Building Tim Moellering Field

If there was anything I learned about Timothy Moellering over the last two years, it was that his priorities always started and ended with his students and players.

The day after he passed away, Principal Scuderi came into all of Moellering’s classes to give a few words about his life. He said that in the last few months, when Moellering’s health began to worsen, the two would talk every week. Moellering would say he felt like hell, and that was all he wanted to say in terms of health. For the rest of the conversation, Moellering was concerned with one thing only, and that was his students. He wanted to make sure each and every one of his students was getting the chance to succeed in his absence, all from a man who was fighting with cancer.

Moellering was one of the most selfless human beings I ever met. One of his dreams was to give the Berkeley High School baseball team a regulation baseball field. Right now, the team practices in a city park that has worn down facilities. Moellering was one of the strongest supporters to turn Derby Field into a real, regulation-sized baseball field, so that the team he loved to coach could finally play on a regulation baseball diamond. I urge voters on the school board to vote that this project be started immediately.

Not only would this field keep Moellering’s dream alive, but it would also give his students a way to honor their late teacher’s life, after all the countless hours he put aside for them. I think I speak for thousands of Moellering’s old students, co–workers, players and friends by saying that not only should the field be constructed, but it also should be given the name “Tim Moellering Field.” It’s a gesture that seems small considering all that this wonderful teacher did for so many.
There’s no real way to put into words what Moellering meant to all of those he taught, coached or worked with. For me personally, Moellering was by far the best teacher I ever had the privilege of learning from. His witty remarks and keen sense of humor made him one of the most unique and appealing teacher I’ve ever had. What I most respected about Moellering was that he let students be students, and allowed them to be themselves in his class. Don’t just take it from just me. Just a glance at his Facebook page displays an outpouring of emotion from many of the people he affected in his life. Each one of the messages has something amazing to say about a man who captivated so many lives.

Moellering brought so much joy and happiness to so many people. He didn’t ask for much personally in life, which is why it is crucial for the “Timothy Moellering Field” to be built. This field needs to be built not just for the players, but for him. He was so influential not only at BHS, but too many people around the city of Berkeley. It allows his name to live on forever in Berkeley, and generations upon generations of students will know his name, and know who he was. When my children ask why the field is named after Tim Moellering, I can tell them because it was a man who embodied everything a baseball player wants to be, and every human wants to be. He was a man who never took anything too seriously, but worked harder than anyone and helped more than anyone. I will tell them that when they play on that field, to treat life with the same regard as the man who the field was named after.

Most of all, this project should be finished because a man like Tim Moellering should never truly pass away, and his ideas should never be lost. It’s not just about a baseball team needing new facilities. It’s about Berkeley High School baseball teams to come being able to look back and say, “We played on Timothy Moellering Field.”