Senior Adrian Sadiku has been playing baseball all his life, and now he is one of the lead hitters on the team. Adrian has played an important role in the team’s success, making it to the state championship last year, and plans on doing it again. He is also planning on attending Michigan State this fall to major in finance. While baseball is the sport he loves, he will never fall out of love with it and is prepared to face all the challenges college presents and to use the skills baseball has taught him.
How long have you been playing baseball, what made you continue playing throughout high school, have you ever played any other sports?
Baseball was the first sport I’ve ever picked up. I started playing T-ball at the age of 4 I believe, and have just progressed as the years went on. I continued to play baseball throughout high school because I was successful in the sport right away at a very young age and just felt a different type of passion for the game. I have played football basically my whole life as well, and I do have a strong passion for both of them, but baseball just feels like home to me and is a sport that I want to be around for the rest of my life.
Is making it to the state championship the main goal for the team, and what is the team’s dedication to reaching it?
Yes, that is always ultimately the main goal. However, everyone has to buy into the system and see the bigger picture of things. We can not just have that be our only vision, it’s more so about the smaller goals every day that will help get us to that point. We have to work hard to get better every single day whether it’s a game day or a day of practice. I would say this group of guys has shown great dedication to working hard to play our best baseball come playoff time, which is what we need to be doing if we want to make a run in the playoffs.
Has there been a time when you thought you did not want to play baseball anymore or have you always had love for the sport?
I would say that I’ve never lost my love for the sport or thought about quitting. Baseball is a really challenging game mentally as you are going to fail more times than you are going to succeed. If an MLB player fails 7/10 times at the plate, they will end up as a Hall of Famer. So there have been moments where I have struggled performance-wise and enjoyed the game a little bit less; however, that is a normal thing in baseball, and I never wanted to quit because I knew I had a deep love for the game.
How have you become a leader on the team to set the upcoming juniors to be leaders and what is something you would say to incoming freshmen starting their high school baseball season?
I have tried to step up and be more of a vocal leader to the underclassmen and help them understand situational moments to the best of my ability to help them in the future. I have also tried to lead by example by showing up to everything on time and ready to go and always working as hard as I possibly can. I want to make the most of my senior year like everyone else. Working hard every day is really important to performing at your best.
How will you take the skills you have learned from baseball to the next level and or how will they be applied?
Baseball has taught me many life lessons that will look to carry on throughout my life. For example, it is okay to fail, it is just about how you respond and bounce back from it. You may strike out a couple times before hitting a home run, so mainly just keep persevering and working hard even when times may seem challenging. It also helped me develop skills such as leadership and communication which are essential skills for everybody both on and off the field.
What makes baseball different from other sports and why was it the sport that you decided to play for the majority of your life?
Baseball is an interesting sport because you have to be very strong mentally in order to be successful. You can’t let one mistake turn into another and you have to learn that when you mess up you just have to move on and get the next one. It was easy for me to stick with it and love the game because I felt that I was always good in the mental aspect of the game and I did not ever let my mistakes or errors spiral into more. I played it a majority of my life because I love everything about it and the lessons it taught me.
Is it hard to balance school work with the time commitment of after-school practice and weekend games?
Yes, I think it is definitely more difficult practicing directly after a long school without any time in between. It can be challenging but you just have to show up with the mentality that you are going to stay focused and work hard to get better. If you attend practice with a negative attitude and don’t look to improve that is doing yourself no good and at that point there’s not even a point in practicing. This year, balancing school work has not been an issue for me due to my classes being easier. Last year I tried to manage my schoolwork by getting it done right away after I got home from practice.
How have your parents helped you get to this point in your life and what was their role in you playing baseball?
My parents have been a crucial part of my baseball career and I couldn’t have done anything without them. First of all, my dad putting a bat in my hand at a young age was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. He played baseball growing up so he wanted me to experience it as well. I cannot thank them enough for driving me to every practice, being at every game to support me, buying me any equipment I need, and overall just pushing me to be the best player that I can be.
What college are you going to, what do you plan on studying, and have you ever planned on playing baseball in college?
I am going to be attending Michigan State University and majoring in finance. I had planned to play baseball in college before, but what I started to find out about myself is that I wanted to attend a big university and experience college to the fullest, and baseball at the collegiate level would not have given me that opportunity. If I did play baseball in college I would likely be at a small university somewhere or a community college.
