Rhys Moves From Basketball to Baseball; Goals Don’t Change

Rhys+Atkinson.

S Vawter

Rhys Atkinson.

While it is the fourth and final season I will be playing under Coach Kevin Christie, I am more than excited to see what baseball and life have in store for me in the future.

But, as I am still under Christie’s belt, I have to focus on what’s happening right now. Our goal this season is to win the league championship, but personally I want more than that, and I want to win the state championship.

Winning a championship ring has been one of my dreams since I began going to Centennial High School. If you didn’t know this, Centennial has never won a state championship in baseball, so we as a community are due for our first ‘ship.

This season we have eight seniors with plenty of varsity experience compared to last year’s two seniors, so this season we will be more prepared mentally and physically for any challenge that comes our way.

The first challenge for me has been stepping up to be the catcher since I used to be the third basemen. It’s the first year I have ever played catcher, but as of now I seem to be filling the spot just fine. If I want to be the best catcher I can be I need to really focus on blocking pitches because that tends to be my weakness right now. Well, that and my knees are killing me.

While catching has been hard, and has given me plenty of bruises all over my arms and legs, I can tell that in the end it will be worth it because I will only be getting better at baseball from a mental and physical aspect. What more could I ask for than to be learning more about the game?