Lebo submarine pitcher departs on naval training mission
James Very demonstrating the seldom-used submarine-style pitch he said he emulated from former Pirate Kent Tekulve.
James Very and his parents at his senior recognition at SUNY Maritime College.
James Very is very much a nautical person. The 21-year-old disembarks for a 90-day training mission from the State University of New York Maritime College aboard the U.S. Navy’s Empire State VI on May 11. Once he returns, he’ll be capping an undergraduate, scholastic and athletic career that’s a little unorthodox. “I knew I wanted to be in the maritime merchant business, to be in and on the water,” the 2011 Mt. Lebanon graduate said. “I knew, but I didn’t want to jump into a specialized school.”
So, Very spent a year at Pennsylvania State University knocking out general credits before committing to SUNY Maritime College.
“The draw here is the initial responsibility we’re given after we graduate. This summer, I was giving commands over a quarter of a billion dollars of oil. It’s something that’s lost in the hustle and bustle of other jobs, that you don’t feel you’re contributing, but this field, you feel and see that everyday,” Very said.
It might have been something else at Penn State though, according to Very’s mom, Renee, who said her son had tried and failed to get into the Naval Academy.
“He was persistent to get into that type of school. But there was a professor who was teaching one of his Naval Science electives who was a grad of SUNY Maritime, and I think it was his chats with him that helped solidify his decision,” she said.
Renee said James “wasn’t a military brat,” but the appreciation for military and support operations had been instilled in other ways.
“I was a nurse at Veterans Affairs hospitals for 30 years, so I couldn’t be prouder to help those who have served, and to have a son, the fact that he’s going to be helping with those types of missions, it makes me really proud.”
His room full of Lego-brick ships couldn’t have hurt either, Renee said, in building up his fascination with engineering and naval architecture, the degree with which he’ll graduate in January 2016.
As for sports, Very said he gravitated toward submarine-style pitching because he started throwing sidearm with more comfort and control, and presumed the seldom-used style would benefit him even more.
“I started watching videos of Kent Tekulve when he was with the Pirates, and started trying to master that. Just dropping a bit lower, and finding that batters couldn’t hit good ground balls off those low pitches,” he said.
Very has a 3.5 GPA, a 5.17 ERA and .317 batting average, and was one of three Maritime athletes (and the only baseball player) to be named to the 2015 Skyline Conference All-Sportsmanship Team. He said he knows at this point he’s looking past the sports that built him up outside of school, and grateful for the lessons he’s learned.
“I’m just excited to be part of the crucial economic engine of our country that many people don’t think about. It’s not a typical nine-to-five job. You’re on a 12-hour shift or more aboard a ship that has you on-call for 24 hours. But once you get back to shore, it’s like you’re on vacation. I can’t wait to start out as a third mate on the bridge of a ship and helping a crew of us sea chickens doing really unique work managing the cargo of our ships.”