Calhoun experiences a summer fantasy job

By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff

Is it possible to have a better summer job than Wytheville native T.C. Calhoun did?
Not if you love baseball and get a chance to work with your hero.
Calhoun recently returned from a 10-week stint working at Myrtle Beach with baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr.
Calhoun is an assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator for Emory & Henry College. It was while he was making a baseball presentation to a group of high school kids in Maryland that he was invited by members of the Ripken staff to be one of the instructors at Ripken’s baseball camp in Myrtle Beach.
Called the “Ripken Experience,” the camp is for youngsters ages 6-16. Calhoun said that participants came from as far away as Alaska.
There is also a camp in Maryland, and Ripken plans to open another one next summer in Florida.
Calhoun admitted the job was a “dream come true,” for him. He was paid for doing what he loves. And he got a chance to work with Ripken, his hero since he was very young.
Calhoun said he got a chance to see Ripken play in Baltimore when he was about eight years old.
“I based the way I played a lot like Cal Ripken did,” he said. “He played hard every day.”
Ripken holds several Major League records, the most noteworthy of course, is the consecutive game streak of 2,632. He accomplished that by playing in every game from 1982 to 1998. It broke the previous streak of 2,130 games held by Lou Gehrig.
Ripken retired from baseball in 2001 and was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Calhoun said Ripken “is a nice guy who loves working with kids. He teaches the ‘Ripken Way.’ He makes it simple…He teaches a lot that his dad (Cal Ripken Sr., who was a player and coach in the Baltimore organization for many years) taught him while growing up.”
While at the camp, Calhoun said he shared a room in a condo with two other instructors. The job was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because the instructors are changed every summer.
Calhoun was back at Emory & Henry College last week preparing to begin the fall baseball season. When he’s not working with the team, he’s out recruiting players for E&H. He occasionally travels to as many as nine states to talk to potential players.
He especially likes it when he has the opportunity to recruit players from the local area. 2008 Rural Retreat High School graduate Daron Vaught and ’08 George Wythe High School graduate Vernon Holland are incoming freshmen this year at E&H.
Calhoun graduated from George Wythe High School in 2002 after playing four years on its baseball team. He also played four years on the Virginia Intermont College (located in Bristol) baseball team where he led the team in hitting during his sophomore year with a .381 average. He was the team captain during his senior year. He ended with a .351 career batting average there.
After he graduated from VI, Calhoun came back to teach and coach (assistant varsity and head JV baseball coach) one year at GWHS.
“Then I was fortunate enough to get the job at Emory & Henry,” he said.
While playing at GWHS and at Virginia Intermont, Calhoun said he appreciated the support of his parents, Randy and Carolyn Calhoun of Wytheville, who attended many of his games.
While perhaps not as dazzling as the job in Myrtle Beach but perhaps more prestigious, Calhoun said he has another possibility for another baseball job next summer. He’s been informed that he is one of three final candiates for a head coaching job at a summer league in Cape Cod, Mass.
“It’s a great honor to be considered for that position,” he said.