What started as a game to play with his friends is now something that Marcus Heath hope he can turn into a career.
The third baseman for Sinclair Community College’s baseball team, Heath was always involved in sports growing up, and he said he took a likening to baseball immediately.
“My mom signed me up for baseball at five, and I was not very good my first year playing,” Heath said. “But I really enjoyed the game, and with the support of my parents I continued to work at it. For my second year playing I came out strong.”
Heath said that his parents always taught him to “work hard and be the best,” a lesson that he takes into everything he does.
While attending Badger High School, Heath was a multiple sport star. He earned 2nd-team All-Ohio in soccer, All-Region in basketball, All-Conference in golf, and also ran track. He also earned a 4.0 grade point average through high school.
But baseball was always his main sport. Heath had a .600 batting average in his high school career and earned first team All-Conference for all four years of high school, Heath earned a scholarship to the University of Cincinnati.
“I enjoyed my time at UC, but I realized it was not the place for me,” Heath said. “So after the season I started looking for transfer opportunities.”
With the support of the coaches at UC, Heath began looking at different schools like Wabash Community College and Sinclair.
“I came to Sinclair for a visit and it seemed like a great school to attend,” Heath said. “Not only is the team very successful, but this is a great academic school as well.”
Heath, who transferred to Sinclair in the fall, is performing well this season. As of April 26, he was batting .450 with eight home runs and over 50 RBI. He said he knows that his game has evolved and gotten better because of the coaching he has received.
“The coaches have helped me a great deal this season,” Heath said. “They let me know I had all the physical ability in the world, but I could become better mentally. Baseball is a game where the best players fail seven out of ten times so mentally you have to be tough.”
Heath has also taken that attitude into the classroom. A Criminal Justice major, he has kept a 3.85 GPA while taking 20 credit hours for the whole academic year. He would like to eventually go to law school and get into politics after his baseball career is over.
“It may seem like a lot but you just have to apply yourself and get things done,” Heath said. “I work very hard I never take the easy way out.”