Dream a Little Dream Parents go to great lengths to help kids reach goals
Dreams may be free, but making dreams a reality can be costly as some Butler County parents have found out.
Whether on the playing field, the dance floor or the cattle ring, helping their child excel takes time and money.
For Mike Ollio, the father of Connor Ollio, 15, a sophomore and baseball standout at Butler High School, it means a nonstop round of touring colleges and tournaments such as the Pan Am Games in Mexico which conclude this weekend.
The teen made the final 20-man Team USA roster after completing a series of workouts at a tryout camp earlier in the month.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 180-pound shortstop and right-handed pitcher made the high school varsity baseball and basketball teams as a freshman, Mike Ollio said.
“As he's grown up, he's also been bigger than his age,” Mike Ollio said. “He started at a young age, never pushed him to do it, but he's risen to the level of competition.”
Finding him that competition means playing in a lot of tournaments and a lot of travel teams, the elder Ollio said.
“As far as practices and tournaments go, we've been to a lot of places, the Carolinas, Maryland. We've spent enough to probably pay for a Division One School.”
“But it's been something that he's always loved. We've been fortunate enough to find good teams.”
Connor Ollio will return to play for the Central Florida Gators who play in Perfect Game USA Tournaments. Perfect Game USA is the largest amateur baseball scouting service in the world.
He's already attracted the attention of college baseball programs.
“He's definitely getting a lot of interest as a baseball player,” Mike Ollio said.
“For all the travel and money put in, a Division One school is where you want him to end up. You get a good education and with a good Division One school he'll go to a club that has a routine that keeps you out of trouble.”
And the ultimate goal?
Mike Ollio said, “There's a chance he could play pro. There has been interest from the Orioles, Dodgers and Mets. “
Whatever the outcome of his baseball career, his father said all the tournaments, travel and attention have had a hidden goal.
“You are prepping him for life, giving him a road map of what he's going to see going forward.” said Mike Ollio.
There's supportive parents and there are really supportive parents, such as Tim Powers who bought a farm in Jefferson Township and moved from Allegheny County to help his son Matt raise cattle and pursue his dream of being a veterinarian.Tim Powers said, “Six years ago, he started in 4H. He wants to be a veterinarian.”When Matt Powers started to show Hereford cattle everywhere from Nebraska to Maine, Tim Power said he bought the 55-acre farm to give his son a place to keep his 15 head of cattle.“We live here full-time,” he said, that is when they are not on road. “We've gone to Nebraska, Kansas City, Illinois, Maine, New York,” he said.“We've got the livestock trailer and the truck,” he said. “It costs between $2,000 and $10,000 to show cattle. There are entry fees and paying for gasoline, hotel rooms, food.”Matt Powers, 17, who will be a senior at Knoch High School this fall, said he got involved with the Junior Agriculturalists 4-H group of Butler when he and his father still lived in Hampton Township.“To be honest, we had chickens and we started showing chickens,” said Matt Powers.But after attending a cattle auction, Matt Powers got his first Hereford and gave up the chickens.“I like their disposition. They're very quiet. I like the color of them,” said Matt Powers of the cattle.He said in just the last year, he's shown cattle in Nebraska, Louisville and Denver.His father said, “We raise Hereford show cattle because they are kind of unique, they are at the upper end of genetics. The goal is to improve and enhance the overall genetics of the herd, get a breeding line and make a profit.”Tim Powers, who works as a nutrition services director at Sharon Regional Health Systems, said the plan is to have the breeding line in place by the time Matt Powers earns a veterinarian's degree from either Penn State or Ohio State.“I want to be an embryologist. I want to transfer cattle embryos to surrogate mothers to pass on genetics,” Matt Powers said.“I'm hoping to get an internship at Trans Ova, (which deals in reproductive technology for cattle),” he said.“Eventually I want to own my own practice and work from the farm,” he said.
Beth Frye of Jefferson Township may not have bought a farm, but she's become a road warrior. She's looking at a fall of shuttling her three sons to Dek hockey and soccer practices and games, as well as taking her two daughters, Alexis, 15, and Delaney, 7, to dance lessons three nights a week.She's had a lot of practice. She said Alexis has been dancing since she was 3.“She's also on the Knoch High dance team, the Knochettes,” said Frye. And, while at a dance camp, her mother said Alexis tried out and was picked to perform at the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day.“I would say between nine hours of dance classes a week, the Knochettes twice a week and Friday night football games, she puts in 14 hours a week,” Frye said.“She's always enjoyed dancing, but she really got passionate about it two years ago,” Frye said.“She's already looking at Slippery Rock University for it's dance program. She'd like to own her own studio,” she said.
When Kim and Bill Baker of Butler moved here from Illinois three years ago, the first thing they did was find a 4-H club for their twins, Austin and Kayley, 15.“They have been in 4-H since they were 8. They raise market lambs and show their horses,” Kim Baker said.After getting the twins signed up for the West Sunbury Wranglers and the Junior Agriculturalists, Austin and Kayley began raising lambs and training their quarter horses on the family's small farm.“They each have a quarter horse pony that they are currently training,” she said.Kayley is concentrating on English and western riding, while Austin is practicing western riding and reining, a competition where riders guide their horses through a pattern of circles, spins and stops.She estimated the yearly cost for just one show horse as: hay, $520; grain, $200; bedding, $625; veterinary fees, $300; horseshoer's fees: $650; training lessons,$1,500; show clothes $75 to $2,000 depending on the riding discipline; and show entry fees ranging from $125 to $500.That's not counting travel expenses to 4-H horse shows at the district and state levels and an initial outlay of $2,500 for the horse's tack.Then, she said, there's the time invested in the animals' maintenance and training“You spend 90 minutes a day cleaning stalls, feeding them, that's just general maintenance,” she said. “And then you spend one hour riding for training several days a week.”Baker said of the twins' quarter horse activities, “They enjoy it. There are times when it's hard and they don't want to do it, but we give them the option every year.”“I think both of them for sure right now are interested in farming. It's hard to say where it will take them,” said Baker who's an office manager at Hayes Mechanical in Export, where her husband is a project manager.
When a child is committed to an activity, it's easy for a parent to put in the time or money to support them, said Robin Parsons of Middlesex Township, whose daughter, Abby, 16, has been taking dance lessons for 11 years.“She takes lessons eight or nine hours a week,” said Robin Parsons. “She does ballet, hip-hop, jazz and tap.”“One night a week I'll answer phones to get money off her tuition” at Pine Tree Performing Arts Studio, 1161 Pittsburgh Road, Valencia, Robin Parsons said.Abby, a junior at Mars High School said she's even taught classes to younger students when the regular teacher was unavailable to get a break on tuition.Abby said, “That was this winter. I was teaching 4- to 6-year-olds. I was subbing for a teacher who was out on pregnancy leave.”“She's been committed to it and when she is committed to it, it is easier for us to support her,” her mother said.
