Baseball Player Highlight – Caleb Oosterink
By: Nathan Vriezma
Parents often make us do things that we don’t want to do, yet they do it because they know it will work out in the end. It’s a common story you’ve heard before, yet one that is very true for Caleb Oosterink. From playing baseball for the first time at the age of six, to now being on the varsity team, Oosterink has come a long way. But what goes through his mind before and after a game? Who pushed him to continue playing baseball? And more importantly: What are his future plans for the sport?
Oosterink started playing baseball at the age of six. He was mostly shortstop, third and center, and he hated it.
“I hated it at first. My dad made me keep playing and I would have quit if he let me. Thankfully he didn’t let me quit.”
So Oosterink continued to play, even though he didn’t want to. His dad pushed him to continue to play, and eventually, it paid off. When eighth grade came around, he eventually started to enjoy it. The reason falls within his team. Oosterink claims that in eighth grade his team was fun, something he hadn’t previously experienced before. That also marked the first year where he played on a good team, which helped him enjoy it a lot more.
Three years later, Oosterink is now on the varsity team for Hamilton Baseball. He’s still enjoying it, and he thinks that he is doing decent overall.
“I think I’ve done alright [this year]. A little bit slow on the hitting side, but I’m happy with how I’ve been pitching.”
Being the new kid on the team, you may think that he gets nervous before games. However, according to Oosterink, the only thought that goes through his head before a game is to ‘stay locked in’, a term now being used by young generations, meaning to stay highly focused or committed to a particular task. Oosterink tries to keep his head in the game and to stay in the right state of mind before it starts. However, when asked if he ever gets nervous, he claimed:
“Not really. It depends on the game and if I am playing good at the time.”
Which makes sense. Naturally, if you know you are going to go up against a good team, you will likely be more nervous, especially if you aren’t playing decent at that point in time. When it comes to nerves, Oosterink tends to handle them pretty well.
After a game, the one thing on his mind is food. Whether it’s a win or a loss, he’s hungry. If it does happen to be a loss, however, he tends to take it pretty well.
“I take losses not too hard because they happen but I always look to see what I could have done better and work at those things to be the best I can be.”
While Oosterink has no plans on taking his baseball career to college, he will certainly be a player to keep an eye on for the remainder of this season and going into the next.