Aleena Garcia makes every little thing look simple on and off the diamond. In a means, sure, however solely as a result of she has devoted a lot effort and time to the three issues she values most: household, religion and softball.
Garcia, a senior shortstop at Whittier Christian Excessive in La Habra, leads her workforce in just about each offensive class, and her 12 dwelling runs rank twelfth within the state and tenth within the Southern Part. He’s third in California in runs scored (49) and boasts a 1.329 slugging proportion, .610 batting common, 50 hits, 17 doubles, three triples, 33 RBI and 5 stolen bases.
Not a day goes by that Garcia doesn't enhance intellectually, spiritually and bodily. A typical 24-hour interval begins at 5 a.m., after which he spends half-hour journaling or studying the Bible earlier than preparing for varsity. He has lessons from 8 to 1:40 p.m., then one other two and a half hours of highschool apply. She workout routines alone till darkish earlier than returning dwelling for dinner. Happily, she by no means will get uninterested in the routine.
“I began enjoying baseball on the age of three, and once I was 6, I went straight to journey ball,” she remembers. “Dad was additionally my coach, which I'm glad for. I gained three nationwide championships between the ages of 8 and 10, which is one thing not everybody will get to do, and have since transitioned to journey softball on the highest stage.
“It's type of ironic that I've all the time been an outfielder in baseball, however enjoying with the boys rising up helped me turn out to be a quicker participant and it additionally helped me be aggressive as a result of guys are very aggressive from the day they're born.”
Garcia first tried shortstop when she went to her first softball tryout and has performed the place ever since.
“I like it,” she admits. “You progress essentially the most.” That's the place I can use my athletic abilities.”
Of all of the directions and recommendation she absorbed alongside the way in which, nevertheless, her father, Rudy, had the best affect.
“He's been an enormous a part of my success and my journey on this sport,” Garcia stated. “From the day I began enjoying sports activities, he pushed me to be the perfect, however he additionally is aware of who I’m as an individual. He helped me turn out to be a greater particular person and participant.”
Dwelling with two brothers, one older and one youthful, additionally accelerated Garcia's private and athletic development.
“It's a blessing,” he says. “Not everybody has brothers who compete at a excessive stage.
“My older brother Andy performed baseball when he was youthful and possibly he doesn't know this, however I all the time tried to be pretty much as good as him and be like him. My little brother Aaron was on the market operating round as a result of he was in diapers. Now we practice collectively on a regular basis and daily is a contest.”
Andy attended La Serna Excessive Faculty and performed baseball till he was 11 earlier than switching to golf. He’s now a sophomore on the lads's golf workforce at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Aaron, in the meantime, is following in his sister's footsteps as a shortstop and catcher.
“We apply collectively on a regular basis, we're by no means aside,” says Aaron, who’s ending eighth grade and trying to begin his personal highschool profession at St. John Bosco. “We're pushing one another and getting higher.”
Garcia spent the primary 12 months throughout the COVID-19 pandemic honing her abilities at EM Velocity and Energy, a coaching facility in Rancho Cucamonga that focuses on high-intensity, full-body exercises. When the pandemic subsided, she enrolled at Whittier Christian, a faculty with 428 college students about 10 miles from her dwelling in Pico Rivera.
“The primary purpose I got here right here was my religion,” she stated. “We're not ashamed to speak about God and we're allowed to, so being right here helps me develop in that side of my life as nicely.”
Dale Van Duyn is in his 18th season at Whittier Christian and believes Garcia is essentially the most full participant he has ever coached.
“Throughout, positive,” he says with out hesitation. “He can hit, catch, throw, subject, run the bases … he's the entire package deal. Normally when you’ve a very good participant, they’ve entry to them, and whereas she's very aggressive, she's additionally an outstanding teammate. He leads by his actions.”
Van Duyn is fast to level out that for all her God-given expertise, Garcia's success may be attributed to hours and hours of repetition.
