Our Season

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls from all across the world, and thank you to tuning into another fun and informative blog on Life of a Student Athlete, written by the one and only, Austin Hopcia.  In today's blog we are going to talk about some High School Basketball, possibly some college basketball, and we will talk about my up and rising biggest fan that has recently appeared into my life. So the winter season is upon us which means another fun filled basketball season. The Alden Varsity Basketball season is underway and the team had a hot start to begin the season. They started the season with a huge win over Class A opponent West Seneca East. My friend plays on this team and as you know there was a lot of trash talking going on, on twitter the night before the big game. Obviously we prevailed big time in arguably the best game played in Alden History.  That weekend we played in the annual Tip-Off Tournament coming off that big tune up win.  Last year the JV Basketball team won the tournament starting their success after finishing with a 14 and 4 record.  Most of the guys from that team are now up on varsity, hoping to translate that success to this year.  The Varsity team last year finished in third after losing in the first round to Iroquois, the eventual winner of the tournament.  This year it would be different.  We started off playing Orchard Park, who joined the tournament for the first time, replacing Maritime Charter School.  We started pretty slow, but in the second half we played phenomenal.  Moving on to the Championship for the first time in a while for a varsity Bulldogs team here in the Tip-Off Tournament.  Coming into this game, we didn't know which team would show up for us.  Let me explain it to you like this, Alden basketball isn't that good.  Sure we have our moments, but think of it like this.  We're like the Buffalo Bills in a sense.  Probably the most inconsistent team ever.  And it's always been like that.  I remember when I was in 8th grade.  We played a great game against Lackawanna at home and beat them, and on the bench after the game I was talking with some of the guys, and we were all saying how we couldn't wait to get a chance at Cleve-Hill again, the team we had lost to earlier in the year.  A team that we've never beat.  We had them the following Friday, but first we had to play Lackawanna again the next Monday at their place.  And we got killed.  It was shocking.  Like after what we did just three days before, and then that, I don't think I'll ever forget that.  We also ended up getting killed by Cleve-Hill again later that week.  Anyways, we had this big game plan prepared for them and their two big stars.  We were going to run a triangle and two on them, and we only had one day to learn it and get ready for the next day.  So the game went just as we hoped, I think.  We stopped their fast break that they loved to do.  And we were only down by two going into the half.  We came out in the third quarter on fire and firing on all cylinders, dominating that quarter and maybe even putting the game away.  We did end up winning the tournament, and off to a hot 3 and 0 start, which a lot people wouldn't have expected.  The next week meant the start of league play, which is more important than any tournament championship.  And it has been rough since that tournament.  It's like we are having a championship hangover, but I don't know why because we haven't done anything.  We have now dropped 4 in a row.  And every single one has been a blowout.  Once one mistake happened it's like the bottom just falls out.  And the turnovers, oh my goodness, the turnovers.  We have to be averaging over 20 a game these last four.  Like what is going on.  And it is so frustrating, getting blown out every game.  Especially when we lost to Holland, it was just utter disappointment.  Currently this season has been just utter disappointment.  At least the good thing is, is that it is a long, long season.  And we do have a lot of time to work it out, as long as we don't panic and throw it all away.  We just got to keep working hard, and we have one more preparation non-league game before the league starts again.  We play Roy-Hart on December 28th a team both JV and Varsity beat last year.  Now that biggest fan I was talking about was Austin Palizay.  He is a die-hard Austin Hopcia fan.  He even has a t-shirt with my face on it, with my number on it, and most of all, with my signature on it.  He's crazy and has so much spirit, passion, and love for me and it is awesome.  Who thought you could have a biggest fan that wasn't your family member at 16.  Never thought I'd have t-shirts with my face on it either, or signing autographs.  It's like I'm a celebrity, no big deal.  And that's my favorite part about basketball season, the fact that the fans are so close and they can get really involved and you can hear everything they say and do.  Hopefully their energy will also bring us back up to speed with our play in the near future to get us going again.

