Dillon Shields, baseball
Dillon Shields hopes to blaze a new trail when he studies either athletic training or to become a physical therapy assistant in college.
He also may blaze a new trail by earning a spot on the California (Pa.) University baseball team. Shields was a pitcher and middle infielder at West Greene, where he maintained a 3.7 GPA.
Shields is West Greene’s spring sports male selection in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program. The oldest son of Mark and Johnetta Shields of Graysville, he has two younger brothers who both play baseball, Kaden, a fifth grader and Logan, a second grader.
“I am a pitcher and shortstop on the baseball team,” the senior said. “My Colt team won the championship last summer. It’s a 17-under team and that became my most memorable sports moment.”
Shields plans to attend Cal U regardless of his baseball prospects, but “I plan on trying out for the baseball team at Cal,” he said. “I’ve been contacted by them. They like me as a player and they invited me to try out.
“I am going to go to Cal, regardless of baseball. I’ll go there for academics. Anatomy is my favorite subject, so it leads right to my major, which will be athletic training and working toward becoming a physical therapy assistant. There really is no family history; I would be the first person in my family to go into the medical field.”
Thus, the trailblazer aspect of his story. So, how did he become interested in physical therapy?
“Three years ago, I had an injury to my knee and I had to go for physical therapy,” Shields said. “I enjoyed seeing how they helped everyone recover from all of their injuries.
“I chipped my kneecap, my patella,” Shields said. “The physical therapy was pretty intense, but I was able to regain 100 percent strength in my knee. I had to push myself, but I knew that if it pushed myself, I would achieve my goals.”
Pushing himself is nothing new for Shields. He has pushed himself in the classroom as well as on the baseball field.
“I love baseball, I play it year round,” Shields said. “I played in a league in Washington and I went to a tryout and a showcase camp at the Wild Things ballpark. Cal hosted it and that’s how they developed an interest in me.”
As for his defensive preference, Shields gave a coach’s dream of an answer.
“I think I’m a better middle infielder (than pitcher), but wherever my team needs me, that’s where I’ll be,” Shields said.
His parents combined to give Shields a rock solid background and he also gives an assist to his school for helping him develop, both athletically and academically.
“My dad pushed me the most,” Shields said. “At a young age, he helped me develop a love of baseball. My mom, also, helped me. She always wanted me to be the best I could be. My dad actually coached me when I was younger.
“West Greene really helped me on the academic end and with baseball. On the academic end, they didn’t offer an anatomy class, but once I qualified, they offered me an independent study class that really helped me in my next level of education. In baseball, I just learned a lot from my coaches.”
Looks like blazing new trails is nothing new for Shields.