Eagles excited to improve, win championship
As the winter season slowly draws to an end, spring baseball is just around the corner. With soccer and basketball season wrapping up, these athletes shift their mind to upcoming spring sports.
The baseball team has been working on throwing and catching since the start of the new year. The team is expecting to improve on a 1-9 in the West Sequoia League and 8-18 overall last year by working on the fundamentals.
The Eagles hope for a deep run into the playoffs with head coach Noah Heinz. Heinz wants the players to learn how to learn from losses.
“My expectation for every year for our team is to win Valley championship,” Heinz said. “This year we put our self in a very hard non-conference schedule, playing mostly division two schools. So far we haven’t won a game and I want the team to learn from these losses and fix them next time. My goal for each player is to help them to achieve their goals and become a better player.”
With every new season, there’s always new players and new goals at the beginning of the season. Ronnie Peterson, ‘19, hope this year’s team can bring home a championship trophy.
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“I have been playing baseball for about 11 years,” Peterson said. “I am playing baseball because it is my favorite sport and I feel that it is the sport where I can really play well. My goal for this season is to win a championship, that is my expectation for every season I play. I also hope to get better than I started and get closer with my fellow teammates.”
With a Christian school background, the team has a larger goal than just winning. Tyler Villines, ‘18, wants the team to get closer to God as well as to each other.
“I’ve been playing baseball since I was five and have never stopped loving it since then,” Villines said. “Something about stepping on that field under the beautiful sky, there’s no place I’d rather be. I set my expectations for this team higher than I ever have before because I can see the potential; we just gotta put in the work. As in every season, I want my team to turn into a family. I want us to be knit like brothers and grow closer to God in the process.”
Not all players have been playing the sport as long as Peterson and Villines. Baseball is a sport that takes patient and great hand-eye coordination. Kyle Friesen, ‘19, hope to get better at the game by practicing getting more contact with the ball.
“I’ve been playing since seventh grade,” Friesen said. “I am playing because I love the sport and I love to play with my friends. I expect that we will be better than last year and will learn from our mistakes to become a better team both individually and as a whole. I also want to get better as a hitter by making a better contact with the ball.”
The baseball team will have a home game against Redwood High School from Visalia, March 9, at 3 p.m. Come out and support your Eagles.
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This writer can be reached via Twitter: @JohnMonke and via email John Monke.
