-old first-year player on the Black & Gold. As a player, Ayzel has quick hands, excellent plate discipline, solid base-running, and a remarkably reliable glove. As my lead-off hitter, Ayzel successfully reached base 40 out of 41 plate appearances, which I have to think must be some type of record here down the South End! As his coach, I could assign Ayzel to any position on the field because he’s taken every opportunity, and – through relentless work together – been coachable. Ayzel tells me that he prefers to play first base because the first baseman is called upon often as a team leader to make plays and requires a player with an excellent glove. I feel like Ayzel appreciates the immediate gratification coming from making an out and feeling like he is a role player.
It doesn’t always come easy for Ayzel. In his life, Ayzel has struggled with setbacks at home and in his personal life. Ayzel’s dad is incarcerated and has been an inconsistent role model for Ayzel. Despite having a loving, supportive, and highly engaged mom & older sister, Ayzel can often be irritable, emotional, difficult, and a challenging player and teammate. There are times when Ayzel has yelled at me in front of a stadium full of people, thrown his glove at me, punched me, and sworn at me… simply because I was there. Simply because it was something Ayzel could control. I thank God that I’ve been blessed with patience and with thick skin, too!
There were times I would leave practices and games and cry in the car because I felt that I had let Ayzel down somehow and not been the leader/role model/father figure that he needed. I can’t count how many silent, determined vows I made to BE a role model that refused to give up on him. Each practice, game & season… I showed up. I showed up to each and every practice and game steeled and inspired to offer a clean slate for Ayzel and tough love, too. (before you think Ayzel got a pass, don’t worry, Ayzel’s run his share of laps!!!)
Together, we’ve had our share of highs & lows on and off the field, and I think that my Ayzel has had a begrudging respect for my efforts to meet him where he is. He earns respect when respect is given. When he excels, I recognize his efforts in front of his peers. Loudly! When he struggles with listening, with selfish play, or acts out, I do my best to offer constructive feedback, or take him off to the side so that I can first share something good, and then offer an opportunity for him to improve a play, or a reaction. I try to remember great coaching/mentorship that I’ve received from peers who’ve advised me to always ‘take a knee’ and meet Ayzel at eye level, speaking slowly, decisively, and honestly.
Our relationship – like Ayzel’s baseball game – is a work in progress, and that’s ok!
So…with all that said, back to our last Pirates Game of the Rookie Season… we’re up BIG, remember?! (sorry, proud coach!) It’s the home side bottom half of the final inning, two outs with his Athletics’ team down BIG TIME, and up to bat… comes Luis.
Luis is an amazing, sweet, kind, loving and funny young man on the Athletics who has Down Syndrome. A 10 year old playing in the Rookie Division (remember, Rookie Division is ages 6,7,8) is pretty unheard of, but for a myriad of safety and developmental reasons, it’s made the most sense for Luis and our league has been incredibly welcoming and gracious!
Luis is a wonderful teammate – caring, courteous, respectful and he can always be counted on to bring in the bases, rake the infield, or pick up discarded items in the dugouts. Great kid, sweet kid, amazing teammate and friend. Everyone loves Luis!
This season has been particularly tough for Luis at the plate! He’s put in the effort, put in the work behind the scenes, and he’s been one of the most consistent players at practices, too! Yet, despite his ethic and commitment, Luis was yet to achieve his dream – getting a hit and reaching base to help his team!
And so up to bat comes Luis with a wave and a smile to his parents, to his teammates and… to the Pirates and their fans, too! (great kid, he would’ve looked better in Black & Gold, for sure!) In our league, each Rookie Team plays each other about 5-6 times per season, and so we are very familiar with each team and each of the players, too, as well as their tendencies. Recognizing Luis as a frequent strike-out and ground-out, instinctively, my Pirates’ infielders take a few steps towards home plate in preparation for a slow dribbler up the middle or to each of the corners and a fast game-winning out.
Strike one! Luis settles himself, steps out of the box, smiles, and steps back in.
Strike two! Luis steps out, takes one more practice swing, and steps back in determined.
On the sidelines, I can see Luis’ parents holding hands and cheering on their boy, their eyes bright with encouragement and resolve. Through the season’s disappointment at the plate, Luis’ parents have been incredibly positive, offering kind words not just for Luis, but for every player on every team, and they have been wonderful spectators and fans.
Down to his last strike, Luis is back in the batter’s box, ready for the pitch. CRACK! Luis makes solid contact!!!! Off his bat comes a medium-speed ground ball up the right side of the infield… about 3 paces from first base… about 3 paces from my Ayzel.
My heart stops for what feels like an eternity – and all my instincts and emotions are battling each other in my heart and in my mind. My baseball coach instinct is demanding that I call out to Ayzel to ‘square up, get his glove down, and hit the bag,’ but the Dad in me is almost hoping (or praying) that somehow, Ayzel will bobble this routine grounder, and Luis will run through SAFE.
In this moment, a sublime intersection of baseball and grace, my Ayzel hustles to Luis’ grounder with purposeful speed, squares up, gets his glove down, and takes the ball clean. (so proud!) Yet, as if somehow Ayzel had knowingly understood some greater plan at work, he simply stopped, and refused to step on first base, allowing Luis to charge through first base, recording his first – and only – hit of the season!
HOORAY LUIS!!!!!!
Charging through first base with his hands high in the air in triumph, Luis has had HIS moment. This moment belongs to HIM, and he’s waited so patiently for THIS moment. The crowd goes… BONKERS!
Luis is crying, his parents are crying, and just about every adult there suddenly has their face in their hands, weeping. I lose myself, too, and can’t help but shed tears of happiness! As a Dad, it’s impossible not to feel the joy that comes with seeing your child succeed.
On the field, my Pirates – and Luis’ Athletics – are hooting and hollering for Luis in full, unrestrained voice, their youthful, innocent and pure exuberance a refreshing and much-welcomed reaction in contrast to the ‘must win’ mantra taking over most youth sports.
As a coach, it is incredible to see one of your players act with such sportsmanship, humility, and grace. I run to Ayzel, drop to my knees, and wrap him up in a big hug. Ayzel hugs me back. He knows. I know. And everyone on that baseball diamond knew exactly what had happened. Ayzel had seen just how important one small action could profoundly impact the life of another baseball player and a friend. He had chosen an incredible moment to show kindness and grace instead of making a game-ending, season-ending play and cementing himself with individual glory.
After the bases were cleared, the infield raked, and the dugouts fully returned to pre-game clean, walking back to the car, I asked Ayzel why he did what he did. Ayzel looked up into my eyes and said, “Coach, I knew Luis hadn’t gotten a hit, and I know how happy I feel when I get a hit and I wanted him to have that feeling, too.”
Suffice to say that Ayzel earned the Pirates’ final game ball of our 2025 season.
