Cameron Arvidson '18 Recruiting Profile

    I have been playing baseball since I was seven years old. In the nine years I have been playing I've grown to love the sport more than anything else. I would even say baseball is my best friend. Whether it's watching a baseball game on TV or just throwing a ball upto myself in my room, I am always surrounding myself with the game. I've gained a great appreciation for the game and its nuances as I have gotten older.  I think that I have gained a greater understanding of baseball compared to my peers because I am a student of the game.  Baseball has fascinated me because there's always going to be something new that happens in every game.  

    Since I have started playing baseball I have faced quite a few obstacles. The first one I faced was being cut from my travel team when I was 10, despite the fact that I was leading the team in RBI's and the top in batting average.  This made me work really hard to become a better player and work on my weaknesses.  Another obstacle I have faced has happened multiple times. I loved to catch ever since I started playing the game. However my knees couldn't take it anymore after 8 seasons behind the dish. Although I loved catching, I needed to focus on my well-being and had to focus on a different position. Fortunately, since towards the end of my catching career I started trying to pick the ball more than actualy block it, it heped me realize I can be a talented first basemen. I also have worked a lot on my pitches and developed a very effective change up during the winter of 2015-16. This helped me go from a spot-starter of guy to eat up innings to the go-to player for my team in big situations. The hard work and grit to get where I am as a baseball player has made me who I am today because I understand that not very many things are handed to you like a fastball down the middle. You have to be able to handle the occasional curve ball that gets thrown your way. These setbacks have helped my character and my appreciation for the sport I love.

    I've grown immensely as a player over the past few years. When I was about 14 years old I was messing around in the batting cage and decided to hit lefty. I started doing really well and would work on it here and there. I wasn't serious about until this past off-season when I started lining the ball really well in the cage and after a lot of begging and pleading with my coach he finally let me hit lefty in a game.. My first at bat wasn't great I had a jam shot to the pitcher but my coach told me I get one more chance unless I get a hit. My next at bat I lined a triple down the right field line and it gave me a lot of confidence in my switch hitting. I have hit lefty a few more times in games and have had a great success rate. I've been working on pulling the ball less and trying to shoot the ball into the left center gap. I am confident that by the time my senior year comes around I could be a very successful switch hitter if I put in my work in the off season.