Pojoaque athlete Gabe Huerta has accomplished another huge athletic feat.
After being selected to the 2017 Down Under Sports Track and Field Meet in Queensland, Australia, and winning a gold and bronze medal, he will now travel to Nebraska to participate in the Omaha National World Series baseball camp, hosted by Baseball Factory.
Baseball Factory is a company headquartered in Columbia, Md., that specializes in player development and college placement of high school baseball players. The camp, which is by invite only, will be held in two sessions during June. Huerta will be attending session one, from June 16-21.
He was surprised by a letter that was mailed to him, inviting him to participate in what he thought was just another baseball camp, March 11, in Albuquerque.
The family was running behind that day, which happened to be a cold and rainy afternoon.
“We were not even aware that it was a tryout,” Francine Huerta, Gabe Huerta’s mother, said. “We got down there late and Gabe missed the warm-up and he was completely cold, but he was still able to impress the coaches with his numbers and play.”
Certainly, running late didn’t help, and neither did the fact that Gabe Huerta was mostly surrounded by players from bigger schools in New Mexico.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it (the invite),” he said. “A lot of the players were from bigger schools and bigger than me. I’m still pretty small.”
Although small, Gabe Huerta posted some big numbers. He ran a 7.1 second 60-yard dash time, which was three-tenths below the high school average. He also recorded a 7-foot-6-inch broad jump, which came in at three inches better than the high school average.
On the field, the coaches were impressed with his play from his center field position, citing that he made all the routine plays.
During hitting drills, they noticed he had good hip action, was able to hit to all fields and extended well through the strike.
The Omaha National World Series will offer vast opportunities to players looking to improve their game.
They can expect skill-specific drills with numerous repetitions, tournament play, strength training and hands-on instruction from past professional players and college coaches.
The instructors at this years event will be Craig Minetto (former Oakland Athletics pitcher and current San Francisco Giants scout) and Mike Zolecki (former head coach at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wis., and 1993 fifth-round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies).
While Gabe Huerta said he is looking forward to everything this experience will offer, he is most interested in the strength-training aspect.
“I’m looking to get bigger and stronger so I can play baseball in college,” he said.
Although he has been a four-sport athlete at times, Gabe Huerta said he excels at baseball and is interested in pursuing its.
He has already had contact with a few colleges, including the University of New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands University.
Another benefit of being invited to the Omaha National World Series, is that players will have access to Baseball Factory’s college recruiting specialists, after the camp has concluded.
The goal is to promote players’ performances via email, to coaches and scouts, and to keep an updated player profile on a recruiting database used by coaches.
The camp will also offer the players invited, an opportunity of a lifetime to attend one of the College World Series games on June 18, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
The occasion will be extra special for Gabe Huerta.
“The game falls on his 17th birthday, it will be the perfect present,” Francine Huerta said.
Gabe Huerta was lucky to receive the athletic genes from his parents, Ronnie and Francine.
They both competed in sports growing up, with Ronnie Huerta standing out in baseball and football at Cobre High School in Bayard N.M., and Francine running track at Pojoaque Valley and competing as a rodeo queen for Rio Arriba County.
“We are both really proud of Gabe,” Ronnie Huerta said. “He’s come a long way and we’ve put a lot of money into it, so we would love to watch him play in college and maybe even the pros, some day.”
Gabe Huerta doesn’t believe he’s doing anything out the ordinary — just what most youth in Northern New Mexico end up doing, which is participate in multiple sports.
“It’s what gets you recognized,” he said. “The more sports you play, the better athlete you show that you are.”
You can catch Gabe Huerta in action next at 3 p.m., April 5, at Pojoaque Valley High School when the Elks host Sandia Prep.