As the end of the school year approaches, many seniors are reflecting on the last four years of high school, their future plans, and how they’ve grown into the people they are today. While the seniors on this year’s baseball team still have much of their final season remaining to make more memories, Saturday’s senior game gave them the opportunity to reflect on their individual experiences with HSE baseball over the course of their high school careers.
Many believe that sports are a crucial part of growth and mental toughness for young adults. Baseball, in particular, is a sport defined by errors, and success is based on one’s ability to avoid those errors. This helps athletes learn how to work hard to persevere and overcome failure mentally and physically.
“I would thank baseball for creating the man I am today,” senior Chase Bradle said. “The amount of motivation [and] the amount of work I’ve put [into] this game just really puts life into perspective about how much work you have to put into certain things.”
Personal success is the culmination of not only individual hard work and countless hours of training, but also the support athletes have received from the people who guided them on their respective journeys. Teammates, parents, coaches, and trainers are also to thank for their impact on an athlete’s mental fortitude and athletic accomplishments.
“I’d like to thank my father. He’s invested everything he could into me,” senior Colin Kendrick said. “He’s always been there for me emotionally [and] physically. Without him, I would not be the baseball player or the man I am today.”
With the Class of 2026’s final baseball season at HSE coming to an end, they are leaving underclassmen with some final words of advice.
“Every team is not going to be the same, there are going to be ups and downs, I think the message to any future player is to forget about the last game, forget about the last season, forget about the last at-bat, just move on and keep having fun.” senior Jackson Bixler said. “It doesn’t matter how the last game went or the last season went, you can always change the culture or flip the script, and I think that’s what we’re seeing this year.”
