With the beginning of a new season, the Arcadia High School Baseball team is in need of new members to replace those graduating. As such, tryouts were held on Nov. 15 and 16, allowing those interested a chance to participate in a sport they have a passion for. These students are willing to dedicate time and effort into making their team as successful as possible, showing their resolve.

The tryout did not include the freshmen already in the Period six class, but instead will look for those outside the program to be invited in. Nine participants, performing a range of activities, have been rigorously assessed and watched by Coach Lemas as well as other helpers. The students also had to bring their own equipment.

The athletic clearance form also plays a big part in this, with it doing the traditional aspects of offering evidence that someone can play any sport while staying healthy, as well as proving someone currently doesn’t have COVID-19 and so can perform while not being at risk of exposing themselves to it. This is part of all current school sports.

Tryouts test a trainee’s proficiency in fielding, batting, and running. The fielding tests involve being able to throw a baseball across the field and catching it when it’s thrown back.

The batting tests are more traditional; players stand in the batting box with a fence surrounding them and a pitching machine. The more hits and the farther the balls are sent out, the better.

Thirdly, running is simply tested by watching potential teammates run up and down the bases, with those who are fast enough not getting out before the ball reaches the base.

Players had to focus on doing their best to impress others, and tried their hardest to do well. Freshman Matthew Mercado explained how he felt about pushing himself during the tryout.

“I felt comfortable when I was batting, but a bit anxious of whether or not I would make the team. The flow of the tryouts for yesterday and today were simple: on Monday, we started with batting in the cages, then warmed up with throwing. We were then catching fly balls in the outfield and throwing it in. We finished with ground balls hit to shortstop and throwing to first base. For the second day, we were in the batting cages, then were told the results of our tryouts. With all of this in mind, I unfortunately didn’t make it.”

Existing team members also expressed their feelings about the playing, fairly impressed with those trying out if they were watching. Freshman Zachary Sakti, who is already on the team, expressed himself on the tryouts.

“The people trying out were hitting in the batting cage off the machine. On Monday, they practiced base running on the field all while the Varsity team was playing. All in all, I would say that these tryouts went well.”

All the players in the tryouts did well, showing that Arcadia’s full baseball roster will pack quite a punch. They will be ready for whatever teams they may face in the near future.

Photo courtesy of ARCADIA APACHES BASEBALL FACEBOOK