College Basketball

Hello ladies and gentleman, boys and girls of all ages.  Thank you for tuning in and reading my latest blog on 'Life of a Student Athlete,' by your own, Austin Hopcia.  Today will will spend most of the time on College Basketball and maybe take a look into some High School hoops if we have time.  College Basketball is probably my most favorite sport to watch.  I just love the passion and love for the game that these kids have.  The joy on their faces when they win, and the disappointment when they lose.  It is just so exciting to watch and I just love College Gameday Saturday's.  I could probably watch a College Basketball game every night, especially if it has good teams.  All the upsets that go down is pretty cool to see too.  All the Cinderella tournament teams making runs, it's awesome.  Last year there were three teams with double-digit seeding that made it to the Sweet 16.  And for the first time ever there were two Number 2 teams get knocked out in the first round of the tournament.  Lehigh, a program that hasn't really received much publicity ever, sure got it last year.  They beat the Duke Blue Devils in a game where they had control for most of it.  Duke mad a run in the end but it wasn't enough as they lost 75 to 70.  Unfortunately Lehigh would lose their next game.  The other 15 seeded team to move on came from Norfolk State.  Norfolk State is located out in Virginia, a small school in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, or the MEAC.  The Spartans beat the Missouri Tigers, a team who a lot of people, like myself, thought could possibly make a run to the National Championship.  They lost 86 to 84, very disappointing.  I was shocked and a little angry not gonna lie.  They ruined my brackets, but good for Norfolk State.  Last year Kentucky was the National Champion, and almost the entire roster on that team went to the NBA.  This year there was a new team and new faces, but they were looking for the same success.  John Calipari had a good grip he felt on his team and thought they had a quality chance at repeating.  The once ranked #3 team in the Preseason polls has struggled mightily early.  They've lost 3 games already, and only one was a good loss, which was to a hot Duke team.  But they've lost by double digits to Baylor and Notre Dame.  They also barely beat unranked Maryland in their opener.  The seasons young, but they've dropped out of the polls; it should be interesting to see if they can make a comeback.  My team in College Basketball is Syracuse.  I've been an Orange fan for a little while now, I'm not really sure how long.  But, I am like a die-hard Syracuse fan.  They're probably the team that if they lose I freak out.  I get mad when the Bills, Sabres, Yankees, Heat and Miami Hurricanes lose, but it is nothing compared to Syracuse basketball.  And the last two years I must say they've been really good.  Every game day they have, I have to wear something of theirs.  Whether it is a T-Shirt, sweatshirt, pajama pants, or a pair of shorts for basketball that don't even fit anymore.  I even have tie that I'll wear on game days for me if I have to.  Yesterday they had a game against Long Beach State, and unfortunately I wasn't notified until it was too late, but luckily they still won the game in blowout fashion.  Last year they lost in the Elite 8 to Ohio State 77-70.  The last time they won the title was back in 2003 with Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara.  I didn't really know that much about them then and don't really remember that.  I'm just waiting for the day I can see them bring one home, hopefully it could be this year.  We've lost a lot of key guys to the NBA draft, but we're still full with talent and ranked 4th in the country with a 7 and 0 record early.  We have a lot of young guys but a couple returning guys that could do big things this year.  Brandon Triche, C.J. Fair are my main boys on this team.  Michael-Carter Williams, a guard who didn't even play in a lot of the games, but leads the nation in assists and is on early Naismith Player of the Year Watch.  So far they're off to a hot start and hopefully they will be able to keep it going and have a similar record to last year except with a different result.  Last year it was 33 and 1, this year, I want a better ending though.  Less than a month remains until Conference play begins.  Teams are still out preparing and getting their teams ready for their big games.  Duke is the best team I've seen personally, although they aren't ranked number one, Indiana is, they are hot and have beat some really good teams.  They've already beat three Top-5 teams in Kentucky, Louisville, and Ohio State.  I think they are poised to make a run, until they face Syracuse of course.  Thank you all for joining me today, I hope you have a good weekend and I also hope that you guys will join me for next time.

