Time for Mondile to be a team leader for Gloucester Catholic
Tyler Mondile always was the young guy, playing up. He always was the 10-year-old playing with the 12s, the 13-year-old playing with the 15s, the sophomore playing with the seniors.
Tyler Mondile always was the young guy, playing up.
He always was the 10-year-old playing with the 12s, the 13-year-old playing with the 15s, the sophomore playing with the seniors.
This season is different.
Mondile is a senior righthander for the Gloucester Catholic baseball team. In addition to the traditional task of mowing down hitters with electric stuff that includes a fastball that recently touched 96 mph on a radar gun, the veteran has a new and equally important role: team leader.
"That's different for me, but I'm enjoying it," Mondile said. "I know I have to speak up, set an example. I have to show the young guys the way things are done at Gloucester Catholic."
Mondile has been a varsity pitcher for four years. He's also a seasoned veteran of three long summers with the Brooklawn American Legion baseball team, which has featured several players from the Gloucester Catholic program in its drive to three consecutive appearances in the American Legion World Series.
But through his high school career - and even further back, when he was a young phenom with a live arm - Mondile has always been surrounded by older players who showed the way.
Mondile said he was close with several 2015 Gloucester Catholic graduates such as Fran Kinsey (now at Iona), Sean Breen (Iona), and Anthony Harrold (Wagner).
"I feel like I played with those guys since I was 7 years old," Mondile said.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Mondile knows he has to assume a different role this season for a Gloucester Catholic team with a new coach in Adam Tussey and several young players expected to fill prominent positions.
"He's embraced it," Tussey said of Mondile's leadership. "Just little things, getting us going with stretching, making sure guys are doing things the right way.
"Guys look up to him. They know what's he's done. He can set the example for your younger guys."
Mondile and senior lefty Eric Grafton are veteran leaders of a team that is undergoing a little bit of a transition with a new coaching staff and several new starters.
Mondile is a Florida State recruit. He also is high on professional scouts' lists of high school players to watch this season.
He knows that the scouts want to see more than his work on the mound. That's only part of what they evaluate.
They also want to see him display the maturity that would move them to recommend that he's worth the investment of a high draft pick.
He's not the young gun on the rise anymore. He's the senior with the most responsibility.
He's determined to live up to that, on the mound and off.
"I know this is a different kind of year for me," Mondile said. "I know how important it is that I show I can be a leader."
@PhilAnastasia