Senior baseball player Michael Dieckman approaches the plate with weight on his shoulders. He gets to the batter’s box, stands tall and bends his knees slightly. Dieckman then lines the tip of the bat up with the top right corner of the plate and gets ready for the pitch. He hits a hard grounder to shortstop and runs as hard and fast as possible but comes up a few feet short of a single. 

You can also find him selling plants and participating in Future Farmers Association contests. Not only does he work hard and learn in the FFA. But he also devotes most of his time at home taking care of his crops and cows. 

Michael has a single and a triple with two runs scored and three RBIs. He also spends time outside of school working even harder to perfect his skills on the field. 

“I really took the time this year to prepare by taking some lessons and tuning in on my skills especially when we had all that time off,” Dieckman said. “Winning conference sophomore year was my favorite memory through my high school baseball so far and really wanted to shoot for another year like that.”  

Junior Nick Tinoco is currently the second baseman for the team. He met Dieckman his freshman year when they played together on the Junior Varsity team. 

“I love playing with Michael,” Tinoco said. “He is a great team player and he brings a great source of energy to the team. I think of him as an unselfish and stand up player that plays for his team and not himself.” 

To add more to his busy schedule Dieckaman is also involved in the band. Third year head coach Todd Bissell also admires Dieckmans team player attitude. 

“Michael is a pleasure to coach because of his great attitude,” Bissell said in an email. “Whether he is on the field or off he is always positive and supportive of his teammates. Michael is the kind of kid that is always trying to improve and has displayed the kind of work ethic that will lead him to great things in the future.” 

Dieckman removes his helmet and hustles back to the dugout, forgetting about the out and already thinking ahead to his next at bat and what he needs to do to improve. He returns to the dugout, not discouraged, but begins to cheer on his next teammates at bat.