Notre Dame's the Story

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and welcome to another fun-filled blog and thank you for joining us.  In today's blog we will be going over who won the state championships here in New York, and we will also take a look at College Football.  The season has just ended and we will go through my predictions for the future conference championship games as well as bowl games.  Also, a look at the amazing story of Notre Dame, and how they were able to get their ranking to #1 and solidify their appearance in the BCS Championship.  So the football season has ended, for one Section VI team it was pure joy in their faces and happiness all around.  For the other two teams it was sheer shock, and utter disappointment for them.    Randolph was the lone team to win the state title this year from Western New York.  For Randolph it was their 3rd title since 2005.  And it also marked the end of an era.  Pat Slater, the head coach for the Cardinals announced his retirement right after the big win on Friday.  “That’s the best way to go,” Slater said of his final game. “ I’ve been thinking about it, and every time we won every week, these last four weeks, I said ‘You know, it’s getting closer, it’s getting closer. … This is the best. I have great kids. The kids played hard. … ”  That's pretty cool to see for him and his team, congratulations to the Cardinals.  Sweet Home, had the tough task of taking on Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, who was ranked 4th in the state.  Now yes, Sweet Home was ranked 2nd, but these two teams were no strangers to each other people.  In 2008 and 2009, the Panthers defeated Burnt Hills in both games for the State Title.  This time, they would have none of it.  Burnt Hills trounced the Panthers 40 to 20, where it was 26 zip at the half.  Sweet Home's coach John Faller had this to say about the loss, “Whenever you get this far, a loss hurts more than any other loss, because it’s the last one and your season’s over.  I give a lot of credit to Matt [Shell, Burnt Hills coach] and his team. They took it to us today. We tried to come back a little bit in the second half and didn’t quite have enough. It’s a tribute to them. When you’re beat, you’re beat, and today we got beat by a better team.”  Hopefully next year Sweet Home is able to bounce back, and maybe make another run to the Championship game.  The last team in the Championship game was AA powerhouse Orchard Park.  The Quakers, #8 in the state, had to take on New Rochelle, ranked 7th in the state.  This was Orchard Park's third showing the in State Championship in that last five years, and they were coming into this game as the defending state championships.  But New Rochelle was just too powerful, too fast, and too overwhelming for the Quakers.  It was over at halftime and the final score was 34 to 6.  “They were fast, they were strong, they were great on defense – that’s the best team in the state in AA,” said Orchard Park coach Gene Tundo. “They defended everything we did really well. … They outplayed us the whole game.”  And so high school football has ended, as sad as that is, the adolescents have to look forward to a winter sport.  So the College Football season has ended, and the postseason is upon us, and the biggest surprise of the year has to be the amazing story of the undefeated Notre Dame Irish.  Notre Dame came into the year with not much expected from them.  But, they came together and proved a ton of critics wrong.  Led by defensive linebacker, stud, and Heisman hopeful, Manti Te'o.  He has been a beast and is among the leaders in interceptions with seven.  He never had one before this year ans he has seven, as a linebacker.  Truly amazing.  Brian Kelly has his team firing on all cylinders and in the championship for the first time since 1993.  A team that was once the team everyone was asking what happened to, are they done?  And now look at them.  Amazing.  They will most likely take on the winner of the SEC Championship game, between #2 Alabama and #3 Georgia.  This is a very compelling matchup and a lot of people are hoping to see Notre Dame go up against a powerhouse like Alabama.  At the beginning of the year it was looking like it was going to be Alabama and Oregon, as they were the favorites.  But both teams did lose, Alabama was lucky enough for it to come earlier in the year.  But Oregon, not so lucky.  USC was also stocked up pretty big, and they lost almost 6 games!  Just goes to show how wacky and unreal College Football is.  Another college sport that is unreal is College Basketball.  Now you talk about upsets.  College Basketball is probably my most favorite sport to watch.  It is so exciting, the intensity, and the atmospheres during a basketball game.  Syracuse is my team and I’m hoping they can get a title that I can actually remember.  Last year was supposed to be their year but this year, I got another good feeling.

