Matthew Becher Dreams Coming True

Lauren Harden

Up at the mound, ball in hand, the fingers lining the red seam of the baseball, Matthew is up to pitch. With a fierce and determined look in his eyes, he stares down the player up to bat. His catcher at home base signals for a fastball. He lifts his left leg to his chest while reeling his right arm back. With a look of confidence on his face, he releases the fastball. The ball whisks through the air at high speeds, landing directly in the catcher’s mitt. The umpire raises his arm in the air signaling a strike. The Royals ended the close game on a strikeout by Becher. 

Matthew Becher is a Senior that plays on the varsity baseball team. He will be attending Bluffton University in Ohio this upcoming fall to continue his academic and athletic career in baseball. 

Student-athletes in high school have preparations to get ready for the next level, college athletics. Athletes are seen putting in extra work to always be at the top of their game for their future in college athletics. Matthew shared how he does out-of-school training for collegiate baseball. He shares, “I go through a training program that is with my travel team on Sundays and we practice every day. I also go to a place called PRP at Finch Creek Field House where I do all sorts of different trainings.” PRP is a training program that provides constant assessment, rigorous training, and an unmatched culture to bring passionate athletes to the next level (PRP). The extensive training that athletes do outside of school and travel teams makes all the difference when transitioning to represent their respected collegiate teams. 

When asked about the expectations from their future college coaches, Matthew shares that they want him to prioritize, “keeping grades up, keep practicing, and playing over the summer.” Matthews coaches at Bluffton want him to be at his peak performance when he shows up to campus so he can make a substantial impact on the team. 

As student-athletes, academics have a massive impact on the future of these players. “My academics have played a huge role in recruitment and committing,” Matthew shares. “I have good grades, a high GPA, and pretty decent testing scores and that stands out to coaches when I went through my recruitment.” This shows how an athlete’s academic aspect influences the future of whether continuing to play collegiate sports is an option. For Matthew, academics were no worry for him. 

Committing in high school to continue playing collegiate sports is important and not something that happens to everyone. Matthew shares the emotions he feels knowing he will be continuing to play the sport he loves in college. “I am excited that I am committed now because it has always been a dream of mine to play college baseball, so I am excited to take the next step and go to the next level.” Even with the excitement of committing to Bluffton, Matthew still feels a chip on his shoulder. He shares that, “committing to a school did not lower the stress for me throughout high school because I still need to focus on keeping my grades up and making sure I continue to make a good impression on the coaches throughout my season.” The hard work is never ending for a committed student-athlete and prioritizing what needs to be done to make it to that next level is seen through the demanding work Matthew is putting in. 

Matthew Becher will be graduating in May of 2023 and will be continuing his athletics and academic career at Bluffton University close to home in Ohio.