Saturday, June 20, 2009

LLHS baseball player gets rare opportunity

Jason W. Brooks News-Bulletin Sports Editor; jbrooks@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas While competing for Los Lunas High School's baseball team, Dylan Sillivent has to travel far to get to fly balls in the outfield. But never this far.

On one trip this summer Sillivent will do more than run down a liner in the gap or race over into foul ground. He's in Puerto Rico for a camp produced by Coast to Coast Baseball, an organization that arranges for top players to play in other countries.

The one-week itinerary, set for June 16-23, will allow American high school players to compete against similar-age Puerto Rican amateur teams. The island territory has produced such major leaguers as Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Jorge Posada.

"I'm excited," Sillivent said in an interview on June 11. "It should be fun, and a good experience."

The senior-to-be at Los Lunas High recently completed a junior season in which he was a regular outfielder and a speedy part of the Tiger offense. He also is accomplished in the classroom, making the District 5-5A All-Academic team.

Every player has at least a couple of particular skill areas they can improve on. Prior to leaving for Puerto Rico, Sillivent said he one of his weaknesses is hitting the ball in the air too much.

The slender Sillivent wants to cut down on his number of pop-ups, putting the ball in play with line drives and grounders and using his speed.

"That's something I've been working on a lot this month," said Sillivent.

The team of American players was set to play several doubleheaders against Puerto Rican teams. Baseball is a highly celebrated sport on the island, with thousands of fields packed into an island nearly the size of Connecticut.

Sillivent was chosen after a national series of tryouts that included a recent session he participated in at the Rio Rancho High School stadium. Coast-to-Coast's Web site says the organization looks at about 2000 players each year, and only 30 were chosen for the June trip to Puerto Rico.

Approximately 250 roster spots, comprising 15 teams, are filled from those tryouts each year.

There were about 80 players, including Sillivent, for coaches to see at the Rio Rancho tryout.

Similar-size groups are chosen for numerous annual trips to Puerto Rico, Arizona, and Florida. In 2005, Carty Carson, a Socorro High athlete, traveled to Australia with Coast-to-Coast.

"The level of competition is outstanding," said Andrea Sillivent, Dylan's stepmother. "We're hoping the coaches over there are demanding."

Sillivent comes from an athletic family. His father, Steve, has coached youth baseball. His sisters, Kristen and Krystal, are very active, and his stepbrothers, Dustin and Cody Moulder, both had successful high school careers.

He hopes to attend either Wichita State University in Kansas, or a college in Nebraska, and he plans on majoring in sports medicine.

Sillivent must also raise funds for the trip. Anyone interesting in supporting his cause can contact the family at 615-3853.

A few days before the trip, Sillivent was asked if he was jumping up and down when he received his acceptance letter in the mail.

"No," he said. "But on Tuesday, I'll be jumping up and down."

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