Sectional Championships

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls from all over.  Thank you for tuning into my latest blog on Life of a Student Athlete.  Today we're going to look over what happened this past weekend with the Section VI Football Championships, as well as the beginning of the Monsignor Martin playoffs.  Over the weekend was the biggest event in local high school football, and many kids' dreams.  The Championships for every class in Western New York.   At Ralph Wilson Stadium.  That's right, 'The Ralph' or 'Rich Stadium', the stadium where the Buffalo Bills play, the professional football team for those of you who don't know.  Six games were played from Friday night, all the way through Saturday night.  Really a surreal experience for everyone involved in the entire thing.  Especially the players.  I know for me, a player on the Alden football team, winner of the three straight sectional titles, the experience is amazing.  First just getting there is unbelievable.  I'm lucky enough to go to live in a town where everyone is close.  We have the best fans and get a lot of support from a lot of people.  Earlier this year we had 3,500 people at our playoff game against Depew.  That's unbelievable, and unheard of in Class B.  That's pushing most of the Class A games.  But anyways, back to the arrival at the Ralph, we have a bunch of our fans tailgating there a couple hours before the game!  And that's really what this is all about.  How a tiny town like Alden can come together every fall, and be happy because of the football teams' success.  I know that sounds a little biased because I'm on the team, but it's the truth.  And a lot of people would agree with that.  You should see what the town looks like!  People, if you're ever bored and have nothing to do, take a stroll through the Village of Alden and then you'll see what I'm talking about.  It is a pretty neat thing that goes on over here.  And when we pull in to the parking lot at the stadium, they come over to the railing and they go crazy and it's nuts.  It's just an awesome thing and I feel like I can almost guarantee that no other school gets the support we do, and have no better fans than we do during football season.  Anyways, enough of my town and my school, let's get to some highlights.  Friday night brought two games to kick off the weekend, the Class D, and Class A Championships would be decided.  Maple Grove and Randolph squared off in Class D, and this is a big rivalry that has become stronger and stronger every year.  It seems like these guys meet here every year.  Maple Grove came in undefeated, and Randolph came in with two losses, one of which came against Maple Grove in Week 3.  This time though the result would be different.  Randolph was able to avenge their loss from earlier this year and has moved on into the State Playoffs, at the Far West Regional at All High Stadium on Friday night at 5 PM, Randolph will square off against Avon from Section V.  The game after that will be the game between two undefeated squads in the Class A State Quaterfinals, Sweet Home and Eastridge will battle it out, both 10 and 0 on the season.  This is a compelling match up, and since I'm finishing this blog late, I can update you on the score, in the 3rd quarter Eastridge leads the Panthers 21 to 7.  First time Sweet Home has trailed all season, I wonder what they will be able to do near the end.  On Saturday there are three games to see who will move on to the semis. Class C, Class B, and Class AA will all decide their winners.  Cleveland Hill will take on Section V powerhouse Hornell in the first game of the day, Alden will square off against East Rochester/Ganada.  Alden is looking to make it to the State Semifinals for the first time in school history.  And the big game of the weekend, is what a lot of people have been dreaming of seeing the past couple years, the Class AA game between the Orchard Park Quakers and the Aquinas 'Lil Irish.  These are two storied programs that have built some dynasties in the past couple years.  This is a huge game and a lot of people are looking forward to it.  Good luck to all teams this weekend and get it done out there.  Leave it all on the field.

