Last year, the Ridgeview baseball team brought home two championship titles. Winning the Valley and State championships has been a pivotal moment in the team’s high school baseball career, and they are ready to continue their success this season by acknowledging that it is not over; there is more work to be done.
Senior Adrien Bravo was happy to bring home a Valley and State championship win. “It feels good,” he says. He believes that the team’s culture played a big role in helping them stick to the win at the end of the day. According to Bravo, “The biggest challenge that we faced was at one point we weren’t getting along with each other, and we didn’t have good team culture, and towards the end we just came together.” The team was able to come together at the end because they all shared the will to win. This year, having the majority of the team back with the loss of a few seniors last year, they will continue to have good camaraderie. Bravo claims he stays focused during the season by showing up every day, the best he can, essentially being a role model for his team. He believes that the coaching staff has been making a mark on the team since they were on JV, making sure they were always present at varsity games so that they could learn the feeling. Last year showed how the team truly benefits from the way that their coaches have trained and motivated them.
Also, Senior Joel Gutierrez is proud to be a Valley and State champion. Joel says that he always made it a point to have fun on the field. “I stayed focused on having fun out there… just give it my hundred percent.” Being champions brings a lot of recognition to the team. The program being recognized more now means a lot to Joel. “Its a good feeling to know people see what we did.” The support that the team endured during the championship games made a deep impact on the team and Joel to not lose. The will to make everyone proud was strong amongst everybody, and it helped push them to the titles. Joel understands that this year, a lot of teams are going to try harder to beat them for the championship title. However him and his team plan on working hard this season to push to get a second title. “It’s never too early to get on the field, that’s the best thing you can do at a young age,” says Joel as he advises people looking to win a title one day.
Coach Robert Shahan is proud of the team and was happy to bring home a valley and state title to the school. “Extremely proud, I love this school, I love the community we have here, and I love representing our school in the best way possible,” says Shahan. He shares his love for winning and states that the goal is to build great things. The team this year showcases some D1 talent, with two very good pitchers on the field. Coach Shahan is confident that the team this year will be even better than it was last year. He is proud that the team feels confident in being champions, walking around campus with their heads held high; however, “It’s our challenge as a coaching staff to get them to forget that,” says Shahan. This is significant because it illustrates the value of never thinking it is over, despite your success. The coaching staff, as well as the players, understand that their toughest school this year will be Bakersfield Christian High School; beating them this year is a challenge they are all hoping to overcome.
The Ridgeview boys’ baseball team is excited to take on every challenge with a champion mindset. They understand that nothing this year will come easy and that they have to work even harder to win another title.