Wednesday, August 3, 2022
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Sports & Recreation
Nutley’s Devin Ortiz signs free agent contract San Diego Padres, heads to Arizona for first foray into pro baseball
Devin Ortiz
By Jason Bernstein jason@theobserver.com
As the Major League Baseball Draft neared its conclusion and his name yet to be called, Devin Ortiz, like he had hundreds, if not thousands of times before, went with father Jose to find a park near their Nutley home to work toward Devin’s dream of being a professional baseball player. So it was only appropriate in the middle of their workout at the Belleville High School baseball field Ortiz received the phone call he had been hoping to hear for years now. The phone call was from the San Diego Padres to express their interest in signing Devin, a star at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale and the University of Virginia, to a
free-agent contract. On Tuesday, Ortiz officially signed his contract with the Padres at the team’s spring training complex in Peoria, Arizona. “When I got the call, it was a great moment. It was a great time to get the call because I was with my dad and we were hitting,” said Ortiz of the call, which happened roughly 30 minutes after the draft’s conclusion on July 19. “It was a great moment. We celebrated. I got to be with my friends and family and have dinner with everyone at my mom’s house and just enjoy the day.” The day was initially a frustrating one for Ortiz as he followed the third day of the draft. Eventually the need to get out of the house and try to focus elsewhere became
too much after the 15th of 20 rounds came and went. “We were just trying to kill time and not think about it too much,” Ortiz said. “I was watching it and we said let’s go get some hitting in. If you hear something, you hear something. We were just hoping to get a call or something. We were thankful enough that the Padres reached out and wanted to work a free agent deal and I’m very grateful that we were able to make it work.” Five days later, Ortiz was on a plane for Arizona where he and the Padres’ 2022 draft class and undrafted free agents were getting their first taste of professional baseball. “Right now, everybody’s just See ORTIZ, Page 10
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Andrews, a football coach, hosting conditioning program for KHS’ girls’ soccer team By Jason Bernstein jason@theobserver.com
It’s not a surprise to see the local high school teams engaged in summer workouts as they prepare for the upcoming season. But three mornings a week, shortly after the sun comes up, the Kearny girls soccer team is on the high school turf and not a soccer ball is in sight. Instead, a group of 20-25 girls are out on the field as part of an extensive summer strength and conditioning run by current head football coach and 15-year trainer Steven Andrews. “The girls have really bought in,” said Andrews, who also runs a similar strength and conditioning program with the Kardinals football team in the afternoon. “They trust me and they trust themselves to come in and work hard. It’s been fantastic to see how hard this group of girls have been working. “I’m so proud of them and the work they do every day and we have fun doing it. I think it builds some real team chemistry.” For the Kearny girls, the chemistry is getting built at 7:20 a.m. with Andrews’ workouts starting at 7:30 and going for two hours, three days a week. Monday is dedicated to interval training aimed at building endurance. Wednesday’s emphasis is on speed with an emphasis on sprints and working fast. Thursday is the only day that incorporates soccer-specific skills, but the focus is placed on acceleration and agility. Each day also concludes with weightlifting. The program started five weeks ago right after
high school graduation and continues for another two to three weeks before the official start of the high school soccer season later this month. “The biggest part of all of it is the confidence (they gain). I really try to instill confidence in them,” Andrews said. “Each week I’ve seen the girls getting more confident in the weight room, the girls being a little more confident with their speed, with their conditioning. Once you’re confident in the conditioning, you can do the workout even harder than you were doing it last week and that improves the next workout. “When you work hard, you get what you put in. And they’re all working hard so they’re all improving.” While offseason strength and conditioning are common, they are usually done at private facilities and not by coaches in the building. “I’m sure other teams do stuff like this,” Andrews said. “Maybe they will go to a Parisi or something like that. I think what’s different with this is that I’ve been in the field for the last 15 years and I love Kearny soccer. I have a pretty good grasp on how to train soccer players.” Off-season team training for soccer is nothing new for Andrews, a Kearny alum and a football and track star at TCNJ. Andrews worked with the Kearny girls’ soccer team for two summers when current athletic director Vin Almeida was the head coach. He also spent five seasons working with the Harrison boys’ soccer program and See KEARNY, Page 10
