BASEBALL

Athlete of the Week

Adapting to change

Former Page star Littleman is first Diné to pitch for Wildcats

By Candace Begody
Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK, April 7, 2011

After one year, Vincent Littleman is a changed man.

If you ask the first Navajo to pitch for the University of Arizona baseball team, he'll tell you change has definitely come and in more ways than one - on the mound and in the classroom.

"I feel like I've improved in a lot of ways," said Littleman, 20, from Lechee, Ariz. "Our coach talks a lot about life and becoming a man. I became mentally tougher and being mentally tough is a big part of succeeding in college athletics and academics."

Last year, Littleman, currently a sophomore majoring in business, was like any other freshman.

"He wasn't a lot of different," said Andy Lopez, 10-year head coach for the Wildcats. "But with some adjustments, he was able to handle college baseball. He did very well academically and he did a good job being away from home."

In order to play in a Division I program, one must "have talent, have the discipline, and the ability to balance their baseball and academic life," Lopez said.

Throwing strikes

At first sight, Lopez said he knew Littleman had something to offer the Wildcat baseball team, currently ranked No. 12 in the nation.

"When I first watched him pitch," said Lopez, of a tournament in Peoria, Ariz., "I saw a young left-handed pitcher who could throw strikes. He was throwing strikes and had an overall good presence on mound."

Lopez then invited Littleman, then a high school senior, to Tucson.

"The coaching staff talked to him and something that impressed us was his self-discipline," he said. "I could tell he was very disciplined and very goal oriented. He wanted to accomplish things in his life and that's what we look for."

Littleman was aware of the challenges ahead when he signed with the Wildcats - the first was moving from small town Page to a college campus with over 50,000 students.

"I came from a small town and to be playing for one of the best baseball program's in the nation, I was a little scared, intimidated and confused about a lot of things," he said. "I knew the game would be faster with players who were better, stronger, and the team had pitchers that threw harder than I was used to.

"It took some time to adapt to the game speed and the talent level here," he said.

Keys to success

Littleman said keys to his success were finding a routine and continuing to practice like he always had since his days of playing Tee Ball.

"It took me a couple of weeks to find a routine but I did and I kept playing, kept practicing," he said. "I began to feel like I deserved to be here and I was good enough to play with the guys."

During his collegiate debut last year against the University of Las Vegas, Las Vegas he managed to set himself apart in the three innings that he pitched.

"I was definitely nervous," he said. "But when I got on the mound, I took a deep breath and told myself it was just another baseball game. I started throwing and ended up doing really good."

Littleman gave up one run, two hits and struck out four.

"It gave me a lot of confidence," he said. "It told me that I deserved to be here and I am capable of competing here. My mentality changed - I'm supposed to be here, I do belong here."

Lopez said many freshmen struggle with balancing out their social, academic and athletic life.

"In college, you have to be able to balance those things," he said. "A lot of guys will focus on one thing or the other, some forget that they're here to get their degrees first and that starts slipping from them.

"But Vincent is a good example for people to follow," said Lopez, adding that Vincent is the first Navajo he has coached in his 35-year career. "He's a good young man, he's a joy to be around and it's been a really neat experience for us to have him."

On the right track

Littleman has maintained a 3.5 grade-point average and was recently accepted to the Eller College of Management, which is ranked No. 13 in the nation's business schools.

It's too early in the season to tell what Littleman will bring for the year, Lopez said, but so far, he's on the right track.

"It's still very early but he's doing well," Lopez said. "He's continuing to get better and that's the only thing you can ask as a coach - to get better, and he's been doing just that."

The Wildcats are currently 17-8.

"I have a very young team with a lot of sophomores," Lopez said. "He is doing well and getting a chance to pitch. He pitches two to three innings in the middle part of game."

Littleman still has two years to go but that doesn't stop him from reflecting on his storied journey.

"When I'm off the field, I do sometimes think about how I got here and why it was me," he said. "Why am I one of the very few to get the chance to get past high school athletics.

"Out of all the sports, I just felt like it was my cup of tea," he said. "It grew onto me and I felt like I could succeed in this area so I stuck with it. I never guessed I'd be where I'm at now. Looking back, I didn't expect to be here. I proved myself wrong."

It's different when he's on the mound in uniform.

"I don't think about anything when I'm on the mound," he said. "I just think about getting the hitter out. When I'm on the field, I only think about baseball."

Littleman realizes that for now, he is only one of a handful to play at a division I baseball program and may be for years to come, but he doesn't take it for granted.

"I think of all the other kids that would kill to be in my position," he said. "I try to do my best, to work hard and succeed not only in baseball, but in school too."

It's taken sacrifice for Littleman and his parents Raymond Littleman and Mae Shirley of Page, Ariz.

"My mom and dad gave up a lot of money to help me enhance my skills," he said. "They were always the one to fork out the money so I could play.

"And I sacrificed a lot of my time," he added. "I missed out on spending time with my friends because I was always traveling to games and would practice almost every day."

Littleman said his parents have made several trip 8 to 9 hour trips from Page to watch his games, but his No. 1 fan is uncle Erwin Kaisiem.

"Out of everyone in my family, he came to most of my games," he said of his uncle, who works in Phoenix area. "I'm very thankful for the fans I have - they've always supported me."

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