Alisha stepped back, letting Coach take over again.
"I would like to take the time to introduce our returning varsity members." He said, making me tense. "There are no guarantees that these guys will be on the varsity team again, but at least you will know what standard I'm looking at. Seniors, please stand up."
Seven of the guys stood up, including the twins.
"I'll start with our pitchers." Coach waved for the guys to come over. "Garret Knudsen. He was our ace on the mound last season, winning King of the Hill." He moved on to the identical twins. "That's not to say that he's without competition. Kyle and David Atkins. They're both instrumental to our team, earning starting spots in the rotation. These three pitched on a state champion team. That means if you want a spot, you'll have to be better than a state champion." He went on to introduce Tyler and Matt, who were both pitchers. Tanner and Jason were up next. "Jason Morris is a returning starter at third base. Solid defense and steady at the plate. Tanner Erickson didn't start on the Varsity level at the beginning of last season, but after a midseason shuffle he joined the roster and earned some starts in the outfield."
Coach looked around at those of us sitting down. "This is a small reminder that you have to continue working hard and improving your game no matter what level you start at. Juniors, please join us."
Bryce, Brian, Theo, Sean, and Mitchell all got a short introduction. Sean stood out the most with Coach talking about his versatility and how he won the award just a few months ago. Then it came down to the last of us…Noah and I. Coach grinned. "Now very rarely do I have a freshman on the Varsity, but it's not impossible. Noah. Jake. Please stand up."
Noah got up on his feet quickly and took a few strides to stand by Coach. Seeing his confidence, I tried to copy his movements, only to end up stumbling over my own feet.
Laughter broke out and only got louder as I straightened up and felt the blood rush to my face.
Even Coach let out a small chuckle. He put his hand on my shoulder and held me steady. "Jake might seem a little clumsy, but he's the best hitter in our program. As a freshman he won the silver slugger award from the team, and Rookie of the Year award from the league, and was also Rookie of the Year for our whole division." Coach grinned. "If any pitcher wants a free pass to join the Varsity team, then strike out Jake."
A wave of whispers and mumbles went through the players, from incoming freshmen to returning players on the lower-leveled teams. Coach let go of me and I tried to move calmly to my teammates.
Dave pulled me into a headlock. "Look at you! Coach put a target on your back already! Better not slack off."
I let out a heavy sigh. As long as the staring stops.
"Another former freshman on the team, Noah Atkins. Noah is our starting shortstop and defending defensive mvp." Coach stated. "Like I said before, I don't care too much about what grade you're in or how many years of experience you have. This team is put together to win games. If I think a team of freshmen can pull it off, then I won't hesitate." His eyes narrowed.
He let us sit back down, then let the JV coach take over to introduce his players. Noah and I stuck with our team as we took a knee. I tried to sit behind the twins, avoiding the looks from the bigger group.
Dave laughed at me, but didn't make it difficult for me to hide.
Coach Holman introducted his JV team, leaving out the graduated seniors who left in the spring. His team had a few juniors-turned-seniors including Daniel. Daniel was the backup to Noah in the first half of the season. I don't really know him on a personal level, but I could still recall how mean Chris was about me and Noah taking up starting spots as freshmen. Thankfully, he's gone now.
Daniel wasn't the only one I recognized. Tony was demoted to JV during the season too for his failing bat, but he was always nice to me. Then came some of the award winners from the banquet: Michael Tye, Jesse Shipman, Korrey Alvarrez, Joey Henderson, and finally…a former acquaintance of Noah, Logan Porter. Logan had moved from the freshman team to the JV team and had won the award for 'most improved'.
Noah didn't seem to be bothered. He caught me looking at him. "What?" He whispered.
I shrugged.
Noah leaned over and whispered. "Take note of the sophomore pitchers. I'll be counting on you to crush them in the scrimmages."
I nodded, then obediently watched Coach Ryan introduce the former freshmen team. I paid attention whenever he said the player was a pitcher, but also took note of a few unfriendly faces from the spring. Austin being number one. He was a jerk through and through. He was a borderline bully, and even kept Noah from trying out for his usual club team.
After all the returning players had been introduced, Coach let the incoming freshmen state their name, position, and if they had played club ball. A lot of them had played in a club, naming Watsonville Baseball Club as their team. An exception was Andy.
"My name is Andy Wilson." Andy stood straight as he reported. "I can play any position except pitcher. I'm especially good at the infield positions. I didn't play on a club team this past summer, but I did continue to practice and work on my game."
"How? By playing old people softball?" One of the freshman scoffed, cutting a joke at Andy's expense.
Quite a lot of guys laughed, but Andy didn't waver. He glanced towards the player who took a jab at him. "I played with my brother, a former varsity player and second-team all league player. I also played with Noah and Jake, returning varsity members. I also had the chance to play with the best player in the division last year, Zeke Atkins. A former first round draft pick and now current college player at a division one school."
A weird silence came about after he finished.
Coach coughed. "You may sit down now, Andy." He looked at the freshmen. "Just because I'm asking whether you played club ball or not, doesn't mean that it'll give you an edge over anyone else. The teams are put together based on skill. I won't say this again. A friendly reminder to everyone here…Jake had never played in a baseball game until he joined our team. That should be all you need to know on what I think of experience."
Coach nodded at the next freshman to continue on. After getting everyone's info down, he sent us away to jog the circumference of the field for a warmup. With so many of us here, it was hard to do the normal warmup so we jogged twice around the field and stretched on our own.
