At his best on diamond or in classroom | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

For Mike Broccolino, the act of balancing life on the ball field with his academic responsibilities was no different than the slew of storied sandlot tales that have etched themselves into baseball lore.

The age-old understanding, "no play until your work is done" rang true in the Broccolino household.

Not once did Sara Broccolino ever have to stand in front of the front door to keep her son on track academically. Broccolino's motivation never stemmed from ushering or ultimatums.

"My wife and I are both teachers," said Broccolino's father, Bob. "So we were always pretty active in what he was doing as far as school is concerned. He would come home and do a little bit of homework, go to practice, and do a little bit more homework. We never had to force him to do it. He was always motivated."

With his self-motivated style honed from a perfectionist demeanor, Broccolino entered Old Mill Senior High School looking to take advantage of ever opportunity given to him.

"I always want to get the best out of everything I do," Broccolino said. "Whether it was school, baseball or even gym class in high school, my goal was to get the best out of my abilities. There really is no point in doing something unless you are going to do it as best you possibly can."

Whether it was self-motivation or a simply the drive to be the best, Broccolino's hard work and dedication paid dividends.

The 6-foot, 180-pound catcher paired his first-team All-County selection with the Joe Cannon Scholarship and a National Honors Society bid in his senior year.

"Away from baseball, he had gotten rewarded in the classroom," said Bob Broccolino, who led Glen Burnie High's softball program to state prominence for more than two decades. "Getting anything less than an "A" was just like striking out on the field. Winning the Joe Cannon Scholar Athlete Scholarship was a big reward. He realized it wasn't as if he was studying and no one was noticing, and that fueled him."

Mike Broccolino anchored his high school years by batting .426 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in his fourth year at Old Mill.

"I wanted to win," Broccolino said. "So however I could help or motivate my team, that's what I would do. It's not about how many hits you get in a game. You play to win the state championship as a team. I was more of a leader by example. I wanted to show everyone how hard I am working and hope that they follow."

Carrying with him the plethora of awards and achievements from his work both on the diamond and in the classroom, Broccolino was accepted to St. Mary's College.

Playing 19 games as the Seahawks' catcher his freshman year, Broccolino struggled to balance himself in the same manner he had throughout his adolescent years.

"When (Mike) got to college, I'd say the first month or two, it was pretty strenuous on him," Broccolino's father said. "With playing fall baseball and starting his math major classes, it was pretty stressful. But what he did was, with the help of (his mother), he laid out his schedule in a plan book that said, 'here's what I have to do and how I'm going to do it.' "

"When I got to college, it was ridiculous," Broccolino said. "It was definitely an eye opener when I realized I had to do all of this extra work out of class. Baseball was a bigger time commitment, with two hour practices just with the fall season and it got to the point where I didn't feel like I had enough hours in the day. I got the planner and just stuck to it to budget my time. After that first semester I felt like I got it down"

By the spring of his sophomore year, Broccolino was an intricate piece of the Seahawks' lineup, earning All-CAC Second Team honors with a .333 batting average and team-best .458 on-base percentage.

Yet as much as his work behind the plate improved over the two-year stretch, Broccolino's most drastic progression came in his mathematics concentration.

"The teachers in my department were awesome," Broccolino said. They held study sessions where my classmates and I would all work together. 400 level math was tough, but I enjoyed doing it and bouncing ideas off of everyone to solve the problem."

Graduating this past May from St. Mary's with a 3.857 GPA as a Mathematics Major, Broccolino received his final recognition of his studded collegiate career, as he was named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Baseball Third Team.

Broccolino was the only Seahawks baseball player to be acknowledged, as the two-year captain led the team with 24 RBIs, 12 doubles, 3 home runs and 22 walks this past year.

"When I found out about that I was pretty excited," Broccolino said. "Having my name associated with anything with ESPN is pretty cool for me. Between that and the Male Athlete of the Year Award, it was an unbelievable honor."

Currently pursing a role in Washington with the Mathematics branch of the federal government, Broccolino is taking his time, as he always has, in deciding what life after college baseball will bring him.

"We couldn't be more proud of how well he's done," Bob Broccolino said. "When you go away to college, it's on you. As parents we hoped that what instilled in high school and growing up will carry over, and it obviously did."