Here we are deep in September. Fall is in the air. Children are back to school. The Pop Warner, high school, college and professional football seasons have begun. If all that excitement isn't enough, it is also hurricane season.

Hurricane season begins in June and ends in November. The storms start developing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa — building and ebbing in strength as they blow over water and land masses. Some of these storms fizzle out and others hit land with ferocity, wreaking havoc and causing mass destruction.

There has been a quiet storm brewing since February of this year and it is now hitting hard and fast here in our shore community and wherever it goes. It started in Clearwater, Fla., where our Lakewood BlueClaws, the Single A minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, began spring training, and it has matured into a fine young professional baseball player and potential major leaguer. The name of this storm is D'arby Myers.

Myers, a fourth-round draft pick out of Los Angeles in 2006, has been slowly but steadily building up momentum. As it is with all true hurricanes, there have been ebbs and flows to Myers' professional career.

Each time Myers found himself "breaking up at sea," he redoubled his efforts to succeed. Upon returning to the BlueClaws this season after having been sent down to a lower division last year, Myers started out the season batting below 200.

Through hard work, dedication and persistence, he finished the season with a .270 batting average — one of the team's highest averages. When Myers gets on base, things happen. When he patrols the outfield, few batted balls escape his glove. He has an accurate arm and is noted for his speed.

Now D'arby Myers and the rest of the BlueClaws find themselves in a fight for the South Atlantic League championship.

For the second time in team history, the Lakewood BlueClaws are champions of the South Atlantic League Northern Division and are now playing in the championship series, which began on Sept 14 at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood.

The South Atlantic League championship series features the BlueClaws against the winner of the Southern Division championship series, the Greenville Drive, the SAL affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

Like all storms, D'arby Myers has many other storms swirling around him. Their names are Anthony Gose, Travis Mattair, Jeremy Hamilton, Harold Garcia, Jim Murphy, Trevor May, Jacob Diekman, Ryan Bergh, Jesus Sanchez, Sebastian Valle, Travis d'Arnaud and Troy Hanzawa, just to name a few up-and-coming future stars.

Is there a guarantee we will see Myers and all of the Blue-

Claws on our televisions in the future playing for one of our favorite teams?

The answer is that there are no guarantees in life. One thing is for sure, however: if we do the right thing and don't plan the results, good things happen.

Myers is like all of us, a work in progress. He has set the bar high for himself and through his example has shown his fans, who come from all walks of life, that what you put into something is what you get out of it.

Mike Moran is the host of "Down the Shore," which is broadcast on WJRZ-FM 100.1. WJRZ-FM is owned by Greater Media Inc., which is also the owner of the Tri-Town News.