Jake Noviello '22
Baseball

My experience at Fairfield in the last year:
"As a student-athlete, this past year has been quite difficult. As athletes, we are always trying to get into rhythms and routines to try and get through each day successfully, whether that be in our practices, games, or classes. The fall semester was tough with multiple shutdowns, but now that we are competing in live games once again, all of the struggles have seemed worthwhile."

My biggest challenges/inspirations:
"Before the pandemic began in March, I sustained an arm injury which would have kept me out for the entire season. On top of that, the pandemic shut down nearly all businesses and rehab centers, so I really had to rely on myself to push through my own rehab programs in my basement. I spent countless hours working out, cleaning up my mechanics, and preparing myself in hopes of stepping back on the mound at Alumni Diamond."

My positive experiences this year:
"One positive experience I have had throughout this entire experience occurred just the other day during our first weekend of conference games. I was finally able to step back onto the mound at Alumni Diamond and competitively pitch in a conference game for the first time since May of my freshman year. For the first time in nearly 22 months, I was pitching in a game with another team in the batter's box. All of the work I put in during the pandemic had finally paid off."

What inspired me to keep moving forward: 
"I am lucky enough to have two extremely supportive parents that have had my back since day one. Whenever I thought I might be done, or may never be able to throw like my old self, my mom and dad were always there to offer words of encouragement to keep me pushing forward. Even on the days where I thought things would never get better, they were always there to reassure me that one day things would return to normal."