Before the spring season arrives, players are swinging for the fences and pitching the ball from the mound, trying to show the coaches what skills they have on the field in hopes of being on the spring roster. This is the average sight of a Winter Ball league game that the Bonita Vista High (BVH) varsity baseball team participates in to help the coaches get a better look at the baseball players, which lead to an undefeated Winter Ball league season.

“The [BVH baseball] team hasn’t lost a game and we’ve outscored our opponents by 29 runs. They played very well. I expect a lot because I know they’re capable of blowing everybody out that we have faced, and I get frustrated when they let the other team take the lead, because then we have to fight back to win the game,” head coach of varsity baseball  Dave Palet said.

Winter Ball allows new and returning players to have a chance on the spring roster at the varsity level. They are showing off their ability on the field with the glove and the bat in an actual in game setting, but it doesn’t guarantee a spot for any player at any grade level. 

“[What] Winter Ball does is it exposes the kids for me to look at them for a longer period of time [to] judge what their abilities are and what they’re capable of doing,” Palet said.

Although not every player who plays in the Winter Ball league makes the varsity roster, this still allows them to get prepared for the spring season and improve as players. Many take the winter season as a chance to improve upon their game and get a chance for next season to make the varsity team.

“It tells the coaches what you want to do, It shows them more [than] the tryouts where it’s [only] right there and shows them [over] time,” second basemen and junior Cameron Barbossa said.

Team chemistry is another key aspect of the Winter Ball league, allowing for players to grow as a team and get closer. This allows for better performance with teammates and can translate to wins against other teams.

“[Winter Ball] gives us more time as a team and also [time to] bond instead of just going straight into the season not knowing what we need to work on,” catcher, outfielder, pitcher and senior, Bubba Villegas said.

With the Binter Ball league preceding the actual season, it may not seem important to people, but to the players, it can be seen as crucial to them.

“Winter Ball is really important. You get to prove yourself to the coaches, show them what you got. [It is] important that we get to see our competition in Winter Ball,”  shortstop and freshman Adiel Torres said.

The Winter Ball league also allows the team and coaches to get a look into the spring season when it comes to competition from other schools. It is important for the players to do well as they have a tough schedule ahead of them in the spring season, at the coaches’ request.

“I made the schedule as hard as I could find on purpose. We play Eastlake twice, we play Poway three times, and we play Granite Hills, [they’re] all teams that are expected or favored to win the CIF championship just like us. The reason I set that schedule so tough is so we wouldn’t be surprised in the playoffs,” Palet said

The players put a lot of time into the game of baseball to improve themselves, create chemistry among each other and strive to do the best they can and reach the top, the CIF championship.

“I always tell the players if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will,” Palet said.“I’d love for these kids to leave Bonita Vista with not only the pride of winning the CIF championship but the championship ring that goes with it.”