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Baseball: Zakharia reconsiders playing football at North Park
Maine East base runner George Zakharia slides safely into second base during CSL North action against Niles North. | Tamara Bell~Sun Times Media
Updated: July 22, 2012 7:53PM
While most 2012 graduates from the CSL’s 12 schools know their college plans at this point in the summer, Maine East’s three best baseball players are, to varying degrees, still undecided.
Cory Evans and Tyler Glowacki, both of whom represented the Blue Demons at the CSL Senior All-Star game, are still unsure where they will attend school this fall.
George Zakharia, who was also named to the CSL North’s All-Star team, knows he will attend North Park. Although the Vikings football team is expecting the Maine East grad, Zakharia is leaning toward relinquishing that opportunity in order to play baseball next spring.
“There’s a spot open for me in football,” Zakharia said. “They’re all ready for me to come and play football, and, I hate to say this, but I don’t think I’m going to be playing football there … I’m planning on playing baseball. There’s a possibility I could do football and baseball, but I don’t think football is really in my future. I think I might just be doing baseball.”
His continued good health is one reason why.
“My dad’s kind of pushing me to play baseball only,” said Zakharia. “He thinks it’s safer and stuff like that. My parents are pushing me to do baseball a little bit more, and baseball, I just have a lot of fun with it. Football is kind of more serious than baseball would be, in my mind.”
Zakharia was one of Maine East’s top all-around athletes this year. He played both ways on the football team — offensively, he was the Blue Demons’ starting quarterback — and hit .304 in the middle of baseball lineup.
The biggest difference between the two sports in Zakharia’s senior season was the teams’ level of success. The football team won a total of four games during his four years at the school, including 1-8 this season. Meanwhile, this spring the baseball team tripled its win total, finishing a much-improved 12-19.
Zakharia worked with Maine East football coach Gabe Corey to find the right college. But, after experiencing some success this season with baseball, Zakharia began shifting preferences.
“I was doing a lot of research with football and North Park felt good for me,” Zakharia said. “But then our baseball season went really well and I kind of wanted to pursue baseball instead and North Park has a really good baseball team. Either way, I felt if I play football or baseball it’s a win-win for me.”
He still has most of the summer to commit.
“I feel like I should play one sport or the other,” Zakharia said. “I don’t want to lose both sports just like that. Right when football camp starts, if I don’t make my decision to play football by then, I’ll probably be doing baseball.”
