Living a dream can best be described as" finding that dream and pursuing it with a plan." Meet Morgan McCoy, a talented 14 year old softball player who is in the process of following her dream.

Morgan,a student at Blacksburg High School, wants to play softball and receive an education from the University of Miami (Florida). McCoy is in her first year of playing softball for the Scrappers, a group of stellar softballers from this part of the state based out of Salem, VA. She is participating with the "14 and under" group which consists of girls 13 and 14 years old who have outstanding abilities on the diamond.

When sitting down and talking with Morgan for this interview, the overwhelming factors that was evident were her competitiveness and "love for the game". When asked why she has the dream of playing for the Hurricanes, she stated the answer that most of us can understand. She went with her brother and parents for his visit to Concord University in Athens, WV. Their visit was during a cold weather and snow season. At that point, she decided that she would like to go to a warm climate. Obviously her considerable athletic skills are matched by her common sense.

She began her love for the sport by playing baseball with the boys squad in the New River Valley. She played in T-Ball, Coaches Pitch and Kids Pitch with the young guys and more than "held her own" while developing her natural abilities with the sport.

With the emergence of softball in the Olympics, there was an increased interest in the sport on a nationwide basis. Unfortunately, the New River Valley did not have enough teams to constitute even a small league for girls to compete. Morgan's father Dale joined forces with Dave Potts who initiated enough interest to create a Dixie League for softball.

Morgan has played every position on the diamond except for catcher. After initially being a pitcher, it was decided that her natural skills, in particular her quickness and speed, could best be utilized as a utility infielder. While playing for the NRV Diamonds, she began at first base and played each individual position. She also was a pitcher who two years ago was clocked by her father throwing in the low fifties. With those three years of valuable skill training, Morgan and her family decided to advance her chance to fulfill her dream by trying out for the Scrappers.

The Scrappers, are coached by Ron Reynolds. Reynolds brings an impressive resume' to the table. The most easily recognizable player he coached and trained was Virginia Tech All-American Angela Tincher from the age of 12 thru high school.  Last season, he took over the Salem Spartan softball team and led them to the state title game. His program is unquestioned as a program that has led to multiple scholarships to college for his players.

Wanting to play for the Scrappers and making the team are entirely different. Unable to attend the initial tryouts, Morgan and her family contacted Coach Reynolds about an individual tryout. She had a tryout with with four other players and won a place on the squad. ACT ONE OF HER DREAM WAS ABOUT TO COME TURE!!

Having played in her first tournament last week, McCoy played in what will be her first game with the squad. She played second base, which will probably be her regular position, and batted first in the line-up. ACT TWO OF HER DREAM WAS ABOUT TO COME TRUE!!!

Blacksburg, Va. to Miami, Florida!! The distance is 888 miles. It's a long trip to make this dream come true but Morgan McCoy has taken the first steps. (Follow Morgan's journey. She has agreed to place a blog on www.nrvsports.com with the tentative title-- "Morgan's Field of Dreams").

This site will contine to follow Morgan McCoy as she pursues her dreams. In the upcoming weeks, we will take a look at her games, her training, and her progress. We would like to thank Morgan and her parents for allowing our readers to this exclusive look at Morgan's "Field of Dreams".