Q&A // James Ways, Winters Mill, indoor track

Winters Mill's James Ways participates in baseball, indoor track and soccer, but says baseball is his No. 1 sport. (Rich Scherr / Special to The Sun)

Winters Mill's James Ways recently won a pair of bronze medals at the Class 2A state indoor track meet, and has been named first team All-Conference as a defender in soccer each of the past two seasons.

It's baseball, however, that the junior claims as his No.1 sport. Last spring, the Falcons' leadoff man finished second in Carroll County with 18 stolen bases, earning the All-Conference outfielder honorable mention.

Now, with the college recruitment process about to kick into full gear, Ways wrestles with the question of which sport -- or sports -- to continue at the next level.

Was track and field something you just started to keep in shape between seasons?

Yes, I just started my freshman year to keep in shape for the baseball season, because I know the coaches here like to run us a lot in baseball. It was an intermediate thing to get me from the fall to the spring -- to keep me in shape, keep me out of trouble and give me something to do ... meet some new people.

Have you surprised yourself with what you've been able to accomplish in track?

I actually have surprised myself with that, to be honest with you. I knew I was fast, but I didn't think I could be this good with making it to the states in my first three years of high school.

You're a leadoff hitter in baseball and led your team in stolen bases last season. Does stealing bases in baseball equate at all to running a sprint in track?

Yeah. In track and field, our coach always used to say, "Go 110 percent for the first 80 meters." That's about the same as [the base paths] in baseball. You're not really changing anything -- you're just going from a pitch.

A year ago, your track team made it to the state meet, only to be disqualified. How important was it for you personally to get another shot this season?

It was really important for me and for my teammates, especially in the 4 x 800, because a lot of them were returning from last year's state team. But just for me to get back down there and prove, "Yes, I can actually do this" ... it just relieves me of a lot of stuff.

Do you plans to continue playing three sports as a senior?

Yes. I have fun doing it. It keeps me in shape and it gives me really good connections with my coaches and other people throughout the school and other schools. I enjoy it, as long as my body holds up.

I'd imagine it's got to take its toll both physically and mentally, particularly when the seasons overlap.

Oh yeah, my body changes from season to season. It takes me two or three weeks just to try and get in the correct mind-set of the next sport. Some years it's quicker than others, depending on how long I go. Like the state meet last year was a little bit earlier, so I had a little more time to prepare for baseball. Only having a week off makes it a little more difficult for my body to change -- trying to get in the weight room, trying to get my arm strength back up and trying to get my timing down. I take batting lessons at Larry Sheets Players [in Westminster], and that helps me out tremendously on just getting my batting down.

Is hitting the primary skill that you'd like to improve in baseball?

For the most part, yes, just because it's such a skilled, delicate art, I like to call it. You miss the ball by an eighth of an inch, that's the difference between a popout and a home run, or a grounder and line drive. So you perfect that, and try to get the muscle memory down correctly, and it just comes back naturally. It takes the pressure off you because it's like, "I know I can do this."

You switched to the leadoff role last season for the first time in your baseball career. How difficult a transition was that after you had spent most of your career hitting in the middle of the lineup?

It's a tremendous difference. Last year, I went from batting one [in high school] to batting four for my summer ball team, the Carroll County Rangers. It's just a whole different mind-set at the plate. For the four hitter, you're trying to remember to go with the pitch if it's outside, or to pull it and put it between the shortstop and the third baseman and try to get that runner in from second base. As a one hitter, you're just trying to get on and get to second as quickly as possible without making any mistakes.

Has anyone ever suggested that you concentrate on one sport year-round instead of three?

I've had a lot of people tell me that. Soccer players tell me to do soccer; baseball players tell me to do baseball, track people tell me to do track. My track team keeps telling me that if I ever get cut from baseball there's always a track spot for me. But I enjoy it -- it still feels good to me. You don't see a lot of three-sport athletes anymore at the high school level, especially succeeding at all three sports.

Are there any times, though, when you just sit back and wonder what you could do if you ran spring track?

I do that all the time. We had the Falcon Invitational [track meet] here, and I heard the 400 called. I was begging my coach to let me run, but it was like, "No, you're doing baseball. You're doing baseball." I was like, "Come on coach, can I just do it once?" I mean, I've always wondered about it, but since baseball has been my main sport -- I've been playing it since I was 5 -- it's just in me.

Have you had any thoughts about trying to play two sports in college?

I have considered it, but the only thing is, I really want to go Division I. It's harder for players in D-I to get scholarships for both track and baseball. The two sports makes it difficult because of injury and the problem with focusing on one sport.

So are you planning to pursue a baseball career at the next level?

Right now I am. I'm getting some looks from U.Va. and West Virginia and some other D-I schools.

Related topic galleries: Awards and Prizes, Athletics, Track and Field, Major League Baseball

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