The 'Road to the Ralph'

Hello to boys and girls from all over the world, and to all of you reading this blog, thank you for tuning.  In today's blog, we are going to continue to look at the Section VI High School Football Playoffs.  We will go over some of the great games of last weekend which includes the escape win over Starpoint, an amazing game between Lockport and Clarence, and also a couple close wins for Grand Island, and Springville.  I will also preview this week's semi-finals games as well as the huge game between Monsignor Martin foes Canisius and St. Joe's.  It is the week before the 'Ralph', or 'The Final Four' and the remaining teams must bring it to get the opportunity to play for their respective Class Championships.  First, I will release the Week 9 schedule for all you out there:  In Class AA, Frontier travels to Jamestown and Orchard Park travels to Lockport.  In Class A, Williamsville South will head over to West Seneca East, and Grand Island will head over to Sweet Home.  In Class B, Depew travels to Alden, and Springville travels to Cheektowaga.  In Class C, Fredonia travels to JFK, and Cleveland Hill travels to Wilson.  And in Class D, Portville travels to Maple Grove, and Silver Creek travels to Randolph.  Now a look back at last week, probably the best two games of the year happened in Week 8.  On Friday night, Starpoint went over to West Seneca East.  Now West Seneca East is arguable the best team in Class A and had a tremendous season.  Not to offend anyone from Starpoint and their season, but a lot of people were expecting the Spartans to just roll over for the Trojans of West Seneca East.  East is the #6 Large School team in the Buffalo News Poll and must have been looking ahead or something because this was a phenomenal football game.  It looked like the Bills and the Titans this past week, no defense.  Starpoint led basically the entire game, leading 28 to 14 heading into the 4th quarter, but East had the ball.  A quick touchdown, and it was a one score game, Starpoint scored again, but star quarterback Andy Smigera brought his team back twice to come within one point.  It was 35-34 Starpoint and the Coach from East was in the middle of making a tough decision.  Either to go for two and go for the win, or kick the point after attempt and take their chances in overtime.  And they chose to go for two, and they made the right decision.  Andy Smigera got the snap out of the shotgun, looked around for the pass, and saw an opening of field and took the ball in his own hands and ran it in to give the Trojans the wild victory.  West Seneca East now has to move on to play the Williamsville South Billies, a tough matchup and an intriguing game at that.  Lockport and Clarence was another unbelievable game this past weekend.  Clarence opened up dominating on a rainy and muddy Saturday, scoring 27 unanswered points early.  And somehow someway, Lockport came together, and was able to get back into the game.  James Chambers, the star running back for the team, put the team on his back and almost single-handedly got the win for the Lions.  He had 4 touchdowns, including a 90 yard punt return the sparked their 21-point 4th quarter and got the game into overtime.  A 35-35 score heading into the extra time, who else but James Chambers to cap off the historical comeback off a one yard run to give Lockport the 42 to 35 win in a crazy ending.  Now they will have a rematch with Week One opponent Orchard Park.  The Quakers won a 42 to 21 win, even though the score isn't as close as it seems, Lockport held the score close early, and you never know when you have to go against James Chambers what could happen.  Grand Island pulled away late in a 27 to 20 win over Iroqious, and they will now have the tough task of taking on undefeated and always good Sweet Home Panthers.  I had the opportunity to check out Sweet Home in their first round match up against WIlliamsville East, and they dominated the entire game.  A 46 to 6 trouncing of the Flames.  Grand Island has to stop the high powered offense and of course the entire team speed, should be a tough challenge for the Vikings but hey, who knows what'll happen.  Springville got out of a tight battle against Eden, and is the lone cinderella story left in the bracket.  They have to go to #2 seed and starless Cheektowaga, and many people are favoring them to go to the 'Ralph'.  It should be interesting to see what happens.  Now they big game this weekend comes out of Section VI, and not a playoff game.  The final regular season game in the Monsignor Martin League between Canisius and St. Joe's, a storied rivalry that has a lot of history.  Last year, St. Joe's grinded out a tough one point victory over the Crusaders, but this year Canisius is the team that's undefeated, and they're the team with all the expectations.  They are the #1 Large School in the Buffalo News Poll, and have a lot going for them, especially on the back of their star Qadree Ollison.  This should be a phenomenal Saturday afternoon game and I may try and get out there for that one if I were you.  So that's all I have for you today, 'till next time, good luck and get it done. 

