There’s no denying baseball is Christian Dale’s first love.
Recent years have seen the Columbus High School junior spend most of his off time playing with travel baseball teams throughout the region in hopes of honing his skills and taking his game to the next level.
There also was a time when soccer had a place in Dale’s life. But he opted to give that sport up after baseball took up more and more of his time.
Last year, though, Dale thought playing soccer would be an ideal way to help improve his conditioning for baseball. It also didn’t hurt that he knew many of the players on the team and that he liked the sport.
Dale’s decision to play and the work he and his teammates invested in the offseason is paying dividends this season.
Last week, Ricky Hackler scored the first goal before Dale added the game-winner to help Columbus beat Grenada 2-1 for a key Class 6A, region 1 victory.
For his accomplishments, Dale is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“I really practiced at home whenever I was home,” Dale said. “At the end of last season, I could dribble the ball about five times. Now I am up to 25 or 35. I have improved my footwork a whole lot, and my shot has gotten a lot better.”
The teams will meet again tonight in Grenada. Columbus coach Ben Moore said the Falcons (5-9-2) control their destiny and would be virtually assured of a playoff berth with another win tonight.
Moore said a turning point in the season came when Columbus took 12 players to play a game at Greenville Weston. He said the Falcons solidified their midfield in the game and have taken to more one-touch possession play. As a result, the team has made significant strides from a point in which it had eight players who had never touched a soccer ball and won one game last season to elevate its level of play.
“The kids really developed as players, on their own even,” Moore said. “They got together and practiced and scrimmaged and played pickup ball. They really showed they really wanted to be a good team and to develop as players.”
Moore said Dale, who is a pitcher/shortstop on the Columbus High baseball team, has fit nicely into that mix at forward in a 4-5-1 system that relies on a buildup from the back through the middle. He said Dale’s speed makes him a dangerous player up top, and he said he also has improved his shooting ability.
“He is one of those players who took the ball home with him this summer and touched the ball a whole lot,” Moore said. “His toughness is tremendously better. It is good to see these kids develop and want to develop.”
Dale stopped playing soccer when he was 10 or 11. He said soccer has helped him improve his footwork, which he hopes translates to baseball, especially on the basepaths. He isn’t sure if he considers himself a soccer player now rather than someone who last season played soccer, but he acknowledges he has come “a very long way.” The trick now is to help elevate his game — and the program — to an even higher level.
“It was a tough decision to make last year,” Dale said. “I didn’t want to play at first because I didn’t want that risk of being hurt, but I wanted to stay in shape. Everybody who was on the team encouraged me to come out and try out, and I made the team.”
Dale feels he was so focused on baseball that he never imagined he could improve so much as a soccer player. The results have been extremely satisfying considering how much time he has invested in baseball.
“I have been out here working hard, running hard, and really trying to get better,” said Dale, who attended a baseball camp at the University of Mississippi this past weekend.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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