As Woodbridge High’s spring sport session begins, there is a moment that every athlete simultaneously looks forward to and dreads: the last time playing on the field that witnessed the team’s growth.

For the 11 seniors on Woodbridge High’s varsity baseball roster, that moment is no longer a distant thing. As they step onto the baseball diamond for one final season, the most important thing that they carry with them is each other.

“I think what I’ll remember most is the bond you have with people who you never would’ve known or been friends with,” senior Vincent De Marco said. “Whether you see people on campus or not, once we step on the field, we are brothers.”

De Marco has been playing since T-ball league when he was three years old. Fifteen years later, he’s heading to Saint Mary’s College to play Division I (D1) baseball. Though De Marco’s baseball career is far from over, there is still a sentimental ending to his time on the Woodbridge High field.

When any senior on the team is asked their favorite memory, the same story comes up time and time again: last spring’s California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)
playoff game against Irvine High.

“That was the most amount of joy I’ve ever felt,” De Marco said. Alex Johnson, a three-year varsity player, remembers walking up to the mound and hearing the crowd yelling his name.
“Just hearing people yelling at you from the crowd to the adrenaline during the game was crazy,” Johnson said.

For Ari Firestone, who’s played baseball since he was five, it was the team’s closeness that truly made that moment special.

“The energy of the team and the fans were amazing,” Firestone said. “We won off a walk-off.”

Boys Baseball Head Coach and Athletic Director Ryan Brucker watched it all from the dugout.

“A few of them had a pretty key role in that win,” Brucker said. “That was cool to see them come together.”

But Brucker’s proudest moments aren’t measured in wins. After coaching every senior on this roster for four years, he says it’s witnessing the players grow as people that is the most rewarding.
“Watching them go from being these little 14-year-old freshmen to becoming men. Seeing their growth, not just as baseball players, but as individuals,” Brucker said.

Firestone reflected on how baseball shaped his mindset on and off the field.

“I’ve learned to have a growth mindset when I make mistakes instead of getting emotional over an outcome,” Firestone said.

Johnson reflected on what baseball taught him about life in general.

“Life most of the time is boring and uneventful. It’s the periodic successes that make things exciting,” Johnson said.

Their futures look different. De Marco will play DI and Firestone plans to pursue powerlifting. However, the lessons they learned playing baseball will last forever.

When asked what they’d tell their freshman selves the answers were simple: have fun, work harder and don’t close doors on yourself.

Brucker reflected on this year’s roster.

“They’re all really awesome young men,” Brucker said. “It’s been a pleasure.”

Some seasons are measured in wins. This one will be measured in greater gains. For the 11 seniors who became brothers, these gains will be remembered forever.