Visit of a Lifetime, and Playoff Predictions

Hello to boys and girls from all over the world reading my latest blog, and hopefully adhearing to the tips and information I will be giving out once again in the latest blog of, "Life of a Student Athlete."  So in today's edition your are going to be able to live the awesome experience I encountered a couple weeks ago.  We are also going to put in a preview or fill out some "brackets" if you will in every class of the Section VI Football playoffs.  So as most of you know, I am a baseball player, and I'd love to play in college.  Anyways I'm a pitcher and over the summer I travel all over for baseball tournaments with my summer team.  And one time this past summer we were in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I got my chance to come into the game near the end right before a storm was about to blow over us.  I threw maybe 10 pitches and in those ten pitches, I got hit with a come backer, and made a throwing error to first base.  I got right back up and toughed it out and that's the reason I'm telling you this story.  Because at that game, was a scout from Michigan State.  Yes, the Michigan State, from the Big Ten, a storied program.  Well a couple weeks later I received an email to go to their camp, not really a big deal it's only a camp.  But then, another week or two after that, the coolest thing ever happened.  I got another email  from Michigan State again, which was very strange.  In it said that they were interested in me and they wanted a copy of my transcript, my school baseball schedule, and my summer baseball schedule.  But it didn't stop there.  They then told me that they would like to invite me down for an unofficial visit and take me to a football game of my choice for who they were going to be playing against.  And that's what was really amazing.  So two weekends ago, our homecoming, I went down at 6 in the morning on Saturday to take a 5 hour road trip to East Lansing.  We arrived and I can't put into words what it's like there.  The campus, the people, the history, it was surreal.  The campus was beautiful and it was awesome to be in a college atmosphere on game day.  So many people tailgating and so many events going on.  As well as College Gameday, from ESPN was there.  Once we got there we went to check out the baseball stadium and meet all the coaches and have some food before the game and then they sat us down and some different people came in to speak to us.  The first was a Michigan State alum, and played on the baseball team, he was in charge of the office of admissions or something and he was a really good speaker and he provided a ton of information and that was neat, and then the team tutor or head tutor for all athletics.  After they were all done talking we traveled over to the football stadium, and I, along with all the other recruits there, got field passes and we were able to go on the field for the majority of pregame.  And we were right up close too, literally 3 feet from the players.  And the beginning of the wall for the seats is like 5 yards from the benches.  Our seats were also right next to the student section.  It's just an unbelievable atmosphere and I had an amazing time.  We got to go to their game against Ohio State, and unfortunately they lost.  The camp was the next day and I didn't do bad I must say.  Overall I was pretty happy.  And even more excited with the entire weekend.  Thank you to everyone that made it happen.  So Week 7 of High School Football has ended you know what that means, playoffs are here for Section VI Football.  In Class AA the match ups look like this: Hutch-Tech will travel to Jamestown, Frontier will travel to Niagara Falls, Kenmore West will travel to Orchard Park, and Clarence will travel to Lockport.  My predictions for who will square off at the Ralph is a rematch of the Week 6 phenomenon, Orchard Park versus Jamestown.  Jamestown won the first battle in a 35-28 thriller, but in this game I think OP will dethrone the #1 seed in the South.  In Class A Starpoint takes on West Seneca East, Williamsville South takes on McKinley, Grand Island takes on Iroquois, and Williamsville East takes on Sweet Home.  And at the Ralph the game everyone wants to see, including me, is going to be the battle of the undefeateds, West Seneca East and Sweet Home.  I think that West Seneca East is going to pull off the upset and I cannot wait for this exciting match up.  In Class B, Pioneer will travel here to Alden, Depew will travel to Burgard, Springville will travel to Eden, Lew-Port will travel to Cheektowaga.  I think it will be Alden against Cheektowaga at the Ralph, a rematch of the game 3 years ago where Cheektowaga won, this time I think it'll be different.  In Class C, Cassadaga Valley goes to JFK, Fredonia goes to Allegheny-Limestone, Westfield goes to Wilson, and Cleveland Hill goes to Salamanca.  I think Allegheny-Limestone will beat JFK and go to the Ralph and they will take on Salamanca. 

