(Photo Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy)
Baseball can be a nerve-wracking game for players. There’s a lot of quick-twitch movements that can be effected by feeling pressure.
Jimmy Joyce is not like those players.
“I’ve always been the type to not get nervous,” said New York’s Class A Player of the Year, who guided the Wantagh Warriors to their first state championship since 1998 with a tremendous season. He batted .373 with 4 HR, 34 RBI at the plate and he went 9-1 with a 1.09 ERA with 73 strikeouts on the mound.
“I always tell myself–nerves are fake. This always helps me on the field.”
From the time Joyce was four years old, it was clear he was destined to be an elite athlete. He played soccer, football, basketball and baseball in his youth, but eventually narrowed it down to the diamond and the gridiron. He inherited some great genes from his father, who pitched for NYIT and his mother, who ran track in high school.
Although he’s always been recognized as a great athlete, it all began to come together in July 2015 when he gave his verbal commitment to attend Hofstra University–virtually in his backyard. Having driven past the school countless times, he never thought that would be where he ended up.
“When I was younger I told myself I would never go there because it’s so close to home–but I loved the campus when I visited there. It’s nothing like what I thought,” he added.
Hofstra, which has really made strides to become a player in the difficult Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) by inking some of Long Island’s top talent, received a huge boost with the signing of Joyce.
“What really did it for me was the coaching staff,” he said. “I really connected with Coach Russo.”
From that point, things have only gotten better for Joyce.
He helped guide the Warriors to the New York State championship, with some heroic performances including a complete game victory in the Nassau County Class A finals against Bellmore JFK and then a convincing victory over Suffolk’s top arm–Sam Kessler.
“Kessler was really good–his fastball was really moving. But what helped us is that we don’t care about names. If we just play our game we can win.”
The pinnacle of his performances was his game-winning HR in the top of the ninth of the state semifinals in which he also recorded the win against previously-undefeated Williamston East.
As if that wasn’t enough, he then led the football team to an undefeated season, winning the Class III Long Island Championship over East Islip, in which he secured a crucial interception late in the fourth quarter.
Oh, and he played the game with a sprained ankle.
“They were both amazing–but people always ask me which one felt better–but I tell them it’s two completely different feelings,” he added.
Joyce was fortunate enough to have the option to be a dual-sport athlete in college but ultimately he decided against it.
“When I was thinking about playing both I think I was just caught up in football mode. Baseball has always been my dream.”
He noted that Wantagh’s intense student-body “100%” served as motivation for both the football and baseball teams. “They are at every game. My friends are so into it. They really push us,” he added.
Where does Wantagh go from here? How can they avoid complacency?
“We can only fail from here,” he said now that they are the hunted. “We have high expectations but that actually motivates us–we have a huge mental edge over everyone.” They will also be returning Trevor Fagan (Sacred Heart-commit), Anthony D’Onofrio (Hofstra-commit) and Anthony Fontana (one of the top 2018 prospects).
Being talented and being fearless is a combination that every coach would love for their athletes to possess. Joyce has talent in droves and has zero fear of failure. It’s scary to think what he can accomplish.
You can follow him on Twitter here.
