Local high school senior spring athletes have been robbed of their final season of athletics. And it hurts. We hope we can make some of them feel a little better with our Meet the Athlete Q&A. Please enjoy.
NAME: Grady LeMar
SCHOOL/YEAR OF GRADUATION: Somerset Berkley Regional High School/2020
CITY: Fall River
TWITTER HANDLE: Gradybob4
INSTAGRAM HANDLE: Gradybob
SPRING SPORT: Baseball
OTHER SPORTS: Soccer, track and field
COLLEGE: Framingham State University
Herald News: What person, living or dead, do you most admire and why?
Grady LeMar: I admire my Dad the most. He has done so much in life. My dad is amazing, being a Paralympic Champion. He's traveled all over the world playing sports like wheelchair basketball and wheelchair softball. That is just awesome. I admire that he always pushes me to do what's right for myself and I love that about him. I hope I can be like him and travel around the world playing sports.
HN: Who is your favorite athlete and why?
GL: My favorite athlete is Tim Howard because of the tough times that he's been through. He shows me that you can get through anything and push hard and do what you want to do. No matter what it is, you can do anything.
HN: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
GL: In the next 10 years I see myself being a police officer.
HN: What has been your biggest moment as a high school athlete?
GL: My biggest moment as a high school athlete has been stepping out on the field, whatever sport it is, and to just get to do what I love the most. Making friends from the sports is really the big picture of sports. You can really tell who your true friends are and who you'll be friends with the rest of your life by sports. Just being able to enjoy time with your friends and have fun because it goes by fast.
HN: When not playing high school sports, how do you spend your time?
GL: I spend my time getting out riding my bike, running, and playing sports like summer baseball and fall baseball. I also play some Xbox because it is really fun and you can play with other people as well. And I have recently taken up fishing.
HN: What was it like to lose your final high school sports season?
GL: It is really sad. I really can't believe it happened. It just sucks so much - the last time I'm ever going to be able to play baseball with the boys are gone, out of nowhere. This shows that you should never take your sports for granted because you can lose it in the blink of an eye. So enjoy high school sports while you can and enjoy them to the fullest and have fun.
HN: How concerned are you with COVID-19?
GL: I am very concerned about COVID-19. This is a very serious matter and people need to take this seriously because it's just getting worse and worse. I really hope things get better so we graduates can go to college. But at this rate things aren't getting better and it's not looking too good.
HN: If you were the principal of your school, what one change would you make?
GL: If I were the principal one thing I would change is the pay-to-play policy for sports and make it free, so kids don't have to worry about the money and they can just go play what they love the most.
HN: What do you hope people will say about you when your playing days are over?
GL: I hope people will say that I was an incredible athlete and talk about my play style. I hope they talk about how they have never seen someone play the way that I do and say how unique it was.
HN: What is your favorite subject in school and why?
GL: My favorite subject in school was ceramics. It was so fun learning how to build and throw with clay. I was lucky enough to take it for 3 years with the best ceramics teacher ever, Ms.Bowers. I don't know what I would've done without her. She was amazing and I will never forget about her and the skills she taught me.
HN: If you won a million dollars, what would be your first purchase?
GL: I would buy a nice house for me and my family.
HN: Tell us something most people don't know about you.
GL: That I am really good at ceramics.
HN: How long could you function without your smart phone?
GL: I could function forever without it. I wish there were no such thing as them. I feel like they are just ruining people's lives, getting them addicted to their phones.
LIGHTNING ROUND
HN: Favorite dinner meal?
GL: Steak and loaded potatoes.
HN: Favorite dessert?
GL: Brownie sundae.
HN: Favorite fast food?
GL: Spicy nuggs from Wendy's.
HN: What is your favorite book?
GL: Swagger.
HN: What is your favorite TV show?
GL: The Simpsons.
HN: What is your favorite movie?
GL: John Wick.
HN: Whom in this world would you most like to hit in the face with a pie?
GL: Jackson LePage because he loves pie.
Previous Q&As
Megan Borges & Meredith Castro
Nelson DeCarvalho
Amber Arruda
Julia Kelly
Kirk Rowe
Jessica Albin
Emily Moniz
Madison Amaral
Jamison DeFaria
Keagan Lecomte
Lucas Crook
Jaimi Vaillancourt
Ismael Moreno
Email Greg Sullivan at gsullivan@heraldnews.com. Follow him @GregSullivanHN.