AURORA – Fort Lupton's senior catcher Zavian Chavez stood in the wind alongside his team's dugout after a 12-6 loss at Aurora Central High School on May 11.
He's one of seven seniors – Isaac Rodriguez, Christian Lechleitner, Manny Sandoval, Romero Garcia, Dominic Chavez and Hunter Harris are the others – who will graduate later this month.
"We were doing well. But then, I feel like we always lose at the end," Chavez said. "We have a great team here. It's been a great career here. Sometimes, the outcomes don't come. I feel like how I play, I come out and ready to play every game."
Chavez hit two home runs and drove in 13 runs for FLHS this season while batting .452. He also had a perfect fielding percentage behind the plate.
"I've learned to keep on going and not quit," Chavez said. "If the other team is talking, just keep doing you. Play for the team. But if the other team is talking, you shut them up by showing them. I learned to stay calm, humble and keep going."
Chavez said that part of the game was hard to learn at first.
"I just wanted to go out there and talk back. But at the same time, it was making me play worse," Chavez said. "I was in my head talking the whole time. And now that I'm listening, it makes me want to play better. I'm more relaxed."
Given his position on the field, it's easy to hear everything from everybody.
"I'm behind the plate, so I hear pretty much everything from the fans and the players," Chavez said. "Usually, I tell the players to let them talk and you do you. You shut them up by playing well."
FLHS has had three baseball coaches in the last two seasons, including two since the first of this year.
"It's hard getting chemistry from the coaches, knowing how they coach," he said. "Getting used to their program is the only hard thing about it. We have good coaches. We just haven't shown it yet. The game is the same, no matter which coach it is. You play how they coach."
Chavez has his eyes on college baseball. One such place that interests him is North Dakota at Bottineau.
"I'm interested. I want to play college ball," Chavez said. "The only thing that's stopping me is I don't know what to study. I'm scared about leaving Colorado. That seems kind of far. I've never been anywhere else. It'd be a new adventure.
"And maybe I can go out there and play my hardest."