My obsessive compulsive hobby

This archived article was written by: Hayden Peterson

The Eagle spotlight this week is not on a student, coach or employee of USU Eastern. It is on the father of a baseball player who travels to almost every game and takes thousands of incredible photos of the team. Matt Meservey, is the father of Eastern’s athlete Jake Meservey, a pitcher for the baseball team. The elder Meservey met his wife in 1989, in the Idaho Falls area, shortly after graduating from high school.
However, he did not end up tying the knot until after they had both served LDS missions and he claims she finally tricked him into setting a date for their wedding and they were married. He said it was by far the best thing that has happened to him.
His wife Keri, an ex-dancer and beauty pageant queen, is the owner of her own business and is the best color and extension stylist in the state. She has done hair for the Academy Awards, several movies and the Sun Dance Film Festival.
After high school, Meservey had the opportunity to choose between playing college baseball or college football, being heavily recruited in both sports. His decision was made a little easier when he realized how much he loved contact and since hitting people was frowned upon in baseball, he chose to play college football.
He played all four years at BYU, one year before his mission and three years afterward. His senior year he suffered two major concussions which he blames on being stupid and lying about headaches. He was told he could no longer play football due to the injuries, but the Buffalo Bills decided to take a chance on him and signed him after the 1995 draft. He played the 1996/97 season with the Bills.
After his first season playing ball he came back to Provo to finish college and was walking to class one night with young Jake on his shoulders after a big storm. He slipped on a patch of ice, which launched him backward. He quickly made a heads-up move, tossing Jake into the bushes so he wouldn’t get hurt, then fell and hit his head. What happened next is just Meservey’s luck. A police officer that was standing close by saw him fall and came running over to help. As he got close, he also slipped on the ice, falling on top of Meservey, cracking one of Meservey’s ribs. This concussion is what eventually led Meservey to a non-contact hobby, which he has now turned into basically a full-time job, photography. 
Meservey and his wife have four children, and all of their children are following in their footsteps, the two boys are both talented ball players and their two daughters are following after their mom and are dancing at the age of six and 10.
The Meserveys were excited when they found out that Eastern was pursuing Jake because they want him to have the opportunity to continue playing baseball and developing his talents. When they came down with Jake to visit Eastern Utah, their son James fell in love with Price and Eastern Utah and decided he wants to come here and enter the welding program.
 Meservey took up the hobby of photography when 12-year-old Jake’s baseball team went to Cooperstown N.Y., for the Cooperstown Dreams Tournament. He decided this could be a once in a lifetime event and he wanted to have the memories. His hobby quickly turned into an obsession as he was constantly finding new lenses or bodies that could improve his snapshots.
Meservey said, “when I pick a hobby, I sort of get obsessive compulsive about it, I tend to get immersed in it until I am good at it, or the Visa company calls me, whichever comes first.”
The primary lens used by Meservey is the Cannon EF 400mm F/2.8L. Meservey found his lens on KSL for under 2K from a man who used to shoot for Kansas State. This lens normally retails upwards of 8K brand new, he said. He does most of his hobby shopping on KSL; it seems to work just as well and helps him save some green in his pockets as well. His photos can be found on his website which is, www.baseballsnapshots.com or you can also find most of them on his Facebook page under his name.