Play Ball!
The DFW Metroplex is full of baseball/softball talent. Baseball and softball stars across DFW got to experience the bright lights at the recent VYPE DFW Baseball/Softball Photoshoot presented by Whataburger.
Click here to visit your local Whataburger and make sure to check out #WhataSnap.
With 40.26% of the fans votes, recent Rockwall-Heath graduate, Caden Fiveash, is the VYPE DFW Public School Baseball Player of the Year Fan Poll Winner! Fiveash recently helped lead the Hawks baseball team to their second state title with a game-winning sacrifice fly. To cap off his career with Rockwall-Heath baseball, not only has he won the fan poll, but Fiveash was voted the UIL Class 6A baseball State Championships MVP.
photo provided by Caden Fiveash
Describing the shortening of the 2019-2020 season as "tragic news" and a "huge disappointment" Fiveash told VYPE DFW that it wasn't too difficult to stay focused in order to come back into this season focused. "We kept a chip on our shoulders and played every game through playoffs with the mindset of we ARE going to win state. Nothing less."
In order to have a successful season, Fiveash kept to the idea of good, old-fashioned hard work. "The secret to my success was the hard work and dedication I had to live for these big moments," the MVP said. As for the team, success was driven from relationships made with one another. "The secret to our team success was creating bonds with one another and becoming close," said Fiveash. "We started this season as teammates but left as brothers." Fiveash added that the playoffs just gave the team extra fight and motivation.
photo provided by Caden Fiveash
It's no doubt that Fiveash has great things in store for his future. The baseball star is headed to Northern Oklahoma College- Tonkawa. "Junior college is a great route to take," Fiveash told VYPE. "I believe that going there and developing as well as maturing another year or two is a big deal in order to find another school later on to play." Fiveash is looking forward to going to a school where he has a better chance of starting. "I want to go to a school where I believe I have a shot of playing instead of sitting the bench." Fiveash plans to major in business.
Fiveash is excited for the future, but has great memories with Rockwall-Heath. "My favorite memory through high school has been winning state and playing for our fellow students, school, and city." With great memories as he heads off to college, he will surely pull from his high school relationships and experiences to strengthen his bond with future teammates as well as skill in the game. "My mindset is to get back to hard work and looking forward to a new goal like winning a junior college World Series to motivate me even more."
Who is your favorite sports team?
"Texas Rangers."
Who do you look up to as an athlete?
"I look up to Max Scherzer."
If you could go to lunch with any person (dead or alive), who would it be? Why?
"I would go eat with Dwayne Johnson just because he has accomplished so much and seems like a cool person."
John Paul II softball's Aubrey Hutzler (catcher's gear) and Emily Jonte pose at the 2020-2021 VYPE DFW baseball/softball photoshoot presented by Whataburger.
After a successful softball season for Dallas-Fort Worth area teams. We have seen some of the best performances from phenomenal athletes all season.
VYPE has scoured scores and statistics to compile a list of the area's top performers from the 2020-2021 softball season. Now, fans will have the chance to vote for who they deem worthy of the 2021 VYPE DFW Private School Softball Player of the Year Fan Poll.
The Academy Sports + Outdoors VYPE DFW Private School Softball Player of the Year Fan Poll is now live! Fans will have the chance to vote until Monday, July 12th, at 7 p.m.
Please note that the use of voting software or bots will result in a deletion of votes and a potential DQ from the contest. PLEASE try to keep this fair and fun for all involved!
All athlete polls and their content are only associated and created by VYPE Media and its staff. The context is not created or voted on by any corporate sponsor or marketing partner. Please contact VYPE Media directly if you have any questions, comments, or concerns around our Fan Polls.
For all the ways you love to play, Academy Sports and Outdoors makes it easier than ever to gear up and have fun out there! Get free shipping on your favorite brands at academy.com or get free curbside or in-store pick-up at your Academy store. Gear up this Spring at Academy Sports and Outdoors.
It's no doubt that a team has had a good season if they top it off with a gold medal at State. In fact, it's a great season if they top it off with three gold medals at State, but what word do you use to describe a season that closes out with three gold state medals and a national championship? VYPE DFW was able to catch up with Cedar Hill- a team who did just that- after their phenomenal track season.
Senior jumper Brya Brewer won a gold medal in Triple Jump at the state meet earlier this season with a personal best jump of 42 feet, seven and a half inches. Brewer finished her high school career as the top girls high school triple jumper in the country.
On the boys' end of things, seniors Kaleb Green, Diallo Good, Brian Rainey, and DaCorey Ware won the gold medal in the Boys 4x100 Meter Relay by a millisecond with a time of 40.49 seconds. Green, Ware, and Good went on to join junior Robert Richardson in the Boys 4x200 Meter Relay where they won the gold medal with a 1:23.99 time.
Green, Good, Rainey, and Ware went on to win the boys 4x100 Meter Relay at Nike's Outdoor Nationals with a 41.31 time.
After a weird season the year before, Cedar Hill proved to come back poised and ready to do whatever it took to finish at the top. For head coach Kevin Benjamin, keeping the athletes focused wasn't a difficult task at all. "This team was very fortunate to have a veteran coaching staff and a strong core group of seniors to help guide and keep us focused. The relationships we built and developed over the years were vital in helping us navigate through the canceled 2020 season and the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to lean on and also strengthen those relationships by embracing our circle of trust," Coach Benjamin told VYPE DFW in an interview.
