Center Stage
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Patrick Rakes goes over the game plan with teammate and coach.
April 26, 2021. It is an idyllic spring evening–seventy-two degrees with a light easterly wind and zero humidity. Farina Field is glowing with orange hues as the sun begins to drift behind the Blue Ridge Mountains. Members of the state championship baseball team knock clay off their cleats with their aluminum bats and begin the nightly routine of raking the infield after a grueling three-hour workout. It is a magical night to be on a baseball team, especially when playing on MSA’s breathtaking Farina Field.
Standout sophomore outfielder, Patrick Rakes, gazes into the distance. His hat is worn high allowing his curly black hair to spread across his forehead. He is nervous. This is his first performance. His first time on stage. He’s not wearing a baseball uniform or a baseball cap tonight. Rather, he’s sitting in a rocking chair in the Bull Ring dressed in a black cowboy hat and worn-out farm clothes.
Patrick is not himself tonight. In fact, he’s pretending to be someone else. Tonight, Patrick Rakes is a star. He is principal actor in MSA’s spring drama production, Cabin Fever. He always wanted to act. And this show is his chance–even if it lands in the middle of his second season as a Maverick baseball player.
Expect the unexpected with Patrick Rakes. He will likely surprise you.
Patrick is not afraid to mix things up in life. When he was in eighth grade, his father mentioned that he had played college baseball with the head coach of Miller School of Albemarle’s baseball team. Intrigued by this, Patrick and his father visited MSA and were quickly in awe of the team and the campus. Patrick recalled: “My first impression was that the campus was beautiful. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.” Impressed by the school and program, Patrick packed his bags and enrolled as a seven-day boarding student.
His journey to where he is now–captain of the baseball team with a college scholarship waiting for him to play baseball at Palm Beach Atlantic University–has been one fueled by a love of the game. He has grown into his role on the team; in the process, he has gradually learned the skills and mindset needed to be a leader. Coach Wagner explained: “Patrick has grown into a great leader of men over the past four years. He has committed to his craft as a left-handed hitting outfielder and has been a great example to our younger players on how to work hard everyday through the good and tough times. Patrick has impressed me every day with his determination to be the best he can be no matter the situation. Patrick has a bright future because he wants to be great.”
“Patrick has grown into a great leader of men over the past four years.”
In the process of becoming a captain, Patrick has gained an appreciation for how baseball has taught him valuable lessons about himself and leadership. Patrick reflected: “I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve received a lot of help and attention over my four years at MSA, and it’s my time to give back and set the younger guys on our team up for success in the future. Leadership can be displayed in many different ways. Whether it be just being a good example, working hard, showing respect and kindness, speaking up, or even just taking the time to get to know my other classmates and teammates. I want to leave a legacy of being a winner. I want my younger teammates to look back at me and say he taught me how to have a winner’s mentality.”
“Leadership can be displayed in many different ways. Whether it be just being a good example, working hard, showing respect and kindness, speaking up, or even just taking the time to get to know my other classmates and teammates.”
Patrick has learned from his coach Billy Wagner that a winner’s mentality is earned through hard work and dedication. Patrick explained: “Of the many valuable lessons taught to me by my coach, one I’ll share is the work ethic that is incorporated in Maverick baseball. It’s daily, it involves mind and body, and it’s disciplined. I anticipate being prepared for the demands of college baseball as a result of the excellence modeled for me by my coach. He knows what it takes to be prepared for the next level of baseball.” It is this work ethic and dedication to the daily grind that Patrick models every day on the baseball diamond, in the batting cage, and in the weight room. His younger teammates take notice–they see that hard work and discipline are the keys to success. Patrick leads by example.
While Patrick’s time on the stage was limited to a few performances of Cabin Fever in the spring of 2021, he has learned that leadership and athletics provide a different kind of stage. He plays a role on the baseball team, and his actions are observed by an audience of younger players who admire Patrick not as someone he is pretending to be but rather as the person and leader he is.
Patrick Rakes takes center stage again this spring leading the Mavericks in their pursuit of a state championship title. We will be watching.
