West Ranch Baseball

Jason Priske

Pitching Coach West Ranch High School

1. What is your most memorable baseball experience? What a good question. A couple of things go through my mind. The first one deals with high school and my senior year. I had attended Hart HS (the same years as Coach Burrill) for the 1^st 3 years and was on the JV team as a pitcher only and I did not play much. Then 2 weeks before my senior year was to start, my mom told me we were moving to Palmdale (where I knew no one). I tried out for the team made the team, but not as a pitcher, but as a 3B. I started every game at 3B and made 2^nd team All-League and hit .432. What was memorable was go through the adversity of moving and not being around anyone that I knew, but loving the game so much that I still wanted to play baseball though my first years of HS baseball was not too enjoyable.

The 2^nd one was when I tried out at The Master’s College after transferring in from JC. I was the only one of about 30 other guys that made the team, but not at 3B, but back at pitcher. They had just signed a freshman to a full scholarship and they thought I had a better shot of playing a different position, so I tried pitching again. I had a great experience playing there for 2 years.

2.   If you could see a baseball game at any stadium in the country, where would you go? Hmmm, I would probably go to Jet Hawk Stadium in Lancaster CA, the most beautiful place in the country...j/k!!    I would go to one of the historic ballparks back East such as Fenway, Yankee Stadium, or Wrigley.

3.   What is your favorite sports movie? I would have to say that is probably Field of Dreams, though The Rookie, Sandlot and Caddie Shack are all up there too.

4.   Other than baseball, what is your favorite sport? That is a tough one. If you are talking about watching sports on TV, it is without a doubt college football. I love Florida State (GO NOLES!!), but also like USC and any teams playing against Miami, Florida, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and UCLA. If you are talking about playing, that is a no-brainer, GOLF. I would play every day of the week if I had the chance.

5.   Who is the most influential person in your life and why? This is without a doubt my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He continually forms my ways of thinking and has helped me become the man, father, and husband I am today. I am in no way perfect and make more mistakes than I would like to admit, but what helps me is that I look to Him and His perfect example He has set for me and try to follow that and get better each day.

6.   If you could invite any three people in the history of the world to dinner, who would they be? I have been thinking about this for a while now. The first is easy, Jesus. I then thought Einstein would be a good one, but I would not be able to enjoy the food because I would be so focused on what he was saying. Not only because he was so interesting, but because I would not be able to understand his accent.

The other two would be Babe Ruth, he would be a blast to have around and he would have no problem putting down a good meal. The third would be Ronald Reagan.

7.   If you could travel to any place on the world, where would you go and why? I went to Maui a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. My wife (Tracie) and I love to travel and since we did the touristy stuff last time if we went we could go and relax and just enjoy the island without the busyness. Everything about it is great, the weather, the scenery, the golf, the touristy stuff, the beaches, the food. I would go there for a couple of weeks and then over to Kauai for a couple of weeks to try it out as well.

8.   There’s a concert in your backyard, which three bands are playing? One of the first groups I thought of was the Eagles. The other two would have to be Linkin Park and Creed.

9.   Is Hip Hop music or noise?   What a funny question. I go through spurts with music; I change from Pop to Christian Rock to Hard Rock to Alternative Rock to Classic Rock, etc., but one thing I never go to is Country…well maybe pop country like Shania Twain and Faith Hill. If you would have asked me 3 years ago, when it came to Hip Hop, it was 100% noise. Now being exposed to it more and more from Coach Fogel, I tolerate most of it and even my daughter (Kaycie) makes me dance with her (never ask to see me do that for you) to some of the songs that come on. Today it is music, but ask me again in 3 years and I may say it is noise.

10.   If money were no object, where do you go for dinner and what do you order?   I would go back to Maui and go to The Plantation House, which overlooks Kapalua’s 18^th hole of their Plantation Course (AWESOME!!). I would start off by ordering their Crab Cakes with Maui Tomato Beurre Blanc. Then for the entrée I would order their Pistachio Crusted Ahi on an Upcountry Field Sauté of Maui Onions along with Filet Mignon Combination and then top it all off with some type of dessert, may some Crème Brûlée.

11.   If you were on American Idle, what song do you sing?   I have no idea…Usher’s, Yeah :-)

12. What do you do in your spare time?   Spare time, what is that? Currently I am finishing my thesis for my Masters (I will done in a couple of weeks, end of August); I am the golf tournament director for our church’s 1^st tournament on Sept. 25^th; I am getting ready to prepare the pitchers for our first year of WRHS baseball; I am preparing for a rigorous X-country schedule that I am the head coach for here at WRHS… that is not a misprint, I am the coach; I am prepping for the new school year and block scheduling that no one is used to yet. But, when I have a moment, I like to hang with the family, travel, play golf, play cards, and when I am done with school I cannot wait to be able to read a book for my leisure.

Wildcat Weekly

Up | Down

Wildcat Email

Login Here