COLLEGES: East Bridgewater's Ethan Forrest excels as two-sport college athlete
By: Jim Fenton/Brockton Enterprise
May 24, 2014
He was a two-sport standout at East Bridgewater High School, earning Enterprise All-Scholastic honors in both soccer and baseball.
Ethan Forrest figured he would be playing just one of those sports in college, so he chose baseball after being recruited by Newbury College.
During a visit to the school in Brookline last summer, though, Forrest met Nighthawks soccer coach Andrew Lafrenz and started discussing the possibility of remaining a two-sport athlete.
"I did not plan on playing soccer until I went to a prep day at school in July," said Forrest. "I had gone there just to play baseball, and then I met the soccer coach that day.
"I told him I wasn't really thinking about playing soccer. I gave him my coach's number at East Bridgewater. He invited me to go to preseason camp just to see if I'd like it and if I could manage playing two sports."
It didn't take long for Lafrenz and his coaching staff to learn that Forrest, who had 24 goals and 15 assists as a senior at East Bridgewater, would be an asset to the Newbury soccer program.
So Forrest found himself not only playing two sports as a college freshman, but excelling at both soccer and baseball.
The Nighthawks' leading scorer in soccer with eight goals and 18 points, Forrest was selected to the New England Collegiate Conference first team.
In baseball, Forrest was named the NECC rookie of the year and earned a spot on the all-conference second team after leading Newbury in wins with five.
Just like high school, the East Bridgewater resident had success as a multi-sport athlete this academic year.
"We are a small school and have athletes who participate in more than one sport," said Lafrenz, "but they generally have one sport that they are really good at and then another one that they really enjoy a lot.
"To have somebody who is that good at both sports is pretty cool."
Said Newbury baseball coach Kraig Kupiec: "He's a superb athlete and he showed his dominance in both soccer and baseball."
Forrest was fourth in the conference in goals and points and helped the Nighthawks reach the NECC soccer championship game.
"It was awesome," said Forrest of the soccer season. "I didn't expect anything, really. It helps a lot when everyone on the team was supporting me and everyone just works with everyone.
"I did exceed my expectations. During the first few days of preseason, I was struggling because usually I play baseball in the spring and all through the summer. I hadn't touched a soccer ball in five months.
"My coach told me, 'I like the way you look, but you need to improve in this way and this way and this way.' We worked on those things and I improved."
Lafrenz saw potential in Forrest from the opening days of training camp last August.
"He showed very well right off the bat," said Lafrenz. "Ethan's a natural goal scorer and that showed once we started playing in our scrimmages. He definitely improved as the season went on. He's a motivated athlete."
Playing soccer prevented Forrest from taking part in fall baseball workouts, and he was able to throw only one bullpen session in addition to playing catch with a roommate.
That left Forrest a little behind when the team got together in the winter to prepare for the March 2 opener in Fort Myers, Fla.
"I remember going to the first day of practice at the Boston Athletic Club and not knowing any of the signs, all the basic things the team learned in the fall," said Forrest. "I had to learn that really quick in a month because we were going to Florida.
"When I first got to preseason, not a lot of people on the team knew how I pitched or anything about me. I was a freshman. Whatever role I played, I was fine with that. I just worked hard."
Forrest made an impression on the mound and was given the starting assignment on the second day of the season against Wilmington. He allowed a run and five hits in six innings to pick up a 7-3 win and remained in the rotation.
In nine starts, Forrest was 5-3 with a 3.40 earned run average and three complete games.
"He is really a competitor," said Kupiec, who said Forrest could also play the outfield when not pitching next season. "I compare Ethan to a lightning bolt when he's on the mound. He brings energy to the mound in the form of adrenaline.
"He controls the pace and tempo of the game and it allows him to execute his best pitches at the right time. It's something that's difficult to teach."
The double duty made for a busy first year at Newbury for Forrest, but he is grateful to have the opportunity to remain a two-sport athlete.
"I'm so thankful I've got the opportunity to play at Newbury, especially since coach Lafrenz offered to let me come to preseason without having any prior knowledge of me," said Forrest, who will play for Hawkeye Legion team and in the Cranberry League this summer. "I want to thank both of my coaches because they definitely pushed me to work harder and get better and helped me have just an awesome year.
"It was difficult. I would go from having soccer every day to right into baseball doing the workouts and having only two months off. But I loved it a lot because I got to play my two favorite sports and it made me buckle down on my academics."