Spring Break
Stepping up to the plate
Junior Kyle Thebeau said that a summer in the Cape Cod League will prepare him for success in 2008
By: Brad Cox
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Sports
Even though A&M ultimately lost to Rice in the Houston super regional, failing to make it to the College World Series, Thebeau established himself as a leader on the mound. In 2008, Thebeau will have to help fill the shoes of Kyle Nicholson and David Newmann, two starters who have moved on to professional careers.
"Those guys did some pretty amazing things for us last year," Thebeau said. "You don't really replace those guys. I hope to step up but I want to respect them and what they've done. I'm going to try my best to do better than them."
A&M Head Coach Rob Childress said he expects big things out of the junior pitcher in 2008.
"He needs to be a guy we can count on every week in the rotation," Childress said. "It's his time and he's ready. He goes about his business in a different way than he's ever done before. You can just see the maturity, the leadership and the expectation that he has for himself and this team."
Though he is quickly becoming a leader of the Aggie baseball team, Thebeau has had to juggle his baseball responsibilities while managing his grades as a petroleum engineering major.
"It's really hard," Thebeau said about handling his major. "It's a lot of time management and delegating responsibilities. There are a lot of times when you don't want to study because you're kind of worn out, but you have to force yourself to do that. Sometimes emotionally, it's tough to do that after losses."
Baseball has played an important role in Thebeau's life, but sometimes being a student athlete with limited social time has proven to be difficult.
"I'm between a half and a full point higher in first semester with grades than I am second semester with grades," Thebeau said. "Baseball really does play an emotional role on how school goes. I also have a somewhat limited social time, but it makes the times that I am able to hang out with my friends a lot better."
When he's not playing baseball or studying for a test, fishing for trout in the Gulf of Mexico is one of his favorite activities. His grandfather has a ranch near George West, Texas, where he can hunt white tail deer.
"Sometimes I don't get to do those things as much as I like," Thebeau said. "But when I do get a chance, I really enjoy it."
A number of faces for the Aggies have changed during the offseason. Junior starters David Newmann, Gary Campfield and infielder Brandon Hicks left A&M for professional contracts. Six seniors moved on following the season.
"It is definitely going to be a very different team than last year's team," Thebeau said. "But I feel like we're going to be very competitive."
"Those guys did some pretty amazing things for us last year," Thebeau said. "You don't really replace those guys. I hope to step up but I want to respect them and what they've done. I'm going to try my best to do better than them."
A&M Head Coach Rob Childress said he expects big things out of the junior pitcher in 2008.
"He needs to be a guy we can count on every week in the rotation," Childress said. "It's his time and he's ready. He goes about his business in a different way than he's ever done before. You can just see the maturity, the leadership and the expectation that he has for himself and this team."
Though he is quickly becoming a leader of the Aggie baseball team, Thebeau has had to juggle his baseball responsibilities while managing his grades as a petroleum engineering major.
"It's really hard," Thebeau said about handling his major. "It's a lot of time management and delegating responsibilities. There are a lot of times when you don't want to study because you're kind of worn out, but you have to force yourself to do that. Sometimes emotionally, it's tough to do that after losses."
Baseball has played an important role in Thebeau's life, but sometimes being a student athlete with limited social time has proven to be difficult.
"I'm between a half and a full point higher in first semester with grades than I am second semester with grades," Thebeau said. "Baseball really does play an emotional role on how school goes. I also have a somewhat limited social time, but it makes the times that I am able to hang out with my friends a lot better."
When he's not playing baseball or studying for a test, fishing for trout in the Gulf of Mexico is one of his favorite activities. His grandfather has a ranch near George West, Texas, where he can hunt white tail deer.
"Sometimes I don't get to do those things as much as I like," Thebeau said. "But when I do get a chance, I really enjoy it."
A number of faces for the Aggies have changed during the offseason. Junior starters David Newmann, Gary Campfield and infielder Brandon Hicks left A&M for professional contracts. Six seniors moved on following the season.
"It is definitely going to be a very different team than last year's team," Thebeau said. "But I feel like we're going to be very competitive."
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