Brady still impresses many

He’s all grown up. A boy — Tyler Brady — is now a man.

But even when he was a small boy, he was a little man. At a young age he was blessed with the passion to prove the majority wrong and granted balance — to love a game with all the purity you could imagine.

He caught everyone’s eye, playing for the Newport Beach Little League and becoming a Major Division All-Star in 2001.

How could you not stop watching him? He’s inspiration in action.

Brady was born with half a left arm. But handicap is meaningless when it comes to Brady.

The proof? He’s still playing ball, headed to play for the University of Oklahoma. He’s not on scholarship, but he says he’s on the baseball team’s roster, working to get some scholarship help in the future.

He has advice for others in his situation. The words are what he has lived by.

“Don’t let anything stop you,” Brady says. “Don’t let people tell you what you can and can’t do. You need to know you can show people up, prove them wrong.”

That’s what he’s done.

Brady left for Oklahoma Thursday, ready to start impressing another group of people on the NCAA Divison I level. For the past two years, he had been making his mark at Cypress College. Before that he was at Mater Dei.

He became well known here with the Newport Beach Little League. In 2001, he was featured in the Daily Pilot. The feedback was all positive. Everyone loves Brady.

He’s the type that the mere mention of his name brings a smile to your face. That all doesn’t come from a kid who has conquered big-time challenges. Yes, most of it does, but he has so much more to him that makes him special.

To know that we have to go back, way back to even before Brady was born. Back to the days when his parents, Steve and Jennifer, were so excited for his birth. Their first-born, Baby Tyler was going to get tons of love.

Steve Brady told all his friends and former coaches. Steve Brady also played baseball at Mater Dei. After Tyler was born, Dad handed out more pictures of the little one than he did cigars.

Robert Ickes, an assistant at Mater Dei, has been a close friend of Steve Brady’s since he coached him with the Monarchs. Ickes knew Tyler before he could walk, watched him grow and play in Newport Beach and then helped guide him through baseball at Mater Dei.

He was happy when he heard the boy wonder was moving on to Oklahoma.

“That is pretty awesome,” Ickes said. “He’s an awesome kid. He works very hard to make sure that his handicap will not limit him.”

Tyler, 20, worked hard while at Cypress. He played the outfield and also pitched some. Back in Newport Beach he was always known to make a great play, a web gem. Not much has changed.

He’s expected to pitch and play outfield too as a junior for the Sooners.

How does he do it?

The process all seems to flow in one fluid motion when it comes to fielding. He’ll catch the ball with his right glove. Then, he’ll quickly remove the glove, cupping it on the left arm. His right hand takes the ball from the glove and he makes the throw.

That’s also how he did it when he played first base for the Newport Beach Little League.

Back then, he also had advice for other first basemen.

“Don’t be afraid to block the ball with your body,” Tyler said. “Go after every ball you can.”

It’s OK to read more into the latter statement. Tyler never held back, went after all he could, and that even goes farther back to his days in Newport Beach.

With the Sooners, there are roots to trace.

He’s originally from Tulsa, Okla. When young Tyler played baseball there he went to learn at a camp conducted by Sunny Golloway, then the coach for Oral Roberts.

Golloway is now the coach of the Sooners, has been for the past four years, leading OU to three NCAA Regional Finals, 127 wins and a top 25 ranking in each of his seasons at the helm.

Golloway knew of Tyler. When the Sooners coach made a trip to Cypress College, he asked about Tyler.

Back in June, Tyler took an official visit to Oklahoma. Later, he was also contemplating going to play at Long Beach State. But he wanted to go back to his roots. He wanted to play in the Midwest heat, take on a new challenge.

“It’s going to be tough leaving the beach and all the surfing, but I think I’ll be all right,” Tyler said. “I might not be ready for August out there, it’s pretty hot. But it’ll be worth it.”

Tyler is sure to make the experience worthwhile.