'Role player' takes away good memories

You might not recognize the name.

Jared Gomez is a senior on the Clovis High School varsity baseball team. He isn’t the team’s leading hitter, nor is he the Wildcats’ top pitcher or star defensive player.

He’s what you call a “role player” in athletic speak. He knows his job and he gets it done on a regular basis. He’s the kind of kid that a coach relishes to have as part of the squad.

Gomez and his family moved to Clovis in August 2015 at the start of his junior year at CHS. He tried out for the baseball team in the spring, but was cut. Prior to Clovis, he had lived in Fort Worth, since he was an eighth-grader. He didn’t play any baseball there, though.

Last week, he was one of three Wildcat players honored during Senior Day festivities. Gomez said he still remembers back to the start of the season — one that went really fast.

“On the day that the teams were being announced, I went with a friend to see the lists (posted on the doors at the high school gym),” Gomez said. “I honestly didn’t think I’d make it. I knew as a senior, my only option was varsity (since seniors can’t play on JV teams).

“When I saw my name on the paper, I was shocked and happy,” he said.

While Gomez admittedly wishes he could have played more this season — which kid wouldn’t — he has enjoyed the experience.

“Being a part of the team and making such good friends has been great,” he said. “The players were open and accepted me as a new person to the program. I’ve enjoyed it. I will always have these memories and be able to tell stories down the line about the fun I had.”

After graduation this month, Gomez will enlist in the United States Marine Corps. He leaves on July 24. His first stop is basic training in San Diego for 13 weeks. Then, after a chance to return to Clovis for 10 days, he’ll head off to specialization schooling where he plans to get the proper training to eventually work on protecting our embassies.

He’s the kind of kid that you can figure out quickly in a conversation has a great head on his shoulders. He takes pride in everything he does and has a career path in mind for himself.

He will take pride in guarding our country. His dad was also a Marine, he proudly says.

His head baseball coach, Richard Cruce, sees remarkable traits in Gomez.

“Jared comes to practice every day and works his tail off,” Cruce said. “He is a very hard worker. If you ask someone to do something, he’s one of the first to jump up and do it.”

Because of an illness to Clovis High’s regular left fielder, Gomez stepped in and made his first start of the season — in the opening round of the New Mexico State Baseball Tournament — on Friday night in Las Cruces.

Again, he filled a role that was asked of him. And, he made some more memories along the way.

Rob Langrell is the publisher of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at: [email protected]