Dance brings experience, love of Quincy to Doggy Paddlers

Published 2:10 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2026

QUINCY – It can be the loneliest position on the baseball diamond.

Every pitch begins in the hand of the man standing alone on the mound, where the pressure – and the responsibility – rests squarely on his shoulders.

Tyler Dance embraces the responsibility, relishing the opportunity to control the game while doing what he has loved since he was a young boy.

Playing in front of his hometown crowd only amps up the excitement for one of the Doggy Paddlers’ starting pitchers.

Noting that he feels energized by the Quincy fans, playing in front of the hometown crowd is something Dance realizes is special – and he is savoring every minute of it.

“It does feel special for me and Brady (Kindhart, another homegrown Doggy Paddler), a lot of our family and friends are down the third baseline as well as the other support of the people from the community.”

That community support buoys Dance, rather than makes him more nervous. Maybe it’s due to the focus a pitcher must have in that lonely position on the mound, but he feels the community support and is appreciative of the opportunity to play for the local Prospect League team.

“For sure,” Dance said when asked if playing for Quincy fans is special. “There’s been a lot of fans all season. We even sold out a game.”

Dance should be used to the local fan support by now, though, as his love of the game grew from watching baseball on TV to being a star pitcher for Quincy Notre Dame while in high school.

For Dance, pitching isn’t just a position – it’s a responsibility he feels fortunate to have.

He said that he took to America’s pastime at an early age and never looked back.

“My dad played baseball in high school, and we always had sports on in the house and always had baseball on,” Dance said, noting that his love for the sport grew as he played T-ball, travel ball, at QND and now at the collegiate level.

His impressive numbers with the Raiders led to the beginning of a college baseball career that is still unfolding.

At QND, he was on The Quincy Herald Whig’s All-Area Team and was Pitcher of the Year, while making the West Central All-Conference First Team. He went 11-0 as a senior with a 0.87 ERA, striking out 70 in 60 innings. He then spent two years at John Wood Community College, where he pitched 40.1 innings in the Mid-West Athletic Conference, going 3-2 with 31 strikeouts.

Even though the right-handed pitcher admits to having honed his confidence and attitude in high school, with maturity and experience he feels he has only improved his game.

“Treating every pitch like it was my last, just kind of that attack mindset.” That approach has benefited him throughout his career.

Although he played a little bit of first base during his freshman and sophomore years of high school, Dance’s summer youth baseball coach recognized his greatest strength was on the mound, and he encouraged him to focus exclusively on pitching as college recruiting approached.

With age and focus on solely one position comes experience, and the 6-foot-2 local standout discussed what he has learned and improved from high school to college.

“Just that everyone is playing for a job, every day your job is not guaranteed. Keep working and fighting for that next opportunity,” Dance said, adding that he has also learned to “never take anything for granted.”

That mindset is one Dance believes will benefit him as he begins the next chapter of his collegiate career.

Dance spent the last season at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., but looks to make his mark on the mound next season, pitching for Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo.

His fresh start came after a coaching change at Lewis University prompted him to enter the transfer portal.

While his personal philosophy is to “not really try to mimic anybody,” he does admire Major League Baseball superstar outfielder, Mike Trout and he does try to emulate in his own mental game.

“I’ve liked Mike Trout since I was a little kid,” Dance said, adding that “I like how he handled himself no matter what the score was nor what the circumstances were.”

Those are attributes Dance continuously works on while on the mound, saying that no matter what the score is, “always pitch like it’s a one or two run game.”

Having seen numerous such games over his career, Dance knows those are keys to improving his own performance.

And that was an underlying reason to Dance wanting to join the local Prospect League team this season.

Wanting to hone his game to become an even better collegiate player when he takes the mound next spring, Dance took the opportunity to join the Doggy Paddlers. And the team not only gained a focused pitcher, the Gem City native also profited from playing here in ways he may not have even anticipated.

“It’s been a blast,” he said, adding that even though playing summer league baseball is time consuming, there’s been a huge upside to his time with the Doggy Paddlers.

“It takes away some time, but I have met a bunch of new people, and we hang out after the games and on off days,” he said. More of like extended members of his family, as opposed to just being teammates.

When he does have some free time, which of course, is at a high premium this summer, Dance said he loves “going out to the pool, riding my jet ski, going fishing and hanging out with friends and family.”

The Next Chapter

While Dance is devoted to baseball, he also realizes he needs a professional career outside of the sport to fall back on.

As a finance major, he hopes to have a successful job in that field upon graduation.

“I’m kind of open to really anything,” but is focused on either commercial banking or financial advising, possibly even dealing with loans for companies.

His studies, plus concentrating on baseball will take up the lion’s share of his time come fall, but Dance realizes that whether it be athletics or academics, the same basic principles apply.

Being focused and having that self-described “attack mindset” are beneficial markers to succeed in life.

Those words reflect the same philosophy that has carried Dance from a Quincy youngster watching baseball on television to pitching in front of hometown fans with the Doggy Paddlers.

Asked what advice he’d offer the next generation of Quincy ballplayers, Dance didn’t hesitate.

“Have fun while you play the game, but just know there’s a serious part, too, and work on your own. The outside work after practice can help separate you from your peers,” he said, but the key to success is to “also enjoy it at the same time.”

Now the Quincy youngster who once dreamed of playing baseball has become someone local children can watch from the stands, hoping to follow the same path.