Team Terry, Team Joe!

This week we couldn’t be happier for one of our own, Advantage Client Services Specialist Terry Speer.

Terry is the mother of Joe Ryan, a 25-year-old pitcher and Tampa Bay Rays rising star making his Olympics debut for baseball’s Team USA next week, just ahead of what is also a highly anticipated major league debut. Last month, Joe helped Team USA qualify for the Games for the first time since 2008 as the Rays’ 12th-ranked prospect in a performance that drew attention to both his skill on the mound and his demeanor.

As the 2020 Olympics get under way in Tokyo a year late with Friday’s opening ceremonies, we’re celebrating Terry and cheering her on during this special moment in time.

“I am so happy for Joseph. He’s on cloud nine,” Terry says. She spoke with Joe via Facetime today as he prepares to fly to Japan tomorrow with his team. “I’m really disappointed that we can’t go.”

Terry says she always knew Joseph would do well in sports, telling a friend on video even before he was born she felt she was having a boy who would be baseball player. Along the way, she has been his biggest fan on a journey that has included endless hours cheering from the bleachers, selling concessions, taking hikes together, dancing, being goofy, pampering him with foot massages, traveling around the country to watch his every baseball game or water polo match, building the special bond between a mother and her only child.  “I encouraged Joseph to be true to himself. In my eyes he is a shining star.”

While we can only imagine what it must be like to see one of your own reach such heights, and we can’t possibly know the many sacrifices, close calls, joys, and heartaches that lead up to such accomplishment, we do know this: Terry Speer, you are a talent developer extraordinaire, and we’re proud to have YOU on our team! 

Good luck, Terry. Good luck, Joe! Good luck, Team USA! We’re rooting for you! Team USA will play next week at Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan:

• JUL 30 USA vs. Israel 6 a.m. ET
• JUL 31 USA vs. Korea 6 a.m. ET
• AUG 1 Knockout Stage Aug. 1-7

One great thing for 07.20.21 – The Parents Matter featuring Joe Ryan | Ballplayers Like Us 
For Terry and the moms and dads behind athletes at every level
→ More great things…