The Point Issue 1 Vol. 25- Oct. 13, 2020

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PALOS VERDES HIGH SCHOOL - ISSUE 1, VOLUME 25 - OCTOBER 16, 2020

(Photo courtesy of Jack O’Connor)

Junior Pitcher Recruited to Play for UCLA

By Vikesh Dheeriya reporter

A top-five college baseball team in the NCAA and the number one ranked public school in the United States, UCLA will become the future destination for junior Jack O’Connor who recently committed as a baseball pitcher. O’Connor has been playing baseball ever since he was four years old and never slowed down playing little league, travel ball, high school baseball and in a few years, Division I collegiate baseball. Heading to UCLA, O’Connor hopes, won’t be the end of his baseball journey either. “If everything goes as planned, I will be drafted [into the MLB] after my junior year at UCLA,” said O’Connor. O’Connor knew he wanted to play in college at the age of 12 when he started competing at higher levels and reached the point where he was “actually excited to go to practices.” “It felt like something I wanted to do,” O’Connor said. Two years later, after pitching well in his first game at a showcase tournament, UCLA head coach John Savage approached O’Connor asking for his name and phone number. “[Meeting the UCLA coach] felt very exciting knowing I

had the tools to play [Division I] baseball,” said O’Connor. Ever since then, UCLA scouts have watched him up until his official recruitment in August of this year. Although entering high school originally felt like a completely different experience for him, the high school baseball team welcomed and accepted O’Connor into their team when he joined freshman year. PV coaches and teammates, he recalls, all gave him opportunities to reach his maximum potential and eventually lead to his UCLA commitment. “Watching the upperclassmen play and seeing them perform at that level kind of motivates me to one day play in their footsteps,” said O’Connor. “I think the coaches really emphasize giving you chances on being able to fulfill those guys’ roles once they graduate.” Although high school baseball is important for college recruitment, being on a club team has added more opportunities for scouts to make decisions. Unfortunately all his tournaments for his club team, the Playa Vista Orioles, were cancelled due to COVID-19. Through the pandemic, coaches recruited and scouted players with “one-on-ones” and videos. “[During the pandemic,] I was fortunate enough to have an ex-UCLA pitching coach as my pitching coach, so I was fortunate enough to do bullpens with him during the week

and work on my mechanics,” O’Connor said. “My pitching coach and UCLA would communicate back and forth so I could get connected with them.” Because of eligibility rules, college coaches cannot directly contact high school players until their junior year so O’Connor had to use a middleman to contact the UCLA coaches. “My middleman was my Playa Vista Orioles head coach who has connections with the UCLA coach, so everything the UCLA coach had to tell me, [he] would have to tell the Playa Vista Orioles head coach and then he would tell me,” said O’Connor. In the past few years, O’Connor has had to use his middleman to get information from the head coach. But, because he is now a junior, they can contact each other freely. If O’Connor isn’t drafted into the MLB by his junior year as a Bruin, all is not lost. UCLA still has one of the best educations out of any public school in the United States. “If I pitch and it doesn’t go well, then I think I’m going to stay the fourth year and get my degree,” O’Connor said. “The academic side is still a great route to go. But, I am going there for baseball. To still play [in the MLB] after would still be my end goal.”

Athletes “SeaKing” Recruitment Amidst COVID

By Alexa Dox reporter

Peyton Eberhard, Girls’ Varsity Soccer Senior Peyton Eberhard, a member of the girls’ varsity soccer team, has first-hand experience regarding the impact COVID-19 has had on recruiting. Eberhard shared that many steps of the typical recruitment process changed as a result of the pandemic. Most athletes were told much about the process in prior years but when the pandemic hit, athletes had to adapt to a new process. For example, instead of having in-person visits by college coaches, most of the recruiting and discussions were done online. “I imagined I would be going to [ID] camps, showcases, tournaments and more,” Eberhard said. “But instead, I am emailing coaches and making highlight reels in hopes of finding a college that will be a good match for me.” While the recruiting process did change, that change did not necessarily have a negative impact overall for Eberhard. “Quite honestly, I don’t think I can say if I think the results would be different or better if it was a normal year because so many things have changed throughout the course of seven months,” Eberhard said.

Jamie Robertson, Boys’ Varsity Baseball Another athlete impacted was junior Jamie Robertson, a member of the boys’ varsity baseball team who has recently committed to Loyola Marymount University (LMU). COVID-19 stopped all baseball games in March ending the season for the school team and ending the possibility of being viewed by scouts. To continue training, he spent the summer training locally and used his time to further develop his game both on the field and in the weight room. Robertson noted the recruiting process was unique given the restrictions the NCAA placed on in-person recruiting. “I was told different things on how recruiting would happen and I was worried about making the wrong decision,” said Robertson. Prospective athletes like him weren’t allowed to go on college campuses and see the different cultures that schools offered. Robertson is fortunate to live close to LMU which helped him learn more about the community and the school’s offerings. “I’m not a huge believer in ‘what ifs’ and I’m not sure how recruiting would have gone in a normal scenario, but I’m really happy with the way everything turned out,” Robertson said. “I am ecstatic to attend LMU and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

Garren Rizzo, Boys’ Varsity Baseball Sophomore Garren Rizzo recently committed to the University of San Diego (USD) for baseball. Rizzo is an example of younger athletes colleges have been recruiting in order to get a leg-up on the process. Rizzo shared that the recruiting process was actually very long for him. “When l I finally decided to commit to the University of San Diego, I was getting recruited by multiple schools for about eight months and when [COVID-19] hit, it all remained the same,” said Rizzo. “I was out playing baseball weekly and they continued to follow me and check me out amongst that time.” Rizzo feels COVID-19 had a positive impact on his athletics. “My goal for when the pandemic hit was to add 15 pounds of muscle to my body and I achieved that,” Rizzo said. He feels the downtime from the pandemic helped him take his game to a next level. After months of the recruiting process, Rizzo is excited about furthering his caerer at USD.

(Photos courtesy of Peyton Eberhard, Jamie Robertson and Garren Rizzo)


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