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To form a successful team, three things must come together: hard work, experience, and motivation. RM baseball, after last year’s 2-15 season, has plenty of each. The team looks to utilize these characteristics and make this a winning season.
“Last year was a tough season,” Codey Fear, varsity head coach, said. “There were only three seniors, so we had a really young team.”
To make up for the lack of seniors, Coach Fear pulled up several sophomores from the JV squad last season. One of these players was junior catcher Alex Caprara.
“I like catching because it’s a lot of stuff to do. I don’t really have that much of an attention span,” Caprara said. “So when I’m out there, [being a catcher] constantly keeps me occupied, which I enjoy.”
Everyone on the team shares Caprara’s love for baseball, including sophomore first baseman Ryan Migler. “I’ve always played first base–it definitely has the most action,” Migler said. “Pretty much every ground ball is thrown to first base. Baseball in general is just something I’ve loved doing since I was a younger.”
The Rockets are a part of the most competitive league in the county: 4A East. They face dominating schools like Sherwood HS, Walter Johnson HS, and Quince Orchard HS.
To prepare for the heavy competition against teams like QO, Coach Fear began off-season workouts weeks before the start of tryouts. “We really pushed ourselves and took it seriously,” Caprara added. “[The off-season workouts] definitely brought our team closer and got us to motivate each other to work our hardest.”
The workouts worked to improve three key aspects of baseball: strength, speed, and stamina. Coach Fear got the team time in the weight room in addition to having them run outside on the track. The Rockets would even come to school early to get in a workout before class started.
“We did a lot of cardio, even though we didn’t like it, and it got everyone more in shape,” Migler admitted. “[Coach Fear] wanted to make sure we could play the full seven innings once the season actually started.”
The biggest change to come to the team this year, according to Coach Fear, is the mindset. “Believing that not only can we compete, but that we can win is going to be huge,” he said.
The mentality or attitude of a team impacts everything; the way they play, the way they practice, but most importantly–the way they work with each other.
“Pretty much everybody is close,” Migler said. “We like to joke around and have a lot of fun—both on and off the field. But once it’s game time, everyone can get serious when we need to be.”
Both Coach Fear and Caprara agree that motivation will be vital in their future success.
“We struggled a lot with [motivating ourselves] as we went further into the season [last year],” Caprara said.“I’m hoping this year the team can come together and encourage each other.”
Coach Fear has high hopes for this upcoming season. With several juniors returning to make up the core of RM’s Varsity team, they’ll bring skill, maturity, and experience.
“I think [Coach Fear] has big aspirations and wants to make a lot of changes to the team,” Caprara said. “He really believes in our ability to win.” Coach Fear said, “This year we just want to win… to do that we’ll have to compete, play hard and give 100% every day.”
The team will start doing this for their March 23 home opener against Rockville HS. The Booster Club, led by RM parent Rob Perks, has organized festivities for the game, hoping to draw a big crowd to support the team.
These activities are a renewal of last year’s event, where Hot 99.5, Buffalo Wild Wings and the Booster Club provided food and entertainment.
Perks explained, “RM has a proud baseball tradition and we really want to encourage students to become fans and to show the team lots of support, especially on their home field.”
However, a lot of the team’s support comes from within. “At the end of the day, we all support each other,” said Caprara. “No matter happens on or off the field, we are a family.”
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