The Daily Herald -Felix Brown

Recap your story: When I was young, I tried out different sports; one of them was playing tennis in Maho with Lucho. I soon decided that tennis wasn’t for me and I took up baseball when I was seven years old. I liked playing very much and tried to play or practice every day of the week. At nine years old, I went to my first international event which was the Latin American Tournament in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, and ever since then I have been playing somewhere new every summer with different teams.

I have played with the St. Maarten selection many times and with the Netherlands Antilles twice. I also played summer college baseball in Canada and recently for USA Athletes International (USAAI) and teams in France.

I was selected by USAAI to play with a team from the USA in Argentina for the Goodwill Games in June but for unforeseen reasons, the games could not continue. USAAI then organized a trip for the team to go to Holland and play in the Roburs58 Tournament. In Holland we were fortunate to win the tournament!

After Holland I went to France to play with the French National team. I was being scouted the last few years by the French and after looking at my stats from my 2010 season with ODU (Ohio Dominican University, my college team) they placed me on their 40 man roster. After one week of tryouts, they told me I had made the team and would be travelling and playing with them in Germany for the 2010 European Baseball Championships. We finished 6^th in this tournament right behind Greece.

What St. Maarten district are you from?

St. James, Marigot

Where did you go to school on St. Maarten?

Milton Peters College

What is your favourite St. Maarten memory?

Being born and living on St. Maarten. It’s hard picking a favourite because there are so many; there is just a different vibe about St. Maarten and I don’t want to leave out anything when I do start to list memories.

What was your biggest surprise when you left the island?

Having to do everything myself.

What are your accomplishments?

There are too many to mention. But the one I am proudest of is that I am the recipient of the 2010 NAIA Champions of Character Award. It is an award for student-athletes who demonstrate the greatest amount of sportsmanship throughout the season. However, this award is awarded to a player on a team that enters a NAIA World Series qualifying tournament.

What are your goals?

Play professional baseball for as long as my body and abilities allow me.

What makes you special?

I have a big heart, I see good in everyone and I go out of my way to help people.

Where do you get your drive?

God, family, close friends and knowing that there are a lot of people supporting me on St. Maarten.

How long have you been gone?

I left the island January 2008 and have been back a couple times.

Do you have any advice for the young people of St. Maarten?

If you have a dream of becoming something, go after it with everything you got because you will then always have a smile on your face and life will be so much better.

Are you planning to return to St. Maarten in the future?

Whatever is meant to happen will happen. I can only do the things I need to do to be successful in the future whatever that future may be.