Breaking barriers with the pen: Essay contest winners honored at RBI WS

Softball is more than just a game for Jailyn Latour. It’s her escape -- an outlet from everything to get away from the stressors in her everyday life. It’s not just a sport, it gives her courage. Similarly, baseball gives Zion Oliver and Ryan Shepard valor to find mentors, cope with loss and become the best versions of themselves.

They found bravery in their respective sports and used it to share their stories through the Breaking Barriers essay contest. Their writing stood out among hundreds of entries, and they were chosen as winners at the Nike RBI World Series earlier this August.

“For all three of them, there was a tie in there that they wanted to be courageous and strong,” said David James, MLB’s vice president of baseball and softball development. “For a friend moving forward, or the experience that they had, is going to give them the courage to do the right thing moving forward.”

The Breaking Barriers essay contest was established in 1997 by Sharon Robinson, Jackie Robinson's daughter. Players must write an essay about how they have overcome adversity and focus on one of Robinson’s core principles that helped them: Courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, commitment and excellence.

The three winners -- one softball player and one baseball player from the junior and senior divisions -- were honored at the Nike RBI World Series at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla.

“It's been a cornerstone of the RBI program,” James said. “It gives our participants an opportunity to tell us what's going on in their life, both good and bad, but it's also a forum for them to understand that we're all similar, and we all face challenges.

“Sharon Robinson, Jackie's daughter, started the program, and it's an opportunity for these kids to sort of get it out and talk to their colleagues and the folks from Major League Baseball, so that they have a safe space -- simply put -- to sometimes get things off of their chest.”

Each player has their unique challenges but they share Jackie Robinson’s legacy of courage. Latour, Oliver and Shepard used that bravery to be vulnerable and participate in the contest.

In his essay, Shepard shared his story of loss and how it transformed him. The junior division winner decided to honor his friend -- who died in a car accident -- by using baseball to become the best version of himself.

“He called out in the essay that he’s living for his hero,” James said. “But he also acknowledged that everybody deals with hardships and obstacles in their path, but what matters is what you do moving forward. So he embraced the whole idea of this essay of using Jackie's values to assist them to get through the hard times.”

Oliver, the winner in the senior division, shared his experience growing up without a dad. He wrote about how baseball has helped him meet new friends and adults -- who have become his mentors and father figures.

“Integrity for him was a big thing too, in regards to the type of person that he was going to be and hopefully later on in life,” James said. “As he has kids of his own, he wants to have that sort of relationship that maybe he wished for when he was a kid.”

Latour’s essay stood out for its honesty and openness, according to James. She shared how softball has been her conduit for success in achieving her goals -- becoming a second-generation college athlete and starting her journey to be a doctor -- and a safe place to make mistakes with the support of her teammates and coaches.

“Being a part of the program has helped her become a better person,” said Meghan Hayes, manager of the Astros Youth Academy and Astros Foundation. “It's helped her gain friends and teammates that I feel have shaped her to be the person she is. The perseverance that she's shown, like just from coming off an injury last year, almost making that team, to stepping it up and starting for our team this year, really shows how much she has grown.”

Their stories were shared during the RBI World Series with all participants and coaches. Not only were their voices heard, but it also showed others -- whether they participated in the contest or not -- the RBI community supports them through the challenges they face.

“I think that hearing the stories of others sort of strengthens them,” James said. “So it is bigger than baseball and softball. It's about Major League citizens, and these kids, these coaches, have bought into it and I think it just benefits the program. It is bigger than just what we do on the field.”