Colby Collins, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and a player for the MSD men’s varsity baseball team, has been selected as May’s Athlete of the Month. Collins was born and raised in Florida and spent most of his childhood growing up in Lighthouse Point, Florida.

Collins has been an athlete almost his entire life, participating in various sports such as football, basketball and soccer. When he was four years old, his father introduced him to baseball, which would later have a great influence over his athletic life. 

“My dad was the person who introduced me to baseball. He coached me from my first game until I got to high school,” Collins remarked.

Before making his debut for MSD’s varsity baseball team, he played for the Parkland Pokers. The Pokers are a travel baseball league that consists of boys from ages 10 to 12 years old. It aids young men interested in the sport to grow character and build fundamentals. Collins traveled to New York, South Carolina and other areas in Florida with the exclusive team to participate in tournaments.

Now, as a senior, Collins has grown to become a player for the MSD men’s varsity baseball team. Douglas baseball is a very competitive program overall, as they go up against many other well trained teams from South Florida. Being a part of the team for four years, Collins has built relationships with many of the players. 

“Colby is a good pitcher and understands the game well. He doesn’t like to lose and works very hard on his game,” teammate Cameron Harris said. 

Baseball has been a huge part of Collins’ life for many years. The sport has helped him with character development, and shaped him into the person he is today by giving him guidance through other activities other than baseball, such as school and leadership.

“Baseball played a huge part in building my character,” Collins said. “It helped me develop social skills, leadership, discipline, work ethic and confidence.” 

After years of hard work, Collins committed to Flagler College to play Division II baseball on Wednesday, Feb. 5, during National Signing Day. The process of recruitment took a total of three months, as Collins traveled to St. Augustine multiple times. During his visits, he was able to view Flagler’s campus and field. 

“The recruitment process is all about patience. My goal is to play baseball at the highest level I possibly can, and this is a start,” Collins said. 

Other than playing baseball and school-work, Collins has spent his time volunteering at Mary Help of Christians Church for holiday events. 

As the MSD baseball season was progressing, it was suddenly canceled due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Unfortunately, Collins’ season was cut short, along with other athletes’ across the nation. Naturally, he was devastated because of the new conditions of the pandemic. 

“Our season ended prematurely, which meant me and the rest of the seniors weren’t able to have our senior night, or have one last run at a state championship,” Collins said. 

Even though his last baseball season came to an early end, Collins is looking forward to his future and beginning a new chapter in his life as a freshman in college.