February 13, 2004
| Amanda Burke, an all-conference and all-region midfielder on the nationally-ranked Texas A&M soccer team, will spend some time visiting this spring with fellow student-athletes in a new feature here on AggieAthletics.com. Amanda sat down this week with Justin Moore, a senior pitcher on the 21st-ranked Texas A&M baseball team. Justin and the Aggies open the season this weekend against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
This week you guys have had to move some practices indoors and even cancel some due to the nasty weather conditions. What kind of effects do you think this will have on your personal game as well as your team's game? "It didn't really affect me too much because all I need to do is throw and run, so I got to go to the Rec Center and do that. As far as the team, I think we've been ready since last week because we're all so anxious to play. It's just kind of irritating not being able to go out to practice everyday, but yesterday we got to go to the Rec to run and get a sweat going. I think we'll be ready to play. I don't think it will be a big issue." There are a lot of new pitchers on your roster for this season, both transfers and incoming freshmen. What kinds of things are you looking forward to with these new pitchers? "Yeah...I think this will be exciting to see. As far as starters, I think they'll be very good. I think they'll be as good as any starters since I've been here. I think the biggest question will be in the bullpen. I don't question anybody's talent. It's just that we've never seen any of those guys in a real game yet, so that will tell with experience. I'm excited to see those guys get out there because I think they'll do really well. They all have a lot of confidence. They just need a little experience, and they'll be ready to go." Do you guys have any specific team goals set for this season? "Of course. First, it would probably be to win the Big 12. We came so close last year, and it was kind of heartbreaking at the end when we came up just a game short. So, that's probably the biggest goal for this year along with making it to Omaha to win a National Championship. I think that's a lot of teams' goals, but I think it's actually a realistic goal for our team this year." You've had to deal with a lot of adversity as a player, especially being injured last year and having to sit out and watch. What kind of an effect has that had on you? "I think it's had a positive effect. I mean it was probably the most frustrating thing I've been through because I wanted to play so bad, and it was a team that was so much fun to be around. We were winning, and I was just getting to watch from the side. But I learned a lot. I learned how to deal with adversity. I got to watch pitching and kind of step back and look at it from a different angle and learn what I wanted to do when I got back. Everyday I was rehabbing, I kept telling myself 'You've got to get stronger. You've got to get better.' I knew my arm would eventually get there. It just took a lot longer than I wanted it to, but I can't wait for this season now." As far as game day preparations, do you have any quirky superstitions? "(Laughing) I'm pretty superstitious. I do the same routine everyday. I get [to the field] a little early. I always shag fly balls to center field. A lot of pitchers don't like to do anything. They like to just sit in the locker room, but I like to get my blood flowing. So, I shag balls and then come in and ride the bike for about 15 minutes to get loose and stretch out. Then I'm always on the left field foul line exactly when it hits 30 minutes before the game. I run line to line. My routine is always the same. Just little things like that, but I have so many." What was it like growing up being the son of two Aggie parents? Did you always know you'd come here? "I have been an Aggie since I was born. It was a lot of fun. I have pictures from A&M football camp with R.C. Slocum, baseball camp with Coach Johnson, and I came to basketball camp here almost every summer. I even have an A&M border in my room ever since I was a little kid. I've always wanted to come here, so it was a dream come true." You talked about the camps that you attended here at A&M while you were growing up, and judging by your 6'4" height and your athleticism, you must have competed in other sports in high school. Which sports were you also involved in? "All the way up through my senior year, I played baseball, basketball and football. I loved all three of them. After my senior year, I always wanted to play baseball. I knew that was what I'd do, but after my senior year I had to make a tough decision. I almost went and played football, but once I found out that I could come here for baseball, it wasn't a decision anymore." |