“He works on his swing on a regular basis, at the least 200 swings a day,” provides Van Duyn, who piloted the Heralds to Southern Part Division 5 titles in 2009 and 2010. “He works on each side of his. the sport, not simply hitting. She really improved her base operating essentially the most. Not solely is it the quickest I've had, it's additionally the neatest. I’ve little question he’ll succeed on the subsequent stage. If she fights, she'll get out on her personal.”
When requested what side of the sport he likes greatest, Garcia's reply isn’t a surprise:
“I take pleasure in all of them, however I might say hitting. There are loads of successes, however much more failures, and lots of people don't know methods to cope with either side that nicely. I don't get too excessive or too low. The psychological facet of hitting is one thing I actually, actually take pleasure in going by, and the sensation of hitting a house run is like nothing else!”
Regardless of being an influence hitter, Garcia isn't one to leap on affords outdoors the zone. He’s a pitcher's worst nightmare in that he’ll rely, stroll if there’s nothing to assault, and pounce on each error. She had only one hit in 82 at-bats this season.
“One of many keys to hitting is to maintain working at it,” he says. “It's no secret … the extra you hit in apply, the higher you hit in video games. One other key’s mindset, which not many individuals consider. Considering arduous is so necessary since you fail quite a bit on this sport. It's a recreation of failure. If you happen to're not doing nicely, you don't wish to get too low, for those who're doing nicely, you don't wish to get too excessive. Preserve the mindset that you understand you're adequate to beat anyone, and you understand you've succeeded earlier than, so each time you're on prime, you imagine you are able to do it.”
On March 15, Garcia hit three homers and drove in six runs in opposition to Mary Star and went three for 3 within the Heralds' final recreation with a double, triple, one RBI and two runs scored in a 13-2 rout of Los Altos. . For all her hitting abilities, she was additionally stellar defensively, posting a .925 fielding proportion with 22 putouts, 40 assists, two double performs and simply 5 errors in 67 whole possibilities.
Stats like these will get the eye of any Division I program, and positive sufficient, when her dad flew round on Sept. 1, Garcia had 15 affords, together with from Oregon, Stanford and Texas A&M. Though Rudy had hoped to decide on Stanford, Aleena opted for UCLA, citing a number of causes:
“To begin with, I felt at dwelling once I was there. I felt comfortable with the coaches and gamers in a means that was totally different from different locations I've visited. Second, it is among the most profitable packages. I could possibly be there subsequent 12 months and race within the nationwide championship instantly. Third, it's near dwelling. I really like my household and being so shut makes it simpler for them to return see me than to go some place else. Fourth, softball shouldn’t be without end. I think about myself an Olympian, I'm additionally concerned about psychology, and LA has loads of connections.”
Garcia can't watch for the day she dons the powder blue uniform.
“Committing to UCLA was the perfect second of my life as a result of it's been a dream of mine since I began enjoying softball,” she says.
“I noticed myself residing with them daily for 4 years and persevering with that relationship after faculty. The way in which they push one another, their competitiveness, the way in which they compete in every little thing they do… that's the place I wish to be.”
On Garcia's sizzling bat, the Heralds gained their remaining six common season video games, outscoring opponents 68-5 within the course of and going 8-0 in Olympic League play. In actual fact, in three seasons, Garcia's workforce by no means misplaced a league recreation.
Garcia desires nothing greater than to cap off her prep profession with one of many few issues she nonetheless hasn't achieved on the diamond: a CIF championship. In her sophomore 12 months, the Heralds misplaced to La Mirada within the first spherical in Division 1 and final 12 months reached the Division 2 quarterfinals, dropping to Grand Terrace regardless of a house run by Garcia.
“We’ve a really robust workforce this 12 months with loads of younger gamers who’ve are available in and actually developed,” Garcia says. “However us older women are nonetheless right here to steer, all of us have a fantastic relationship with one another so I feel we are able to win the title this 12 months.