Every spring, summer and winter break brings athletes back home. I’m glad to see these athletes consider Gamespeed home. These longtime athletes trust our work and we enjoy seeing them walk through the door. We hear about their experiences which gives us great pride but also provides us with valuable experiences we can relay onto our younger clients. These guys and gals are fine examples of what student athletes should be. We area part of their athletic roots and its great to continue to play a role in their development.
Here are just a few:
Kiara Garcia Oregon State Softball
Kiara has been a GS athlete for over six years. We’ve watched the former Rodrieguz High star move on to be the starting second baseman for the Beavers. She gets back to GS every summer and winter break and this years no different. We put together programs aimed at honing her overall athleticism and keep her ready for the rigors of college level competition. Great to have you back “Ya”. Here’s how her 2012 freshman season went:
Started all 59 games at second base, posting a .242 average (31-for-128) with 22 runs scored … Named Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention … Led the team and tied for fourth in the Pac-12 with nine sacrifice bunts … Batted .300 (3-for-10) at the NCAA Regional in Norman, Okla. … Went 2-for-5 against No. 25 Tulsa in the opener and 1-for-2 with two runs scored in a 9-2 victory over Lehigh … Notched her sixth multi-hit game of the year against the Golden Hurricane … Scored her 20th run of the season in a 4-0 victory over No. 16 Arizona on 5/11 … Drove in a run with a hit on 5/5 against No. 1 Cal … Had her first multi-hit game in a Pac-12 contest when she went 2-for-2 with a run scored at Utah on 4/28 … Went a combined 3-for-5 with an RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Portland State on 4/24 … Drove in her first career Pac-12 run on 4/13 against Stanford … Went 1-for-2 with two runs scored in OSU’s 7-5 upset of No. 14 UCLA on 4/1 … Notched her first career Pac-12 hit against UCLA on 3/31 … Drove in her fifth run of the year with an RBI single in a 13-1 win against Cal State Northridge on 3/28 … Scored three runs at the Long Beach State Invitational … Had her second multi-hit game of the year in a 2-for-3 outing against Michigan State (W, 11-6) … Scored the game-winner in extra innings against Iowa on 2/24 … Had a season-high eight-game hitting streak snapped against Ohio State on 2/24 … Drove in the winning run with a seventh-inning single against Notre Dame (2/18) … Was 1-for-3, including her first career stolen base, in the Beavers’ 11-3 upset of No. 20 Nebraska on 2/11 … In her collegiate debut, went a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish, driving in three runs and scoring three, all career highs.
Max Dutto CAL Baseball
A long time fixture at GS along with his sister college soccer prospect Allie, Max is back after his first semester of training with the Bears. He’s gotten playing time some infield and outfield in pre-season play. He’s come back bigger so now its our job to make him Faster! It’s what we do.
Justin Green, Football & Baseball Wabash College, Indiana
Rare to have a two sport athlete at the college level but Justin has managed to do it in his first year at Wabash. He played football for the “Little Giants” and is now headed into the baseball season (catcher). The Alhambra alum is used to high caliber pitching, he was Robert Stephenson’s (1st round Reds) partner for the past two years.
Nick Candau, Pepperdine Waterpolo
The former SRV Wolf has also finished his first college semester and will play for the Waves this upcoming season. He’s also sporting a bigger frame (I like). He’s back and training with Gamespeed and one of my part time instructors his big bro Matt. Unfortunately we don’t as get many H2O athletes as I’d like but when we do they do alright. He’ll work on keeping that big frame and adding some power and flexibility to it.
Matt Candau, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Rugby
He’s no doubtably had the longest trip back home. But now that he’s here he’s wasted no time in getting back to GS. While studying for his Kineseology degree he also plays competitive Rugby. He works as a GS assistant and is instrumental in the development of his younger brother Nick.
Craig Massoni Austin Peay, Baseball
Welcome back Craig. Formerly of SRV and Chabot college. He is in his first season with the Govenor’s in Tennessee. The team looks for Craig to make an immediate impact their site states: Massoni will give the Govs some flexibility in composing lineups after playing both infield and outfield at Chabot Community College. He led the Gladiators in batting average (.331), home runs (six) and RBI (31) in just 36 games. Craig has already made his presence known in the teams annual intersquad Red vs white game back in November. Craig hit the game winning single to brake the tie for his sides 7-6 win. He’s back to work a little speed and movement.
