In the top of the 13th inning of the sectional championship, the visiting team went up one run which ended the Spring Valley Baseball Team’s season. In that moment, I was crushed. This was the season our team was supposed to win the AAA state title, but we fell short. I won’t forget the feeling of unshakeable loneliness during this moment. Even though I was surrounded by the best teammates a player could ask for, it seemed we couldn’t find hope or encouragement in each other. This feeling sparked a need for change in me, but I questioned how I was going to create it. Then came my senior year, and it was my time to make a difference in my team. As a senior, I was able to lead the team to the best of my ability through words of encouragement, and maybe some tough love. My favorite phrase being, “Play hard and don't suck” courtesy of Matt Greene. Being in this leadership role allowed me to stress the importance of treating each teammate as a brother, so that we could work together rather than apart. I encouraged our team to think positively during this season. Though not every game was going to go our way, it was important to maintain a positive attitude so that we could continue to show up with a want to win attitude every day. This team’s bond has shown how successful a team can be when it is created with positive, good teammates. I feel that a positive teammate can make the environment enjoyable for all involved. Good teammates can also change the demeanor of a team for the better. Every single athlete on my team deserves respect and a person to lift them up during the highest highs and the lowest lows. I have tried my hardest this year to become that teammate for the most important team I have played on. Though I have played on many teams growing up, the 2024 Spring Valley Baseball Team has been the most important because we have something to prove. We want to prove that we work just as hard as every other team and deserve to win the state title. Our goal this year is to win sectionals, regionals, and state, one step at a time. Not only did we set big goals, but our teammates all worked every day towards the same goal with relentless drive and effort. This season started off a little rocky for me, and I felt I was letting my team down. I could not spare a base hit to save my life, and it seemed like all my training and my mind was failing me. Midway through the season, anxiety had taken over my whole life. My attitude, my decisions, and my performance on and off the field suffered. One Sunday, I decided to make a change. I went to a service at Christ Temple, and I truly feel like it has changed my performance in baseball and life for the better. The sermon felt like it was meant specifically for me and my recent struggles. Since that one Sunday, I have consistently been going to church allowing my anxiety to decrease, started re-building my relationship with God, as well as living life through him. Baseball has become enjoyable now and I’ve been able to turn my performance around. Though baseball can be difficult, I know that God will lead me to preform to the best of my ability and be the best teammate but most importantly person to all my brothers. Thank you!

Do you have an ultimate goal that you constantly think about everyday? I do, I have multiple. This fall I will be attending Queens University of Charlotte where I will continue my athletic and academic career. Playing collegiate baseball has been my goal since I started playing at five years old. I plan to major in Health Science and eventually become a pharmaceutical rep. My lifelong goal is to become a professional baseball player. However, if that doesn't work out, I look to provide for my future family and be the best dad I can be. Baseball will not be here forever, but my life after baseball will. Getting an excellent education is the end goal, and I believe my best opportunity to fulfill this dream of mine is at Queens University. My entrance to this world was seven weeks earlier than expected. At 10:59pm on April 29th, I arrived as a three-pound nine-ounce baby who believed this was the biggest task to overcome in my life. I had to survive. For myself. For my family. For my parents. For my friends. For my future accomplishments and relationships. Ultimately, for my blue blanket. My blue blanket was there before anyone else could be, those long weeks in the NICU when visitors could only come at certain times on certain days. There lies my blue blanket right beside me every minute of the day. Eventually, I was released from the hospital and was deemed a fighter, and if I had my blue blanket by my side, I could persevere through any hardship or challenge thrown at me. Though I do not remember details from that age, I knew being a premature baby was just one of the most difficult times my blue blanket and I had to overcome. As a fourth grader, I did not fully understand what the term “divorce” meant. I just imagined it as if I had to stay at two separate houses throughout the week. That was very misleading; I had to live out a duffel bag. Here I am, ten years old hauling my blue blanket back and forth from Mom and Dad’s house covering up that hopelessness and anger with a smile. After ninety-four prolonged days, my parents made the merciful decision to become a family once again. Looking back, these days felt as if I was never going to find a sense of normalcy for the rest of my life. At such a young age, like many other children, I was forced into a situation where my world got flipped upside down and was expected to control my emotions. My parents’ separation allowed me to understand how to navigate my emotions through a situation I cannot control, and I learned to make the best of hard times. I got closer with my parents separately which has created the foundation for the relationship I have with them today. Now when I face trials in life, I always know how to make the best of situations. This adversity I have experienced through my seventeen years of life has only made me a stronger and more well rounded human. The adversity I have faced will help me in the future overcome hard things. Adversity is not something you can control, it comes when you least expect it. Adversity has taught me that I can do anything in life. Life is what you make of it, so I will continue to dream big and work to fulfill those dreams in any way I can.