Athlete of the Week - Windermere Observer: Nick Berroa

Dr. Phillips Little League’s Seniors (ages 15-16) beat Winter Garden in a best-of-three series to settle the District 14 Championship earlier this month. Helping to lead the way was catcher Nick Berroa, who finished the season with a .621 batting average and .790 on-base percentage.

What was it like deciding the district title in a best-of-three series against a rival like Winter Garden?

Coming into the series, we knew it was going to be tough and we knew we had to give them our best. … It pretty much came down to the last game, and we battled through it, and we won.

What was your favorite memory from this past season?

One of our pitchers, Chris Hosoda, he threw a no-hitter. I was the catcher for that game. Through the whole game, teammates were just whispering about it. At the end of the game, we did a dog-pile on the mound.

What do you enjoy about playing catcher?

Everybody tells me it’s the hardest position, but I just like being involved in every play. 

You’ll be a senior in high school this fall — have you given much thought to plans for college?

I want to go to college in state, maybe at Stetson or FSU. I want to study sports management and get a job as a manager or coach one day.

Do you have any hobbies?

Pretty much everything I do is centered around baseball — it’s kind of weird. If I’m not playing, I’m watching or playing fantasy baseball.

What’s something you learned about in school this year that you found surprisingly interesting?

Honestly, it was probably economics — how money works and business stuff like that. We got a couple lessons in economics that really opened my eyes.

Your father, Nelson, is a cancer survivor. What is something you learned from going through that ordeal with him?

When he was in the hospital all the time, he always used to say, “Whatever you do, be the best at it.” That’s something I took away from him and that I’ll pass on to my kids, too.

Is there a particular movie this summer you are looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to “Central Intelligence” with Kevin Hart and the Dwayne Johnson. That seems like a funny movie. Also, I’m looking forward to “Finding Dory,” too, since “Finding Nemo” was a really popular movie from my childhood. 

The Orlando community dealt with a horrific tragedy recently. What did you takeaway from how the community responded?

It’s nice to see that, no matter what happens, Orlando as a community will always come together to support everybody — no matter who they are.