Hello, I’m Chandu Poola for the 2018 NPR Illinois PodCamp.
Justin Knoedler is a retired professional baseball player and he now has opened his own indoor baseball and softball field. Justin lives in his hometown of Springfield, Il
“Well, in my career, making it to the major leagues is the ultimate goal ever since I can remember and putting on that big league uniform and, you know, standing in front of the flag for the national anthem the first game and play that first game that is obviously what I am most proud of.”
He noted that it is also a dangerous game even though it is still for children. He experienced a few injuries during his career.
“I got a concussion in my tenth year of playing then the Dodgers had to move on and sign another catcher so I came home and had some other teams that wanted to sign me after I got healthy but, you know, I decided to leave the game and get into coaching."
Knoedler goes on to talk about what he did after he retired playing the game. He restarted his education and started to figure out what he really wanted to do for the rest of his life.
“As soon as I retired, I kind of reevaluated what I really wanted to do. I started finishing my degree online and I was kind of piecing together to make some income but all while still fueling my passion of being involved with the game of baseball and I did that for seven years personal training and coaching teams and private instruction.”
This is Chandu Poola for the 2018 NPR Illinois PodCamp.
NPR Illinois PodCamp is an annual program teaching media literacy, civic education, journalism, and technical skills to aspiring students.
