It’s Official, Beck will Play Ball at Iona
It’s a win-win all the way around. Huntington High School senior James Beck wanted to continue playing baseball after he graduates next June and he wanted to go to Iona College. So, when the New Rochelle school offered him a package, he was quick to sign an NCAA Letter of Intent, locking in his commitment.
“I chose Iona because I felt like it was the perfect fit for me,” said Beck, a talented catcher. “It's not too far from home, so I can easily come and go for a weekend here or there, but simultaneously being far enough away from home to experience what going away to college really feels like. It was my favorite school that I visited and they gave me a great package deal that was hard to turn down. At Iona, I plan to major in business and minor in criminal justice as well as obviously play baseball.”
As a junior, Beck batted .400 with 21 hits, including a homerun and 11 doubles, along with 16 runs batted in. "James has probably improved as much as anyone on this team over the last couple of seasons,” said Blue Devil baseball coach Greg Kalkau. “He is the heart and soul of this team. Balancing his daily studies with his true love, baseball, is something that comes as second nature to James.”
Beck earned First Team All-Academic baseball honors as a sophomore and junior while maintaining a 93 average in honors and AP courses, according to Kalkau. “Behind the dish he has become a work horse, always looking to take his game to the next level,” the coach said. “He possesses a very strong and accurate arm which teams have come to fear.”
Entering his senior season with the Blue Devils, Beck owns a .396 career batting average with 21 doubles and five homeruns. “This coming season it's his turn to show this team what he can do in terms of being a leader behind the plate,” Kalkau said. “Offensively, his presence at the plate is beyond his years. With an explosive and patience approach at the plate he is among the tops in the county.”
“James Beck is a strong player,” said Georgia D. McCarthy, Huntington’s director of athletics. “His coaches and teammates look for his leadership and presence on the baseball field. I know that James is looking for the 2008 season to be a success.”
Beck has dreamed for years about reaching this point in his academic and athletic careers. “I fell in love with baseball at an early age and I've always been motivated to be the best player on the field, which I think really helped my development as a player,” he said. “It has been a goal of mine to play Division I baseball since I found out about how college scholarships work back in seventh grade when I played at Finley.”
Beck’s sister, Jill is an Iona junior who plays attack of the Gaels’ women’s lacrosse team. His fellow Huntington Class of 2008 member Casey Scully has also signed an NCAA Letter of Intent for Iona, committing her to play on the lacrosse team there.
“I take all three sports (football, basketball, baseball) that I play very seriously, but it has always been different for me whenever I put on my gear and take my place behind the plate opposed to being in my three-point stance for football or defensive stance for basketball,” Beck said. “I have had to work very hard for this opportunity and I can’t express how good it feels to know that after all of the hard work I've done over the last couple of years to prepare for this, that now it's finally happening.”
Although his college plans are set, Beck is intent as ever to push himself on and off the field and his presence and performance will be a key factor in the Huntington baseball team’s 2008 campaign. “If he plays steady and consistently, then he will help this team be very successful this upcoming season," Kalkau said.
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