By Maria Riegel, Special Writer
Craig Cleffi; a senior and a team captain for the South Brunswick High School Varsity Baseball Team is a tremendous asset for the 2011 season according to head Baseball Coach Timothy Sweeney.
”He is the biggest asset to the team because he is very athletic in general,” Mr. Sweeney said. “He plays well defensively as an outfielder, and has good jumps on balls and has a lot of power when hitting.”
Mr. Cleffi said he began playing baseball when he was eight years old on the South Brunswick Little League team. He also watched games on television with his older brother.
When he entered the high school he played on the freshman baseball team, and as a sophomore he played on the junior varsity team, and has played on varsity for the past two years.
As a child, Mr. Cleffi was always interested in baseball because of his family. His brother was an outfielder at SBHS in 2002 when the team won their first GMC Championship according to Mr. Cleffi.
”My biggest accomplishment as a baseball player was winning a GMC last year because I have always wanted to do that,” Mr. Cleffi said. “I am looking forward to winning another one this year.”
Mr. Sweeney has coached Mr. Cleffi for three years, and has seen a significant improvement in his vocal skills.
”Craig will correct the underclassmen if they are doing something wrong and show them the right way,” Mr. Sweeney said.
Over the years, Mr. Cleffi has seen himself grow through sportsmanship. He would become very frustrated when he would strike out.
”I used to have a really bad temper and had difficulties getting it out,” Mr. Cleffi said. “Then I realized you just have to let it pass you and keep trying.”
Although, Mr. Cleffi has seen his attitude improve, he said that he would like to become better at batting. Despite a batting average of 390 and 12 runs batted in during the 2010 season, he wants to have more ‘hitting power.’
He said he could enhance his skills by applying more pressure to his back foot and place more of the weight on his upper body.
Even though Mr. Sweeney has seen a big difference in Mr. Cleffi’s personality, Mr. Cleffi said he wants to be more of a team leader, especially because the team is young.
”I want to help the younger players a lot more and show them how to play at a varsity level,” Mr. Cleffi said.
During the 2011-2012 school year Mr. Cleffi will be attending Montclair State University and hopes to play baseball there. His potential major is athletic training.
Mr. Cleffi said he is excited about attending Montclair, but will miss playing baseball for SBHS.
”Playing any high school sport is like nothing else,” Mr. Cleffi said. “You make so many friends growing up, and then after high school you will never play with them again.”
Overall, Mr. Cleffi’s baseball skills greatly contribute to the team’s success, and Mr. Sweeney said that if he continues to work hard he would become even better.

