After walking off the field in defeat again, the varsity baseball team decided it was time to make a change.
“I am very happy with how last season went,” John Meyer, head coach, said. “I just wish we would’ve played better at the very end and that just leaves a little bitter taste in your mouth.”
And make a change they did, as a new workout system has created a new mentality throughout the team.
“A bunch of us seniors got together and discussed that this year we need to be much more intense and aggressive,” pitcher Aaron Germeroth, senior, said. “We had to make the workouts harder to really prepare us mentally and physically for the season to come.”

The new workouts, which take place three days a week, focus more on the quality and speed, and much less on the quantity they do the workouts.

“Everyone has been working very hard and seems focused on the task at hand,” pitcher Evan Stoll, senior, said. “If we can continue this through the year and into our practice and games, we should have a very exciting season.”

Coach Meyer also said the workouts add more difficulty.

“It’s much more challenging and there’s been more tests of grit, or strength and character, which has made it what I would call a more productive environment,” Coach Meyer said.

With that productive environment, the team looks to move past last season’s disappointment and lay the groundwork for a very successful tryouts and regular season.

“The best get better, and your job as a player is to be the best,” pitcher Colin Huguelet, senior, said. “If the best are not getting better, then we are just wasting our time. I think you’re definitely laying the groundwork for a different mentality. Whether it’s better or not is up for other people to decide, but it is just to create more determination. It can be really effective.”

However, Huguelet said the workouts will not be true tests of how well the team will do on the field and in tryouts.

“I think the workouts are a step to get to the next level, but we will really have to see how the team comes together when tryouts come,” Huguelet said. “This will be one of the most competitive tryouts I’ve been a part of.”
Also, the team hopes to learn from past successes to ultimately take the next step, which happens every day.

“It’s just a daily effort that accumulates over time,” Coach Meyer said. “I really feel that the difference from any team in the past and the present that might want to go beyond the success we’ve already had would just be a mental and emotional will.”
Stoll said he takes last year’s defeat as motivation as well.
“This year I believe we are very determined not to end the season like last year and to go as deep into the playoffs as possible,” Stoll said.

Playoffs, like in any other year, is the main focus for the team. Hung on the wall of the Weight Room is a picture of TR Hughes Stadium, the sight of the State Final Four tournament. In bold letters, the caption above reads “Why Not Us?”
“Our guys are learning how visualization and concentration and positive thinking are big,” Coach Meyer said. “Just being comfortable with talking about it and not acting like it’s some impossible dream is huge, because it really isn’t that. It’s just something that can happen if you have the right approach to things and the right mindset.”