When and why did you start playing baseball?
I have played for a long time, since Little League. I’ve played outfield, pitched and played first base throughout my career. I started playing because I’ve always enjoyed it, and I’ve always had a lot of friends. I have loved the community it has brought because I like meeting new people through the sport. We do team bonding to keep the community too, specifically over spring break a lot of people on the team took a trip to Arizona where we played a few games and did other fun activities as a team.
How do you balance being a multi-sport athlete?
I put a lot of time aside for sports, but I also make sure that I get my schoolwork done too. I also make sure I work on multiple sports too. I play football, not during the spring but in the summer and in the fall, and I play baseball throughout the year through my club and school seasons so it balances out.
How have you been preparing for games throughout the season?
I go through a mental checklist and make sure I have everything I need to be prepared. I do a lot of stretches because you have to warm up a lot for baseball to make sure that you’re at your top of the game. Prior to the school season through my club, I practiced hitting inside, and specifically in the winter I worked on my pitching to prepare.
Who has been your biggest motivation throughout your career?
My club coach because he has a lot of advice and a lot of experience and stories and stuff. He has just given me a deeper perspective of the game. I play for MacStrength (so) usually it’s one of the people that work there, sometimes it’s Mac. I’ve been working with them since probably third grade, so around nine years or something.
How do you stay motivated throughout the season when times get hard?
You have to remember that before the playoffs it doesn’t really matter because you make the playoffs no matter what. So I just try to remember that it’s about where you’re gonna end up and not entirely where you are at right now.
What are your goals for the remainder of the season/post-high school and advice for younger players?
My goal is to get my strength back in my thumb to hit, and I hope to play some sort of college baseball. My advice for younger players would be to make sure to always work hard and get in the weight room.
