Eddie Vokes

• Article
• May 08, 2023

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson published these words in 1992 and in 2005, they were popularized in American mainstream culture by the film Coach Carter, in which the character Timo Cruz (Rick Gonzalez) recites them at the movie’s climax, delivering the narrative’s theme. That theme is simply this: Everyone in this world has something to offer, and that only by embracing our personalities and maximizing our talents — truly allowing ourselves to shine brightest — do we make the world a better place. It was a quote and a sentiment that Westcliff baseball head coach David Shermet returned to time and again in 2023.

• Article
• April 14, 2023

With pitching coach Dylan Hoffman absent from the ballpark Friday morning, it was an emotional day, as the Westcliff baseball team had two eyes on the business at hand, and the mind’s eye alongside their missing coach and family member in the dugout. But with Bethesda visiting the Great Park and Westcliff on the precipice of making school history, Friday’s games played on, with the Warriors capturing a pair of wins, 11-1 in the opener and 11-8 late.

• Article
• April 03, 2023

Someone throw a bucket of water on Caleb Castanchoa. The kid’s on fire. Sunday was a day of offense at the Great Park, with the home team completing a sweep of Saint Katherine with wins of 10-9 and 15-4. No bat reigned more supreme than Castanchoa’s, who did whatever he wanted.

• Article
• March 11, 2023

The Westcliff baseball team backed up its Cal Pac-opening sweep of Providence by taking two out of three at Park in Gilbert, AZ., over the weekend. Westcliff took Game 1, 10-6, and Game 2, 8-1 on Friday. On Saturday, a crazy back-and-forth contest left the Warriors holding the short end of the stick, 10-9.

• Article
• February 04, 2023

There’s a thing in baseball called “the Schneid.” Right now Westcliff is planted right on top of it, and unfortunately, things just won’t feel right until they get off it. After two close, but winless, series against top-caliber clubs to open the season, Westcliff hosted Bethesda Saturday for a double-dip at Vanguard’s park in Costa Mesa. Game 1, a 10-3 loss, was a tough pill to swallow, as another nightmare ninth doomed the Warriors for the second game in a row.

• Article
• January 09, 2023

2022 was a trying year for the Westcliff baseball team. Beginning with fall ball, and coming off a banner inaugural year that included wins over national champion Chapman, as well as Concordia, it looked as though the Warriors were poised to make noise in their first year of Cal Pac play. But then tragedy struck over Christmas break, when starting pitcher JJ Sanchez — whom many considered the emotional heart and soul of the team — passed away as a result of an automobile accident in Northern California. The loss of Sanchez devastated the team and the coaching staff, and although they played through it as best they could, it was obvious to anyone in and around the program that overcoming the loss would be impossible — the season seemed almost inconsequential. Time has done a lot to heal those wounds.