Big W

My life as a student athlete has had some crazy things happen as of late.  And now that school is basically in full swing, I have had to go through the entire process of every day up late doing whatever I can to get it done.  And so far this year, I'd have to say I've been pretty successful.  Every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I try and follow my normal routine with school and football and then eventually getting to training.  And I have to say, I'm pretty happy with the way that I have been able to get there.  Usually I get there at least twice a week which isn't bad for being in the middle of football season.  Football's is probably the hardest season to be able to get things done because you're just so tired all the time and never want to do anything post practice.  But luckily I've been able to get to and from training.  The real key to that though is the fact that I have my license now, and have the freedom since I have a car that's basically mine.  I get home around 8:30, if I'm lucky.  Eat something until nine, and eventually start my homework around then.  To be honest, I dread waiting until this late to to homework, especially on the days when I have Trigonometry to do.  Mrs. Nelson tries her hardest to get the most out of us, and pushes us to the limit.  It is hard work, I can't lie, and there's is a lot of times when I really don't wanna take the time look things up if I need help, especially if I'm not going to hand it in.  I don't really do what I should do sometimes when it comes to homework there, and I need to fix that.  Especially if I would like to keep my grade up in that class, which I need to do.  Trig is really the only class that I'm most scared of, just because of what I've heard about in the past.  Chemistry and Spanish are the next two hardest classes in my book, Spanish because I get lazy and take it for granted and really never want to do anything there.  Mainly because I really do not understand the entire course, and I feel like it's ridiculously complicated.  Chemistry is really interesting and I love it, but, throughout my freshman and sophomore years, I struggled in the Sciences and my goal for this year in that class, is just to understand all the material.  Right now I think I'm off to a very good start in all my classes, and my ultimate goal of course, is to continue my honor roll status.  I'm looking to 6 for 6 in my honor roll years since Middle School.  The PSAT is upcoming soon too.  Saturday, October 20th is the date for that I'm pretty sure, and it is $14 a person, and it is very helpful.  It can prepare your for the SAT, and you can get a nice look and what your going to be stressing over.  Tip #2 for a student athlete: If you are a junior, you must take the PSAT, if you are a sophomore, you can take it too, and I recommend it, I took it last year and it is a good experience, it also helps you for college, it helps you kind of get a grip on what you wanna do when your older.  The last couple days, or last week, I've had to make a very tough decision.  And that is what I'm going to do throughout the winter in baseball, how I'm going to get better, and who I am going to work with one on one.  It is really hard to make these kind of decisions without hurting anyone's feelings or stabbing anyone in the back.  But, it has to be done.  Tip #3 for a student athlete: Do what you think is right, go with your gut, and whatever is going to help you be the best you can possibly be, also if you're asking for help on a decision make sure you trust that person, and make sure they're being honest with you.  So you know how I'm a pretty big procrastinator, well due to my laziness and no will to do any work 4th block today, which is Friday of Homecoming game in the biggest game of the year against Depew, I'm sitting here at approximately 11:44 pm, doing my blog.  And to be honest this is not fun at all.  Especially when you run out of things to talk about, you just start rambling about dumb things like I am right now.  Anyways, huge win for us tonight, dominating on the scoreboard, a 34 to 13 victory for Alden, and we solidified our #1 ranking.  Next up for us is Medina/Lyndonville, a team with a high power offense that loves to throw the ball up and let people make plays.  It should be a nice test to see how we react after our big win.  We have now won 25 straight games against Section VI opponents are we are sitting pretty.  I can't wait to get back to the Ralph and get farther than last year, leading up to the game against Maine-Endwell, hoping we get to see them.  They are the number one team in the state and we are number two, should be interesting if it happens.  Till next time.

