John Bini
Elementary Education Major
Class of 2020
Position: Pitcher
What has been your favorite baseball memory?
The trip every year in the spring to Florida. It’s a long bus ride, about 15 hours, so being able to hang out with the guys on the bus, watching movies, making jokes, and playing games. When we get down there we stay in a condo or a house. It’s a great experience to get away from school with the guys on the team.
What is unique about Grove City’s baseball team?
Our coach is unique, Coach Royer has been coaching for a long time, he coached both DI and DII. He knows a lot about baseball and to get someone with that knowledge with a Division III program is unique, and how much he wants to teach the human being not just the athlete, he focused on character, respect, and responsibility.
What should a perspective baseball player know?
It’s more important choosing the school over the sport. Choosing a solid school that’s not going to make you a better athletes but a better person overall is very important. Look into the school itself and not just the baseball team.
How was the program different from what you thought it would be coming in as a prospective athlete?
We had a coaching change freshman year, and he [Coach Royer] turned the whole program around. I thought it would be fun and not too serious and I’d be here to get a good education. We are a team that’s about getting better at the sport and putting the time in.
What has your baseball experience been like over the past four years and how did baseball affect your collegiate experience?
It is a time commitment, so with any sport you will have time you can dedicate to your friends, socially it has helped them a lot because you met different people, in your classes you’ll meet people from your same major. With baseball you have that commonality but you meet different people in different majors and with different perspectives. I’m better structured during baseball season, so I can keep my class schedule and my study schedule. It’s helped me be more responsible
What advice would you give to someone who is on the edge of playing baseball at GCC?
The most important thing for a prospective student is to not get stuck on the DIII tag that they are a joke. Come to the school, see how we play, talk to the coach. The team as a whole is really committed to baseball, everyone on the team loves baseball and loves to play, and the knowledge you get isn’t something to can get anywhere else.
