Athlete Of The Month

Photo contributed by The Slavich Family, courtesy of Frederick's Photography.

 By: Trent Lawrence

When we first started this site one of my goals was to feature an athlete of the month. It has been slow going in achieving this goal as my time to dedicate to this has been limited. However, I am pleased to say I have chosen our very first athlete to feature! This young man is a great kickoff to this segment.

Connor Slavich is the very definition of an athlete to feature. His hard work and dedication to his sports are refreshing. Through his hard work, preparation, leadership, and respect with which he treats others, Connor provides a great model for our younger student athletes in this community. On and off the field Connor conducts himself with outstanding character. I have experience coaching youth in this community. So, as a coach- Connor is a coach’s dream athlete. He is a great combination of leadership, attitude and athletic ability.

Connor was a great leader this past season on the football field for our Eagles. He is now doing the same for the high school baseball team. We featured an article earlier this week on the success our high school baseball team is experiencing in the early going this season and Connor is a big reason why. He has led the team in ERA on the mound and put up big numbers at the dish. He leads the team in homeruns and RBI and has been vital to the program.

I was able to conduct an interview with this fine young man this week. Here is the skivey on Mr. Connor Slavich.

1.  What is your favorite thing about the game of baseball? My favorite thing about baseball is the match-ups. Every game there is always a 1 vs. 1 battle between the pitcher and hitter.  Nothing else compares to that.

2.  You are an athletic kid and can play multiple positions. What is your favorite position to play? Pitching is my favorite position. I love having the ball in my hands.

3.  What is the main reason for your success this year? The first week after football, I was already hitting in the cage. I spend countless hours working on my fundamentals and making improvements on the mound.

4.  You are a great football player and everyone knows CC’s rivals in football are Homestead and recently East Noble. Who is our rival in baseball? I think Whitko is our main rival for baseball.  That game is never an easy one and is always a dog fight. That game always means more than the other ones.

5.  What can people of our community do to bring more exposure and success to our baseball program? Spread the word and get some more people to our games. Baseball is always more fun when you see an above average crowd.

6.  What is something about your coach that most people don’t know? Our head coach Zac Bireley was an All-American at Manchester College and has gone through times of success, as well as struggles and defeat...similar to our program.

7.  We recently posted an article about nicknames. Any good nicknames on your team? We have quite a few. Almost everyone on the team has one. They all have special meaning to us.

8.  You have had a fantastic high school career. What are your plans for next year? I plan on attending Purdue in the fall and studying Speech and Audiology as a major. I will try to continue to play baseball in one way or another.

T and T Athletic Supporters would like to thank Connor and the CC baseball coaching staff for making this article possible.

If you haven’t had a chance to see Connor in action I encourage you to get out and see a game. Spring is in full force and there is nothing better to do on a spring afternoon than watch some good baseball. For the complete schedule visit the following: http://www.wccs.k12.in.us/cchs/athletics/boys/baseball/index.html