Mead shortstop works his game year-round

“When you’re doing something you love, it’s not really work.”

That pretty much sums up the attitude of Mead senior shortstop Kevin Schneider, returning as the Panther starter for the third straight year, including a second-team All-Greater Spokane League season last spring.

Schneider’s a strong student and a gifted baseball player, but he polishes his talents with year-round dedication to the sport, says coach Jason Reich, who has also had him in the classroom for four years.

“What stands out about Kevin is his commitment to baseball and to academics,” said Reich, in his second season as Mead’s head coach.

“There’s no other guy in the program who’s been as dedicated to improving himself as Kevin. He’s got a great head on his shoulders and realizes that there are other things in life, too, but he’s going to ride this as far as it will take him.”

Next fall, it will take him to Yuma, Ariz., where he’ll attend Arizona Western College, an opportunity he earned with strong fall performances in tournaments in Tacoma and in Peoria, Ariz.

“Last year, I’d guess I played more than 120 games,” Schneider said. “I play in the spring and summer, of course, but I’ve also played every fall, sometimes through mid-November. After that, I’m pretty much in the Warehouse (Baseball Academy) seven days a week, either hitting or working to pay for my cage time.

“I’d say that mental toughness is my strength, and offense is my favorite part of the game, just me against the pitcher. With the weather in Spokane, you can’t get outside all winter, so all you can do to improve is hit.

“I work that hard because I want to be better than anyone else, be the one on top at the end of the game.”

Reich praises Schneider’s individual skills, and also the example he sets for younger players.

“Kevin’s a total team guy,” he said. “Our young guys can watch him and see what it takes to get to the next level, because that’s what Kevin has done.”