By Pia Perthen, Sports Editor
Saint Leo University visitors, students, and faculty can see the well-kept Saint Leo Thomas B. Southard Stadium as they drive onto campus and follow the road to the right. If they are lucky, they can observe the Saint Leo Baseball players pursuing their dream of playing college baseball and catch them practicing or playing a baseball match.
One of these baseball team players is Charles Lefebvre, a senior born and raised in Laval, Canada, majoring in biomedical science. Lefebvre, playing as a right-hand pitcher, is not new to the sport as he has played baseball since he was a little child.
“My dad first taught me the game of baseball when I was only four years old. I consider my dad as my idol, and he is also the best coach I have ever had,“ Lefebvre said.
Lefebvre remarks that playing in the first game of his Saint Leo career is one of his favorite memories from Saint Leo. The team defeated Florida Southern College, and Lefebvre was the winning pitcher. As in any sport, many ups and downs are associated with an athletic career; however, Lefebvre has a good attitude towards that.
“Baseball is a game of failure, so I love how it teaches us to persevere against adversity,” Lefebvre said.
It is quite challenging to balance practice and games with completing a degree at university, but Lefebvre seems to have it under control. Keeping a 4.0 GPA while having a record of three wins and no losses as a pitcher during the 2022 season demonstrates that Lefebvre puts the student into student-athlete. To keep in shape for the upcoming baseball season in Spring 2024, Lefebvre is practicing five to six times a week during Fall.
“During breaks, I keep practicing five to six times a week as well in order to be ready for Spring season,” said Lefebvre. “Since we don’t really have any breaks during the Spring season, we can’t take off during the winter. Otherwise, we might hurt ourselves if we’re not ready for the workload.”
Lefebvre’s work ethic in his sport and schoolwork is motivated by his future goals and aspirations. He is striving to play professional baseball and would like to pursue sports medicine after college. Fitting his character, Lefebvre gives his 100% in everything he does.
“My motto is no regrets. When I am done playing baseball, I don’t want to have any regrets. I want to know I gave my absolute best every single day,” Lefebvre said.
Apart from baseball, Lefebvre is interested in order sports as well. Since he grew up in Montreal, hockey has been a big part of his life. Lefebvre loves to play and watch hockey, and his friends can catch him watching hockey games on his phone in the most random places.
Since Christmas and the highly anticipated Christmas break are approaching soon, Lefebvre shared his favorite Christmas song, Minuit Chrétien, translated into English as “O Holy Night.” Lefebvre cannot wait to go home over the winter break to spend time with his family and friends, as well as eat some poutine, a dish originated from Quebec made of french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy.