My Rough Schedule

The life of a student athlete is probably one of the most complicated things to keep up with, or to do, at least I think so.  And I'm a student athlete all year round, because I play football, basketball, and baseball, and keep up with my grades fairly well as I've been an honor student every semester since the beginning of 6th grade for me.  So what this "Life of a Student Athlete" blog is supposed to do is to basically update you on things that are going on in my life and possibly even give you advice on what to do if your struggling or when you think things are getting to hard or people are getting too hard on you.  This is my first year as an upperclassman, and I am in the hardest year of schooling as a lot of people would say.  I have chemistry and trigonometry, not helping my case, but not to mention I have to prepare and take the SAT's in hope to get a good score so that the colleges will be impressed with my academics to go along with my athletics.  Currently I am in the heat of my first season on the varsity football team, and school is ending the second week; the students and the kids are starting to get into the swing of things and soon the tough concepts and materials will be upon us.  With all the preparation and hard work that must go into to the football team each and every day, I have to stay focused and stay awake every day, and it is not an easy thing.  You get home from football practice and I feel dead some of the days and I just want to take a nap but I can't.  You see, my main sport, or main focus for the matter is baseball.  It's the sport I am better at, and it's the sport that I would like to, and see myself trying to pursue a career in.  And I'm in the middle of trying to get into a quality college playing baseball, as a pitcher, that's what I am.  With that being said, I have to get bigger and stronger and improve my pitching all winter long, fortunately for me I'm not in winter pitching sessions yet, so that's at least one less thing I have to worry about.  My main goal for the winter is to get my velocity up by the time summer rolls around for next season so that I can get schools to become interested in me.  Right now, I'm nothing, I do not throw hard enough and right now I would go nowhere, but luckily for  me I have an entire year to become what I want to be, and to achieve the standards and expectations I have for myself.  Not anyone else's but my own.  And I am currently doing my best to put the work in to get it done.  So right now at the moment this is my daily schedule during the days before Wednesday.  Try to wake up around 6:30 in the morning so I am able to have the amount of time needed to get ready and to get school.  I go to school, then after that football practice to an average of 5:30 every day.  I get home eat something then around 6:30 I leave to go to the Eastern Hills Mall where a place called Sports Performance Park is, and go to Absolute Performance or "AP" as a lot of people who go there call it.  Absolute Performance is a sports training facility inside SPP, run by former athletes and graduates of the University of Buffalo.  This place is designed for athletes looking to take the next step in their athletic career physically. There is a certified trainer who helps you, along with many other athletes like you, work on your speed and strength.  It is a very worthwhile place that I feel will help me get to the next level.  I trust them, and believe in them to help me.  Plus, you get to meet new people and athletes in your area, and maybe even kids you play against in school.  It's fun to joke around with each other about who's better than who and trash talking but it's all in good fun.  I've made some new friends since I've been there and we stay in touch even when we’re not working out.  One person who's worked out there that would stand out to most is James Starks, Running back for the Green Bay Packers, he comes and visits once in a while and that's pretty cool to see him and talk to him.  So anyways, training usually ends around 8:30 and I'll usually get home around 9, have something to eat and then get back to academics; homework and/or studying until however long it takes me, and trust me, it is not fun sometimes.  I've had to be up until all hours of the night before; I think the latest it's ever been is around 1 in the morning for me.  But usually, that's because I procrastinate so, Tip #1 for a student athlete: do not, I repeat, do not procrastinate a long project or paper that you have to do, it is not worth it to do it that night before it is due.  So is being a student athlete hard?  Yes.  Is it worth it?  Yeah I would say so, the most important reason to be a student athlete is because if your successful, it makes you feel so much better and, it makes the school year go so much faster.  'Till next time, goodluck and stay focused.