Mia Shields

Gearing up with eye black and chewing gum, Panther baseball has prepared throughout the fall to start the 2023-24 season with a swing. Beginning in Feb. 2024, Miami Palmetto Senior High baseball players will begin their journey to the state championships.

To be in prime shape and play their best, the Varsity baseball team has undergone conditioning and preseason practices from August to November. As part of this training season, known as “Fall Ball,” they also played about 24 games against local high school teams.  

New to the MPSH field, Varsity Coach Wayne Hendricks has created a new schedule and regime for the players to maintain their skill and ability.

“We go through a pretty rigorous practice. We’ll have our offensive days and we’ll have our defensive days. It’s a little different from what they’ve done before. We have a great coaching staff that is out there with those kids every day teaching them. Basically, starting from the bottom — the fundamentals, our way of doing it — because every coach that comes in is always going to have a different system,” Hendricks said.

A bond has strengthened between the players and coach through practice, where they work together as a unit, working around each player’s strengths and weaknesses. 

“I’d say [Coach Wayne] is structured. He’s very personal with us and tries to make the practices oriented towards us and specific drills for each position,” senior and Varsity Captain Sebastian Font said. 

As the team prepares for this year’s season, they have many accomplishments to look back on and learn from. 

“We won districts in 2022. And, in 2023, we made it to the finals of our spring break trip against some of the best teams in the state; that was our high,” Font said.

To carry on a successful legacy, the Panther baseball team hopes to win the state championships and continue making an impact in the game.

“Our biggest goal and my biggest goal coming in is a state championship. And it’s not about trying to win a district or win regionals, our goal is set for a state championship, and I expect the kids to… understand that losing is not an option, that we’re out there to win baseball games and we’re going to win together as a team,” Hendricks said. 

The team bond and dynamic also play a pivotal role in the team’s performance and productive season each year. 

“Team dynamic is super important to our season and as a captain, it is one of my priorities. It gets us to play our best, while also just enjoying the game,” senior and Varsity Co-Captain Michael Arnold said. 

In past and present seasons, the team has worked together effectively, committing themselves to their teammates, coaches and success.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised coming to Palmetto. They’re a great group of kids. They’re eager to be out there, eager to learn and they’re sportsmanship has been phenomenal. Coming in it wasn’t hard to take over a program where Danny Smith, who was the previous head coach, did a phenomenal job with these guys and really instilled a lot of discipline in them,” Hendricks said. “So, going out there, these kids were ready to continue and all I’ve done is added a couple pieces to the puzzle and hopefully they’ll continue to build on that.”