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08/11/2023 05:45 PMWhile other toddlers were playing in their toy boxes with trucks and various other trinkets, John Onofrio took his play time outside with a bat, ball, and glove in his hands, which helped give him the tools and talents to assume a massive leadership role within the North Branford baseball team.
The T-birds’ Class of 2023 member played baseball and hoops throughout high school, yet the diamond has always been his main and first love since playing in the yard with his dad at a young age. This past spring, he concluded his tenure with the Thunderbirds by being a senior captain and infield leader at shortstop, as North Branford made the Shoreline Conference Tournament final and returned to the Class M State Tournament following a 12-8 regular season. John batted for a .433 average with 22 RBI in making First Team All-Shoreline, the All-State Team, being named Team MVP, and being select to play in the CHSCA Senior All-Star Game.
“I got into baseball when I was young, and I loved the game. My dad jokes that I skipped the sandbox phase as a kid and went right to baseball,” says John. “The biggest things for me have been discipline and hard work, along with understanding failure within the game and that it will happen. It is all about how you take on that failure and respond to it.”
Speaking more to those instances of miscues and coming up short within a sport based so much upon averages and probability, John embraces it all rather than running from it–loving the challenge and ensuing payoff of becoming a better person and player from it.
“I like to analyze all of my at-bats and not focus on the result of each, but rather things like making good contact on a ball that is hit where I am out,” John says. “I am always looking to see where I can improve. Sometimes, it will end in failure and sometimes it will not. It is about understanding what you have to fix and enjoying the process of fixing it.”
As the main man of the infield at short, John notes it was the culmination of his entire defensive career within the game. He looks forward to the obstacles and hurdles of seeing a lot of action at the No. 5 designation on defense, while trying to get a leg up any way possible.
“Shortstop was fun; I played shortstop all of my life,” says John. “I love doing the little things to get an edge, such as reading the pitcher, catcher, and hitter’s motions and where to play. In my opinion, it is the hardest spot to play, because you have to cover the most range and have the most balls hit to you, but I love it.”
Leading off the field as well, John had nothing but pure enjoyment as he had the admiring eyes and support of his contemporary and younger teammates.
“Being a captain was a pleasure in all aspects,” John says. “The younger guys never gave me a problem as captain, and I remember how the older guys were great mentors to me when I was younger, so I wanted to be the same person for them. There was no other team I would have rather played for than North Branford.”
North Branford skipper Billy Mitchell states that while John ranked towards the top in terms of tenacious players he has seen in his tenure at the helm, he was additionally a top-notch and quality role model for the squad.
“I was lucky to have three great captains this year that each brought something different to the team,” says Mitchell. “But John was an intense, hard-nosed, old- school type of player. He ranks right up there in terms of all the hard-nosed players I have coached here. He led by example and was a leader off the field. He was just a great kid, and he was a pleasure to be around.”
Over the course of the last three spring seasons, John saw a professional growth in terms of his baseball skill set and acumen, though through the ups and downs, he acquired the intangibles to take him far into the future phases of his life.
“We had no season my freshman year [COVID season], and then I struggled on offense my sophomore year. It was a wake up call to me for the effort needed for the game, and it was the biggest moment for my growth,” says John. “The work I put in had the biggest impact on me. Everything I learned about life I learned from baseball. I look to maintain good grades in college while going for a degree in criminal justice. I also want to go as far with baseball as it can take me. No matter what happens in the future, I will give it all I got.”