Making starts at left field, right field, third place and on the mound, freshman Troy Haynes (‘28) has played a key role in the Green Hope baseball team’s recent performances. Haynes has played the sport since he was just four years old and shared his ambitious long-term goals regarding baseball with the GH Falcon. Haynes stated, “Short term, I want to be one of the best hitters on the team this year, and then long term my goal is to make it to the MLB.” Currently batting .282 with 11 hits, Haynes is tied for third on the team in hits and among people who have played more than five games, is third in batting average. Among freshmen in 4A East, Haynes has the second most RBIs with 13. On the defensive end, Haynes leads the team in fielding percentage with a .970 FP. With stats like these, Haynes is well on his way to accomplishing both his short and long-term goals, showing real potential moving forward.
In just his first year at Green Hope, playing a varsity sport as a freshman is quite a notable accomplishment. However, playing against people who are at most three grade levels ahead of you comes with certain pressures. Many often crack under this pressure, but according to Haynes, “It’s a little stressful, but it just comes naturally to me and playing is just really fun.” Rather than focusing on others’ expectations, Haynes has stayed true to playing his game and remains finding joy in his sport. While the rigorous schedule and high expectations of varsity sports lead many athletes to fall out of love with their sport, Haynes claims “My favorite thing about baseball is just having fun with my friends and playing the sport I love.”
For all high school athletes, the pressure to perform goes beyond the field, and balancing classwork and training is a skill that all successful athletes have in their repertoire. Most freshman spend their first year getting on their feet and settling into the raised expectations of high school courses, but as a varsity athlete, Haynes has dove head-first into the high school experience. Regarding his training schedule, Haynes says, “Right after school, I go to practice or a game. After that, I go to hit at another facility and then go home.” Unlike other sports, baseball games last nearly two and a half hours with the chance to go on even longer, making it difficult to find time to finish homework. Haynes explains, “I try my best to use my time wisely, and whenever I’m getting out of baseball, I try to do homework, whether in the car or just right when I get home.” With twelve games elapsed this season, Haynes has already found how best to balance school and sports, a difficult task for many, often more experienced athletes.
While the pressure of being a freshman will stay on his shoulders, Haynes finds comfort in being himself on and off the field and knowing that he can play with older guys. With still roughly half of the season to go, Haynes shares that he will continue to work hard to achieve his goals and looks forward to what’s to come.
