GA Baseball team captain Alex Bouchard ‘21 officially committed to Dickinson College on September 14, 2020, during his senior year.
Alex has played baseball for all four years of high school, and he is deeply involved in his club team outside of school. He revealed that his proudest accomplishment is being the GA Baseball team captain, saying, “It means a lot to me that the whole team looks to me as a leader.”
Although he was disappointed that the GA Baseball season got canceled last year, Alex looks back fondly on memories from his sophomore year–especially the GA baseball team’s trip to Florida. He recalls playing many games, exploring Disneyworld, and bonding as a team. In addition, Alex highlights the state playoff game against Malvern Prep as another important moment in his baseball career, which also occurred during his sophomore year. He described this match-up as “probably the most competitive game I’ve ever been in.” Although they did not seal the win, it was still very memorable and “a good game on all fronts.”
Alex began his college recruitment process in the midst of his baseball season during Junior year. However, recruiting was especially long and difficult for Alex due to COVID-19 and all the restrictions that were placed on sports. The NCAA put numerous “dead periods” in place throughout the school year, which prevented college coaches from watching and communicating with players. However, when restrictions eased during the summer, he was able to play in more tournaments, traveling to a new state almost every weekend so that more coaches could see him. By the end of August, Alex had narrowed his college choices down to just three: Dickinson, Johns Hopkins, and Swarthmore. Eventually, Alex committed to Dickinson where he plans on majoring in pre-law to become a sports agent. A few major factors in Alex’s decision were his connections to the baseball coach at Dickinson through GA and his appreciation for how Dickinson “combined academics and athletics.” In addition, Alex noted that Dickson’s great alumni network will be extremely helpful for his job placement coming out of college. Ultimately, Alex chose Dickinson because it “felt like the right place for [him].”
Although he has been a student athlete throughout high school, Alex points out the difficulties of balancing academics and athletics. He emphasized time management as being crucial, especially during the baseball season when he is required to fit games and practices into his busy schedule. In addition, Alex mentioned that sleep and rest are key to making sure that his body is healthy to compete in games and to perform well in school.
All in all, Alex attributes his dedication and hard work to the fact that baseball is his “favorite thing to do and [his] favorite sport to play.” He also points out that his love for the sport comes from the “team” aspect of the sport, explaining, “You can’t just have one person be the best part of the team; everyone has to play their role, and that’s what truly makes a winning team.”
The GA community congratulates Alex on his amazing high school sports season and wishes him the best in his future at Dickinson College!
