It all started when my parents signed me up for baseball, soccer, and basketball. I liked soccer and basketball quite a bit, but not nearly as much as baseball. Even though I was so young, I just loved the idea of being outside in the fresh air, and just how you get to play the game at your own pace. I played all the positions, but as I got older, I started playing center field and pitching because there isn’t such a thing as a left-handed middle infielder.

I already loved the game of baseball a lot, and what happened in eighth grade just made me want to improve even more. In the spring of 2024, while I was in eighth grade, the high school coaches brought some of my friends and me up to play high school baseball. And I ended up starting in some of the varsity games and played a lot of JV that year. That was a super big deal to me because baseball is my favorite, and that is what I’ve worked the hardest at in my whole life.

Some people may think that I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well in whatever sport I am in at the moment, but I really don’t. There are definitely times when I can feel it, like when I’m stepping into the box to make a hit, having all of the butterflies, or going up on the mound to pitch and staring down the hitter. But I have learned to harness it and take a deep breath, and that usually helps a lot. Most of the time, I just think that everything will be fine. I think of it as any other game, even if we are playing in a state game or a district game, where it means so much to my team and me.

Something that scares me is if I got injured during baseball, which would mean that I would probably have to sit out for a bit and not be able to play; that would be a big bummer to me. Especially if it means that I couldn’t get better to try to get to the next level.

Something that has helped me get to where I am is my family, my grandparents, and my parents, who have always been humble, and I think that has helped me a lot by just hearing from them and hearing them not boast about themselves. Playing sports is a great thing, and is very good for you to start young and to work to get better, and it's very good to know how to handle pressure and adrenaline. I am so happy that I got the opportunity to play on varsity for all three sports as a freshman; it has really helped me get to the point that I am now.

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