Student-athletes are a vital part of any high school sporting program. Before the athlete can play, he or she must first recognize they are a student first. Passing classes is as important as having the skill to play the game. While many high school programs wrestle with having talent or enough passing players, Northside senior centerfielder, George Davila, is working so that his team isn’t lacking in either category.
“George is a fantastic player. He loves the game of baseball. He gives 100%, 100% of the time,” said Northside head baseball coach Todd Brown. “I haven’t had a player like him in many years and I’ve been doing this since 2000. He brings leadership to the team when he’s on the field, he raises the playing level of all the players playing. He’s also great with the younger players on our team, reminding them of the importance of passing classes and staying eligible.”
Davila began his baseball career as a kid playing tee ball with the Denver Harbor Little League. When he entered the 6th grade, he switched to play with Heights Norhill Little League where he played against Alberto Ramirez, a dominant player who now plays at Waltrip High School.
“We’ve been competing against each other for a long time. He’s a good competitor and a great baseball player. It’s fun competing against him,” said Davila.
As Davila got older his love for baseball deepened as he began to play travel ball with the Houston ACES.
“Travel ball is different. You think you’re really good until you play against better teams, and then you realize there are so many good players and maybe you’re not that good. Travel ball will humble you, but it also makes you want to work and get better as you face better competition,” said Davila.
Freshman year at Northside High School, Davila wasn’t in the starting rotation. While sitting on the bench, he began to reflect on areas he could improve to become a more successful player, both on the diamond and in the classroom.
“Sitting on the bench made me reflect and I learned it’s important for me to be more consistent in the classroom so I could play more games,” said Davila.
George Davila
IG: @htxgeoo
Position: Centerfielder
Height & weight: 5-feet-10, 150 pounds
Players he studies: Drew Burress (Georgia Tech), Kyle Tucker (Houston Astros), Michael Brantley (Houston Astros)
Status: Uncommitted
Favorite artist: Frank Ocean, Drake
Favorite subject: History
Shout-outs: Family, Northside High School
With this thought process, Davila began to encourage his teammates to take schooling as seriously as they took playing in the game.
During Davila’s sophomore season, he became a starter at center field and never looked back.
“George has grown tremendously since his freshman year. When he first came to us he was an infielder only and he knew what position he was going to play. Over the years he saw what we needed were outfielders with speed. He was one of the fastest players on the team and he was willing to adapt to our needs and rise to the occasion,” said Brown
Davila wasn’t new to fielding pop flies. In fact, earlier in his baseball career his dad made sure he got enough practice fielding balls as they would go hours upon hours on defense.
“My dad always put more emphasis on defense when I was younger,” said Davila. “We would field balls for hours because he told us we couldn’t bat until we got three outs, and it would take us forever to get the three outs.”
The absence of hitting stuck with Davila as he got older. The love for hitting drew Davila to admire other hitters who were skilled at attacking the ball off the swing.
“I watch a lot of Drew Burress from Georgia Tech. He’s a nice hitter, he hits everything. He has a unique batting stance and a really pretty swing,” said Davila.
Burress is a 5-foot-9 freshman who currently leads the nation in home runs.
“I also enjoy watching Kyle Tucker and Michael Brantley from the Houston Astros, they’re both consistent hitters and they can move in the outfield.
Davila finds that playing baseball helps him to relax. He has yet to commit to a collegiate program but hopes to find a good fit.
“I just want an opportunity to play somewhere and get an education.”
Davila recalls the advice given to him by his dad when he looks to inspire the next group of young athletes.
“Work hard, you are not cheating anybody but yourself, don’t cheat yourself,” said Davila.
