Matt Levins - The Hawk Eye / John Gaines Photography
Eli Oleson loves to play baseball.
So much so that the recent Notre Dame High School graduate was all set to go to the batting cages to get in his daily work one day last winter.
The only problem was it was Christmas Day. His father, Notre Dame assistant baseball coach Micah Oleson, had to restrain him from going.
Literally.
Eli Oleson made up for it with double duty the next day.
Eli Oleson just can’t get enough baseball.
That is one reason he earned all-conference and all-district honors and undoubtedly will earn all-state accolades.
For Oleson, there is no place he would rather be than on a baseball field.
“I’ve always worked hard. I hit in the batting cages every day,” said Oleson, The Hawk Eye’s Baseball Player of the Year. “I have a lifting program that is specific to baseball. I make sure I hit or do something to improve my game every day. I make sure I work on my weaknesses and try to get better in some way every single day.”
Oleson’s hard work paid off in a big way. He hit .562 with a .635 on-base percentage and a .888 slugging percentage. He had 14 doubles, three triples and three home runs, scored 40 runs and drove in 33 runs. He drew 13 walks, was hit by a pitch 10 times and struck out just two times in 89 at bats. He was 28-for-34 in stolen base attempts.
He helped the Nikes to a 22-8 record and a berth in the Class 1A state tournament. The Nikes earned a share of the SEI Super Conference South Division title with Central Lee and Mediapolis.
“I thought we had a really good season,” Oleson said. “I didn’t really have any big expectations. I knew we could be really, really good if everything went well and I think it did.”
Oleson didn’t have to look far to get some sage advice when needed. His father was always there, as were head coach Chris Chiprez and hitting coach Drew Chiprez. Oleson benefited from the knowledge around him.
“My Dad is very, very knowledgeable about hitting,” Eli Oleson said. “Coach Chiprez taught me the importance of working really hard. Both of them work really hard to make sure we are successful. They helped me with my swing and my fielding. I could literally go to them and ask them any question and they would have an answer. That helped a lot.”
Oleson will take his talent to Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois, where he will continue to work on his game and study exercise science with the goal of one day becoming a strength and conditioning coach.
For now, Oleson is hard at work, following his baseball dream as far as it takes him.
“”I plan to transfer to a Division I school and keep playing baseball,” Oleson said.