Although snow was still visible in the shady spots on the campus of Jordan Vocational High School a couple months ago, the distinctive sound of an aluminum bat connecting repeatedly with baseballs signaled that baseball season had begun. The spring sport started off with some pretty cold practices at times but 15-year-old Austin Sanders didn’t appear to care. For Sanders, the season just couldn’t get here fast enough.
Baseball has always been a prominent focus in Sanders’ young life. He remembers playing tee ball at the age of five and along about the time he began “A” ball out at Northern Little League, Sanders knew he wanted to continue with the sport as long as he possibly could.
He ended recreational league baseball when he began sixth grade at Arnold Middle School and started playing club baseball at the school. Because the local public school system doesn’t offer baseball as a sport, some middle schools have adopted baseball as a club sport. Sanders also played football at Arnold, where he saw time as a cornerback and wide receiver. When he knew he would be going to high school at Jordan, he decided to be a one-sport athlete, concentrating his efforts and energy into being a member of the Red Jackets baseball program which has a tradition of taking baseball seriously.
“I love baseball. I can’t really explain why but I do. And, I knew coming to Jordan would be good because Coach Dimitri really knows baseball and wants us to have a winning program,” says Sanders.
For those acquainted with Jordan High School baseball, the Dimitri name is familiar. Tony Dimitri is the head baseball coach at his alma mater, which also was the alma mater of his father, the late Anthony Dimitri. The elder Dimitri was a long-time baseball coach at Jordan, during which time he coached his twin boys, Tony and John, at the school. Tony returned last year to take over the program and is assisted by his brother, John.
The tradition and heritage of the baseball program at Jordan is just one of the many reasons Sanders knew he would like to play for the Red Jackets. Another reason was he felt he would actually get to see more playing time early on at Jordan as opposed to some other larger schools in the area. That assessment obviously came true because Sanders plays on Jordan’s freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams.
During his career as a baseball player, Sanders has primarily been an outfielder. He has some pitching skills he enjoys putting to good use occasionally – curveballs are his specialty – but his speed and strong arm have served him well in the outfield. Centerfield is his favorite position to play and he really enjoys it at the high school level. While he will see more time in left field, when he has a chance to play center, Sanders doesn’t loaf around.
“Out there you are kind of in control of the outfield. My job is to keep us in the game and help us stay up. In high school, it’s not like before. More balls are hit out there so I like it even more because I’m busy and things are always happening. It’s the best place to be,” he says.
The 5’8” athlete weighs 149 pounds and can run the 60-yard dash in just over seven seconds. He is looking to shave some time off of that as the season progresses. He can switch hit but prefers to bat right-handed. Last year his batting average was .348 for club baseball and one of his goals for his first season as a varsity player is to improve his batting average.
Dimitri is using Sanders in the top of the batting order for the “younger teams” and mostly in the 7-9 slots on varsity. This means the freshman is seeing lots of action at the plate and out in left field, where Dimitri is utilizing Sanders’ defensive talents of speed, knowledge of the game, and arm strength.
With just two freshmen on the varsity roster, Dimitri is hoping for an even better season than in 2013. The Red Jackets record was 20-8 overall and 13-3 in their region of play. Jordan’s varsity is hoping for a run at the region title this time around.
“We made the state playoffs last season for the first time in over 15 years. I expect the kids now to believe they are one of the best programs in the state. I expect them to continue to work hard at practice and translate that into the game. I expect them to want and know how to win,” Dimitri says of his team.
Playing on three teams in one season should give Sanders a lot experience to build on for his college career. His dream would be to play for a Division I school. He isn’t looking too far down the road yet mainly because he is just excited about getting to play baseball so much. A good year would have been to be a member of the freshman and JV teams. An awesome year is not only taking up a spot on the varsity roster but actually getting pretty decent playing time among the veteran Red Jackets players.
“We have a good team that works well together. We joke around a lot but we know when it comes down to it, we are serious about playing. It doesn’t matter who you are or how long you’ve been here if you get the job done. When we make mistakes, we work on it and come back ready again,” says Sanders.
Then thinking for a moment, he nods his head and says, “I love baseball. I can’t imagine anything I would like any more than playing baseball.”
Getting to know Austin
Family: Mother and stepfather, Tonya and Greg Johansen; father, Jeremy Sanders; one brother and two sisters
Pets: Three dogs
Favorite food: Fried Rice
Favorite place to eat: El Vacquero
Music he prefers: All Kinds
Church he attends: Cross Pointe Church
Favorite movie: The Blind Side
Favorite team (college or professional): Alabama and The Atlanta Braves
Athlete he admires: Jason Heyward
Person he would most like to spend a day with: LeBron James
Favorite subject in school: Science
Best thing about attending Jordan High School: It’s unique. It’s different from other schools.
Freshman Focus/Columbus Valley/April 2014
Austin Sanders
Jordan Vocational High School
Columbus, Georgia
By Beth Welch
Photos by Jerry Christenson
Outfielder looking to help contribute to team’s success
