PEABODY — Peabody senior Eli Batista says his favourite NFL participant to look at is New York Giants working again Saquon Barkley. And very like the previous Penn State star, Batista can do all of it on the soccer area.
And it’s these skills that has helped a as soon as dormant Peabody soccer staff flip into one of many state’s greatest lately as winners of 21 of their final 22 video games underneath coach Mark Bettencourt.
For pretty much as good and gifted as Batista is, when you ask Bettencourt, he’s fast to say the senior most likely hasn’t gotten all the popularity as a result of him thanks largely to how gifted Peabody was final season.
“It was all about Shea (Lynch), Danny (Barrett) and all those guys last season so Eli was kind of underrated,” Bettencourt mentioned. “But what Eli has is a lot of self confidence without cockiness. He’s very humble and very coachable.”
Though he stands solely 5-9 and weighs simply 160 kilos, Batista performs and performs a lot greater, particularly when the competitors is at its fiercest.
“He just oozes leadership by example,” Bettencourt mentioned. “If he was, say, 6-2, he’d be getting recruited by Alabama, Georgia and Clemson.”
After dropping a gifted senior class, most believed the Tanners would take a step again to the pack this season. Batista admits that has been a driving drive within the Tanners’ 5-0 begin.
“We did have a lot of seniors last year but no one was seeing the other kids we had and they’ve all stepped up and are playing a bigger role for us this year,” Batista mentioned.
Even although he’s a weapon as a large receiver and a gifted defensive again, it’s one other place Batista says is his favourite.
“I like returning punts a lot,” Batista mentioned. “I feel like it lets me show off my speed a little bit.”
How a lot of a job mannequin has Batista been for the Tanners? According to Bettencourt, he’s been a giant one.
“He is the first one to come over and shake my hand after practice and he’s done that ever since he was a freshman,” Bettencourt mentioned. “You can’t find anyone that says a bad word about him. He’s truly been an amazing ambassador for Peabody football.”
With Peabody all however assured of constructing the Division 2 playoffs, Batista admits he and his teammates have greater objectives than simply making it into the match.
“We don’t want to lose in the first round like last season. This team is a family and our goal is to get to Gillette to play for a state title,” Batista mentioned. “I just want to see the rest of my teammates ball out.”
NAME: Eli Batista
SCHOOL: Peabody
AGE: 18
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5-9/160
POSITION: WR/DB
NICKNAME: E-Money
FAMILY: Samuel, Raquel, Sammy, Mya and Larissa
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Setting receiving, receptions and receiving landing data at Peabody
FAVORITE PERSONAL MOMENT IN SPORTS: Reaching 1,000 yards receiving
FAVORITE COURSE IN SCHOOL: Drama
LEAST FAVORITE COURSE IN SCHOOL: Anatomy
FAVORITE PIGOUT FOOD: Steak
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Stranger Things
FAVORITE MOVIE: Endgame
FAVORITE MUSICIAN: Lil’ Durk
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: Fortnite
FAVORITE SMARTPHONE APP: Snapchat
FAVORITE TWITTER ACCOUNT TO FOLLOW: NFL
FAVORITE PRO TEAM: New York Giants
FAVORITE ATHLETE: Saquon Barkley
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A GAME: Ice bathtub
IF YOU COULD BE SOMEONE ELSE FOR A DAY, WHO WOULD IT BE: Andrew Tate
CAREER AMBITIONS: Pro soccer participant
Source: www.bostonherald.com