Vaselenak sees improvements with maturity and leadership during time with Bulls

By Lethbridge Herald on June 16, 2023.

Herald Photo by Justin Seward Herald photo by Justin SewarD Lethbridge BullsÕ Torrin Vaselenak high fives teammates after defeating the Okotoks Dawgs on Thursday night.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

Coaldale’s Torrin Vaselenak is in his last of four seasons with the Lethbridge Bulls and he looks back at how much he has matured and taking on a leadership mentality with the team.

“You know, it’s just a maturity thing (and) is something you get with age all the  time, right,” said Vaselenak.

“But coming back and getting the coach’s perspective that I kind of have grown up with throughout my baseball career, (and)  getting that back every summer is always a good thing just because it’s kind of how I’ve grown up to become the baseball player I am, is with these coaching perspectives from these coaches here.”

Those perspectives have come from former Bulls coach  Jesse Sawyer and current coach Chance Wheatley.

“I think they’ve always had trust in me as a player and as a person,” he said.

“You know I’ve always tried to perform my best for them on and off the field. The biggest thing with them is trust that they have in me and I have in them. So I think that’s helped a lot.”

Vaselenak played for the Prairie Baseball Academy before heading down to play for University of Arkansas-Monticello for the past four years and coming back up each summer to play for the Bulls.

“It’s definitely helped a lot because being down south in Arkansas, we can start playing a lot earlier outside and play a lot later into the fall outside because they just don’t get the snow and the cold like we do up here, right,” he said.

“So, you’re getting a lot more ABs (at bats), a lot more time on the field, a lot more reps and everything just because how nice the weather is all the time.”

With being a senior player on the team, Vaselenak says your roles kind of fall into place as everybody gets to know each other.

“As everyone, you know, takes on their roles, it kind of all falls into place,” he said.

“But I think I have  become somewhat of leader for these guys.  And I hope  that they can look up to me and look back when I’m gone ,and maybe learn from some things I did or some things that I didn’t do and just be able to use me as an example.”

He went into this summer with the focus of not having any regrets left out on the diamond.

“You know make sure that I’ve always been putting … the work in off the field and do everything I can on the field to help my team and hopefully have personal success as well,” said Vaselenak.

“So as long as I can look back and just say that I did everything that I can, I’ll be happy with that.”

Vaselenak said it’s been rewarding playing for the Bulls.

“Because you know I would come to the games when I was younger and when you’re younger and you’re a kid, you look up to these guys (as) they’re like professional baseball players to you when you’re a kid, like they’re the real deal” said Vaselenak.

“And growing up watching them and then being able to play (and) have a career with them throughout my college career, it’s been rewarding.  And also it’s cool to look back on and you know have that story kind of develop for myself.”

His most memorable moment was being on the 2021 team that won the championship.