- July 2014 (Hitting)
Personal Statement
I am looking for a junior college program that will provide an environment where I will fully develop as a student and baseball player. In receiving an athletic scholarship to play baseball I will be the first member of my entire family to play a sport in college. I would like to find a school that offers some kind of occupational health safety program or something in the sports medicine field, but I am willing to explore other options if they are not offered. The location of the school does not matter to me, but ideally I would like to go to a school with warm weather that offers year round baseball outside, or an indoor facility fit for baseball specific training. At the end of my junior college carrier I would like to attend a school that best fits my future goals academically while also playing baseball for the university.
I feel the strongest part of my game physically is defense. I take pride in calling my own game behind the plate, and being the general on the field. I love to throw runners out and back pick if I see them being careless on the base path. I work hard on blocking balls and receiving, because I want my pitcher to feel comfortable throwing anything to me, and trust I will block it as well as steal strikes for him. Being from Alaska our teams and players have been seen as the underdogs, so when I get the chance to play a team from another state I play with a chip on my shoulder to prove to them that Alaskans can play ball and out work them. Playing baseball here has helped me develop my own self motivation and self obsession to become better, and to never be satisfied. I want to be in the clutch situations, at or behind the plate, I thrive off crucial moments in the game. I feel I am at my best when the stakes are at its highest, and the most concentration is needed.
A couple of things that I feel separate me from other players are I have a strong competitive nature. I love to get jobs done, whether its hitting behind the runner, laying down a sac bunt, or warring a pitch so we can have a base runner, ill do what ever it takes for our team to win. I am a true student of the game, I am constantly looking for things I can improve on, and watch film of other catchers on the internet or on television to try and see how they call a game, or certain receiving styles they use. I spend lots of time at our local cage hitting off the tee or with a friend. I am also comfortable in the weight room, I know how important it is to stay in shape and to maintain it at the college level. In the off season I trained myself for the morning lifts by going to the school gym before school and lifting. When I'm not working on my own game I like to work with younger kids in our local baseball program teaching them the aspects of the game, and being a positive role model to encourage them to keep playing baseball. I am comfortable with being uncomfortable, in the summer instead of playing for the local legion team, I travel down to Washington and play on a select team that will offer more college exposure, more games, and I will face better competition. Doing this has taught me how to adapt quickly to new people, coaching, and surroundings.
In Washington I stay with a teammate for around three months, so my parents and I have somewhat experienced what its like to be away from each other for long periods of time. Playing in Washington allowed me to learn how to get comfortable with new team mates, and a new pitching staff. I learned I needed to be able to receive and apply instructions given on the go in order to be successful, and maintain my starting spot. I am a firm believer into buying into the way a program does things, and its philosophies. I love being a part of a team and the sense of brotherhood that comes along when everyone is concentrated on the same goal. If your program bunts a specific way, or runs the bases a certain way then I will work my hardest to make sure I preform it correctly.
I feel that being a catcher has given me the sense and ability to lead a team not only by example, but being able to talk them out of a long or bad inning. I use this sense of leadership in much more than just baseball. I am a second degree black belt in karate that in order obtain you must have a certain amount of hours spent teaching classes. I also will attend a school group called partners club where I eat lunch and play games with the special need students in my school. I help lead my family's personal charity ran by my parents and I. My father started the charity on his own called Saint Anthony's were we travel to the Philippines every three years to the province where my mother used to live. On Christmas night we hand out food bags and basic necessities to a village we pick, so the families there can have a Christmas dinner and other basic needs. Being a part of this charity has taught me to be humble, never take anything for granted, and to always find a way to help others no matter what you are facing.
Growing up I was always shorter than everyone else, so my little league coach told me that if I wanted to get noticed I had to be the hardest worker on the field. These words have stuck with me my entire baseball career and I model my entire game after it. I will always run out every play when I'm on the diamond, I will give my teachers my full commitment in the classroom, I will hold my teammates and coaches to the highest standards, and will always respect the game and others playing it. I look forward to entering a program that will provide me with the academic and athletic structure I am looking for.
