Interview by Caroline Brown, Abernathy Cochran intern and Gainesville High School senior
Meet Luke England! Luke is a senior at East Hall High School and is a catcher on the Vikings baseball team. His parents are Tommy and Amy England and he has one sister; Lanie. In his spare time he likes to hunt and fish.
We want to thank Luke for spending time with us recently and telling us more about his life and love of Hall County.
Question: What is your favorite thing about East Hall High School?
Answer: “I guess just my friends. Everybody knows each other at East Hall and that’s the cool thing about it, I never meet a stranger.”
Q: Why do you love playing baseball?
A: “I have played since a young age. I love the part that there is never one all star on the team. It’s a whole team effort and you can’t win by yourself. I love the collaborating aspect. But, it’s a little bit more relaxed than other sports, yet still upbeat.”
Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in Hall County?
A: “Definitely Johnny’s BBQ. I get the combo meal with a BBQ sandwich, French fries, and some banana pudding.”
Q: Who is your favorite teacher/coach?
A: “Probably Mitch Richmond from the travel team, Commerce Baseball.”
Q: Why do you love Hall County?
A: “I like that it’s a big community. There’s everything that you can find here and things to do, but yet still a small town. Everybody knows each other.”
Q: What is one lesson that you’ve learned from playing baseball?
A: “I’ve learned that it’s possible to find family outside of your family and no matter what happens that you still have people to rely on. I have also learned that you can’t go about your life thinking in the past, you have to keep moving forward because if you don’t, it will just drag you down.”
Q: What is your advice to younger athletes that play baseball?
A: “Probably the biggest thing is to not take it for granted because it goes by so fast. Also, you should treat everyday like it’s going to be your last practice. You have to forget about all of the negative things and just continue to try to play better. Even if you have a rough day, do not let it defeat you.”
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: “I am going to go to Lanier Tech. I am actually fully dual enrolled right now. I should graduate with an HVAC degree, next spring. After that, I am just going to go to work. I am not planning to play baseball after high school, not right now at least.”
Q: When does your baseball season start and what do you expect for the upcoming season?
A: “Baseball started last week for practice. However, our games start February 16th. My personal goal is to remember to not take this season for granted and to soak in the memories and to just have fun my senior year. As a team goal, I want the team to act more as a mentor to the younger generations because I knew how much of an impact that the past seniors had on me. My 8th grade, freshman, and sophomore year, I really looked up to the seniors and just had that little bit of insight that went a long way. I want to be more as a leader and show the younger kids what it means to be a part of a team and all of the things that come with it.”