"As a coaching staff, we didn't have to do a lot [to keep the athletes focused]," added Cedar Hill track assistant coach Marcus Hutchins. "Our athletes knew exactly what they wanted to accomplish and they were able to hold each other accountable."
For soon-to-be senior Robert Richardson, staying focused came in many different forms. "I stayed working out; I'm always preparing for the next season," Richardson said. "Especially when I transitioned from DeSoto, I knew I had to work harder because there is always a competition between those two schools."
Recently graduated senior Diallo Good said what kept him focused was his goals. "Knowing what I needed to do to get to where I wanted to be," said the North Carolina A&T State University commit.
We did it 🙏🏾 @LonghornSpeed pic.twitter.com/vmSIAp2S9f
— Dware🐐 (@solobimp) July 3, 2021
This past season was unlike any other. On any other year, coaches and athletes alike have goals such as "winning district" or "winning state." However, this year many coaches across the state had one main goal: remaining healthy. This was no different for Cedar Hill. "The main goal we stressed coming into this UIL season- as a staff and a team- was staying healthy. This was a priority knowing that our athletes were entering the season not having competed in almost a calendar year or were following up the grind of a long fall season," said Benjamin. On top of staying healthy, another goal was "Making the city of Cedar Hill proud each time we stepped onto the track," said Hutchins. It's safe to say that the track team did just that.
Benjamin knew from the start of the season that he had something special stepping onto the track. "We knew we had a special group coming into the season. We had three runners returning from our 4x100 relay team that was ranked third nationally during the 2020 COVID-cancelled season," said Benjamin. "National Championship aspirations meant that the team had to make another commitment to continue working out for two additional months after the UIL State Championships. Winning gold at Nationals…. That was just pure dedication and resiliency on the part of our athletes."
As far as next season goes, big goals remain. "The goal of the program is always 'D. P. S.' To win District, Playoffs (including Area and Regional meets), then a State championship," said Benjamin. With the athletes, Good summed it up best in saying his goal for next season is to get stronger by "preparing for the bigger picture."
As a whole, this season has meant a great deal to many people- coaches and athletes alike. After missing a full year of competition, getting back to the track was something that was looked forward to by all. "As a whole, this was a bitter-sweet season," said Benjamin. "Selfishly, our 9-10th graders missed a lot of opportunities and mentorship time with a special group of seniors that we cannot replicate. However, I'm grateful for the limited time we had together and very proud of what this team accomplished in the midst of a global pandemic."
"[The season] meant the world," echoed coach Hutchins. "Words can't explain how proud and blessed I am to be a part of a great coaching staff, athletic department, and most importantly: a great group of kids!"
The coaches can agree that creating relationships with their athletes has been a key part to their success as coaches. On top of that, they agree that a major component to such a successful season was the athletes trusting each other and putting the team's needs above the individual needs.
"Our mantra is to compete at Longhorn Speed," added Benjamin. "It's about always having a sense of urgency, pace, and intensity to compete as fast as we can for as long as we can both at practice and meets. Longhorn Speed is as much what's in the HEART as what's on the stopwatch."
For the athletes, a variety of keys to success came into play. For Good, "Trusting the process and staying humble," was the biggest key to his success. "We had a lot of switching around this season, but we just stayed humble and did what we all needed."
Texas State commit, Kaleb Green, added that for him, "locking in" and "focusing ocfn the mission"was the key to his success with the team. Along with hard work, dedication, and focus another key factor- according to Rainey- came with relationships. "The secret to the team's success was building a bond that couldn't be broken," said Rainey.
As much as coaches teach their athletes, they can also learn from their athletes. For Hutchins it can be summed up in two words: "Patience and trust." While Benjamin added "The biggest lesson learned from our athletes this year was to listen and give them a chance to voice their opinions. By giving our athletes some ownership in the decision-making process, we were able to make some key changes and decisions that was in the best interest of the team."
Just as coaches have learned from their athletes, a lot of times they draw from their life lessons and turn those into teaching moments as well. Applying all moments to coaching helps a team succeed on and off the field, court, and track. "The best piece of advice given to me is really very simple," said Benjamin. "Teach to the Test. Individuals have different learning styles... if you want all of your kids to be successful, find the best way to reach them individually to ensure they know exactly what's being asked of them."
Being a part of a team means different things to different people. For some athletes, high school is their time to shine and they have no desire to go on to the next level. For others, they go on to compete at some of the highest levels in their sport and look back on their time in high school as a pivotal moment that helped turn them into the great athlete they have become. For Cedar Hill's track team, making memories has been a fond moment for each runner and they each have something that they hold special to them from their time with the team.
"Winning state or nationals," was Rainey's favorite memory. "Nobody in Cedar Hill has actually won the 4x100 before." Green echoed Rainey's memories saying that his own favorite memory came from "winning state." Good added that for him, "winning state in both the 4x100 and 4x200" was his favorite memory with the team.
For Richardson, his favorite memory draws back to encouragement. "My favorite memory from running with Cedar Hill was my first track meet with them. I wasn't sure if I wanted to run and my teammates and coaches convinced me to run."
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