By Ken Hansard
To outsiders, Bryer Rojas, senior first baseman and outfielder for the Goddard Lions, may appear to live a charmed life. He comes from a great family, and his love of the game stems from his dad, Jaime, who taught Bryer to love the sport and additionally taught him the ins-and-outs of the game. Learning the finer points of athletics has enabled Rojas to establish himself as one of the finer three-sport athletes in the Wichita Metro area.
Rojas has been on coaches’ radars in the AVCTL for several years now, and in that time, he has accumulated an array of accolades. In football, he has earned honors on both sides of the ball, earning Second-Team All-League honors at both linebacker and at wide receiver. In baseball, he is a Second-Team All-AVCTL outfielder. After a brief hiatus, Bryer recently began playing basketball again for GHS, and he has made an immediate impact as a starter and leading rebounder for the Lions.
However, even players who seem to come by their gifts naturally have their fair share of life’s challenges. Rojas has been forced to overcome a couple of major injuries that have required him to recalibrate his outlook, “I had a rough year last season due to coming off an injury, so I was in my head a lot. My biggest thing this year is to keep a clear head space and play the game I know how to play.”
Rojas has set a personal goal to finish the upcoming season by hitting over .400, although, what he is really focused on is the team aspect, “As a senior, I see myself as a leader and role model for the underclassmen. I have to lead by example on the field and not by talk. We have to do the little things right in order to be able to compete. I’m excited to be back out there with the guys. I think we have a lot to prove this year.”
When asked about how the Lions could maximize their potential this season, Rojas responded, “We’ll definitely have to be the more gritty team and grind it out each game – regardless of the situation.”
In the end, Rojas returned to introspection about overcoming challenges – both in sports and in life. “I had a bad mentality for a while, so I went to a see a sports’ psychologist. I feel it has improved my mental state in all sports dramatically, and I couldn’t be more thankful because that helped me a lot – not just in the way I look at things with sports, but with the way I look at situations in life.”
When not active on the diamond with the Lions, Bryer is heavily involved in other aspects of the school’s culture. Besides also playing basketball and football, he is a member of the Spanish Club, FCCLA, KAY, and Spirit Club.
Following graduation, Bryer plans to continue his academic and athletic endeavors in both baseball and football at Garden City Community College. He eventually hopes to study and play at a D1 school with an aviation program, so he can train to become a pilot.
