Young Achiever Focused on His Future
Roseville, CA- 16-year old Josh Alger who plays varsity baseball and basketball at Roseville High School looks toward a bright future at UCLA with an eye toward professional sports.
What does your athletic involvement look like?
I play baseball and basketball for school as well as basketball on a travel team when I can. I play for NorCal Baseball Club during the summer. We travel all over the country to play against teams nationwide. I’ve also been selected to play baseball at the Area Code Games held in Los Angeles the past two years. My focus now is to work with my coach to improve my game and overall health. I also go to the gym to gain weight and become a stronger healthier version of myself.
How do you balance athletics and daily life?
I was a three-sport athlete at RHS with baseball, basketball and football until this year, my junior year. But it was a very tough balance between sports and school because year-round I was always busy. I knew I had to get my school work done to be able to play sports, so I learned a lot about time management. Now I balance basketball and baseball and the gym. Usually I go to practice right after school and then to the gym right after that. I’m trying to gain weight so I’m constantly eating. I do all this and try to balance my social life like hanging out with my friends. I’ve learned to plan ahead and map out what my week looks like so I am able to have social time as well as accomplish what I want to when it comes to sports.
At Roseville High School, you were pulled up to varsity baseball and basketball as a freshman. What was that experience like?
Yes. And it was crazy. I was friends with some of the kids before I got pulled up and when I joined the team they treated me like a brother and I blended right in with all of them. It was definitely an adjustment from playing against kids my age, so I had to figure out how to play at a high level. But I adjusted pretty quickly, especially with the help of my teammates and coaches. It was sort of surreal playing with kids three to four years older than me, but it helped me grow as a player and learn how to deal with adversity.
Have any experiences stood out for you?
The Area Code Games is probably the craziest experience I’ve had in a sports environment. You have to get referred by a professional scout and then you go tryout in front of all of them and they select you from there. I was surrounded by the best players in the country and the top college coaches filling up the stands. Being able to play with players like that made me elevate my game and gave me an idea of who I’m going to be competing against as I continue to move on in baseball.
Last year you committed to UCLA for baseball after looking into other schools, like USC and Stanford. What made you decide that’s the school for you?
After visiting several campuses and evaluating each school I got to go to, UCLA was the best fit overall. I love the campus and the area surrounding it and the relationships I developed with the coaches made it the perfect fit for me.
What role do you hope this plays in your future?
I would love to play professional sports someday. It’s something I work toward every day and set it as a goal to be successful enough to play there.
