00:00Take me back to 2022, you know, team fights tooth and nail to get to the Little League World Series.
00:05Yeah, it was tough. I remember we started in the dugout, first part, practiced every day.
00:11Kind of just like joking around like, oh, imagine if we made it.
00:15Then once we got past district sections, we got the states, we realized like a big factor was we kind
00:20of all relaxed.
00:22And we were like, this is the moment we've been waiting for, so might as well enjoy it and have
00:25fun.
00:25And I feel like it took us through states, it took us through the regionals, and then led us to
00:31the World Series.
00:32What in high school have you taken from that experience? Not many kids get to go to the Little League
00:36World Series.
00:37Of course. I feel like something that I, along with a bunch of my teammates, took with us,
00:42we took with us the pride of playing at that high level, we took with us the pressure of playing
00:47at that high level,
00:48and we took the confidence and the cool collectiveness you need to play with that level of pressure on you.
00:54So how did that help you out last year when you got called up for varsity?
00:58Honestly, I feel like it helped keep us cool, get us through the big games.
01:02As you know, Farmerdale is a big rival.
01:04We had a loss our first game that could bring a lot of stress on, but we kept it cool,
01:08and we were able to get through the next two games.
01:10The guys on JV now, do you still kind of keep in touch with them?
01:13Does the whole team kind of stay together?
01:15Yeah, it's a bond that honestly you can't break.
01:18We lived together in barracks for, I'd say, around like 20 days through regionals and obviously the World Series,
01:25and it's kind of a bond.
01:26We obviously, through 8-11, we were tight because we played every summer,
01:30but that 12-year-old summer when we're literally living together every single day of our lives,
01:34practicing together, hanging out together, that took us to a different level.
01:38In terms of mentorship, I really just give them advice on what varsity is like with the coach's routine,
01:45because I don't feel like I need to coach them with pressure because we all went through that together.
01:49We all know what that's like.
01:50Do you guys still hang out over, you know, spend time together?
01:53Occasionally we do, but even if we don't see each other for months because, you know,
01:56the Catholic school kids, it's still like nothing changed because of that bond we developed.
02:00Two days ago, with some of my teammates from the Metro team we were talking about,
02:04they explained how we were hanging out in the dorms and experiences that we had there.
02:08It feels really good to be back with all the pressure, you know, playing those big games, the LIC,
02:13bringing it back to the Metro in 2022.
02:15It's just like, that's what everybody plays for, is those moments where they can thrive under that pressure
02:19because everybody plays because they want to be in that situation where bottom seven is two outs,
02:24you know, runners on base, they want to get the score running.
02:29That's kind of how it feels every time you come up and play one of these big games.
02:32I'm looking to develop a great relationship with, like further my relationship with the older guys.
02:38The guys my age, now it becomes tighter than JV.
02:41We play with a purpose now, a real purpose.
02:43It's no playoffs than JV.
02:45This year, our goal, we got a lunatic last year.
02:48I think that one of the purposes that we're looking for this year is to win the States.
02:52Since it was only a month, you know, they were locked in in their States.
02:57We developed a relationship.
02:58But now this year, me and the junior, Chris Sultana, we're the only returning juniors.
03:05So as we kind of see it, it's like we have a more deep relationship with them.
03:11And we kind of like to spread that through the rest of the juniors and the rest of the team
03:14entirely.
03:15So we just get a closer net because as it feels, the closer a team is together, the better they
03:20develop, the better they do.
03:21What would it mean if you were to have a starting role this year?
03:25It would mean a lot.
03:26I think it would be great.
03:27You know, I would love to play with the junior, senior class because I honestly, I look up to some
03:32of them.
03:32The role models, they taught me a lot.
03:34My month on varsity last year and throughout the year, I've done a lot of friendships with some of them
03:39and it just feels great.
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