By Ken Hansard
Alfonso Olivarez, senior shortstop for the Wichita North High RedHawks, is approaching his final year of high school baseball like a player who has something to prove. And to that end, he worked a ton in the off-season to shore up any weaknesses in his game. “I worked hard this offseason on the mental side of the game. While getting lots of reps, I taught myself not to get frustrated with myself and to stay calm when challenges come up. Baseball is a tough sport, and it just makes it more difficult if you can’t let the little things go.”
That focus and hard work has paid big dividends for Alfonso in the past, and he hopes that the upward trend he has seen in his game will continue, “I went from batting around .250 during my sophomore year to batting .417 junior year. I am very proud of it because it is something I worked on daily, and I could see my hard work paying off in game situations.”
Olivarez has set the types of goals for himself that his coaches would definitely appreciate, “I see myself as a leader and a good teammate, and I’m looking forward to continuing to grow as both a baseball player and a leader. In the end, I just want to be a good teammate and help our team win as many games as possible.”
Olivarez has already committed to attend Tabor College next fall and looks forward to fulfilling his dream of playing baseball at the collegiate level.
