Noah Gonzales '23 Recruiting Profile

Excitement fills my mind as Coach Rodgers tells me that I have made the LT baseball team. It was my freshman year and everything was going great. I made the baseball team, we were winning all of our games, and I was having a blast playing the game I love. We got out of school for spring break and could not wait to beat our rivals, Westlake. Then, at one of the highest points in my life, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and canceled the rest of our season and school year.

 That summer, during my training I began to develop groin pain that would continue until my sophomore year. I could not put in any outside work and was struggling to just get through the baseball class while dealing with my injury, so I did not get cut. Despite my best attempts to perform and do well in the baseball class, I was cut from the baseball team in December 2020. This was one of the lowest points in my life. I had lost my friends, my passion, and everything I had worked for up until that point. At the lowest point of my life, I felt an extreme fire come alive inside me. I was not going to give up my dream. I vowed to myself to never quit until I become great. 

At this point, I could not train or play baseball because of my injury. I went to several physical therapists and doctors to try and solve the pain but every time I would try to train again I would be in pain. I would spend all of my time trying different rehab programs trying to see if anything would work. After two MRIs, and a year away from baseball only doing rehab, my doctor concluded that everything looked good and he did not know why I was in pain. I could not go any longer without being able to play baseball, so I began training again but this time I kept going when I felt the pain. Each day I kept pushing through the pain and day by day It would begin to get less and less each time. Eventually, I was finally ready to play baseball again.

In February of 2022, I played in my first baseball game since late 2020. In my first at-bat, I got my first hit back from my injury, marking the end of my hiatus. During the rest of my spring season I struggled, but continued to put in work daily. Summer baseball began and I finally started doing well again. I was having a blast playing baseball and my passion for the game kept growing. 

By the end of summer, I was putting all of my time into baseball. From lifting, hitting, throwing, and fielding, I was doing it all. During my training, I hit a new max exit velocity of 91.1 MPH. This was a great moment for me because after all I had been through, I was able to conquer it and hit a milestone I have been trying to achieve for ages. 

Even though my injury took me out of baseball for a year, It has made me a stronger man and has given me a greater passion for baseball. I learned to not back down from my dreams even when they seem so far out of reach because with consistency and persistence you can achieve anything. 

My injury has also provided me with a career after baseball. During my rehab, I had to do a ton of research on my injury and I began to realize I am fascinated with the injury rehab process. I also hated being injured, and I did not want myself or anyone else to have to feel the hopelessness I felt when I was injured and nothing was working. After I am done playing baseball, I plan to get a doctorate in physical therapy and become a physical therapist that specializes in injury rehab, prevention, and sports performance.