Horneman’s full plate
A St. John native and recent Mount Carmel grad, Oilmen catcher prepares for next level
Three square meals were just the start for Colin Horneman.
The Northwest Indiana Oilmen catcher, a St. John native who will head to Lincoln Trail after graduating from Mount Carmel in Chicago recently, knew he needed to get bigger and stronger in preparation for the next stage of his baseball career.
So his life became a steady stream of meals, workouts and baseball.
If his final high school season is any indication, that routine is already reaping its rewards. In 33 games for the Caravan, Horneman hit .456 with eight doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 48 RBIs.
“The main reasons I had success last season was because of putting on that size and having more energy after adding it,” he said.
During the six months from October to April, Horneman said he added about 40 pounds with a daily intake of about 4,500 calories and daily trips to the weight room.
“I was trying to have three meals and three shakes each day,” he said. “That was hitting my goal, and I’d track it on an app.”
Horneman said that routine, which he doesn’t intend to break, is as much a mental challenge as a physical one.
“The eating was the hardest part,” he said. “Sometimes I was eating in the dugout, or my dad would bring me snacks to eat during the games.”
But he couldn’t deny the results. The 6-foot Horneman is up to 170 pounds and said he hopes to be around 195 by the start of his first college season next year.
Horneman believes he has the physical tools to compete at the next level.
“I think the mental side of the game is what I need to work on — not getting in my head after bad at-bats … just staying focused and levelheaded,” he said.
Horneman wants to join a four-year program after Lincoln Trail, the same path
Oilmen manager Adam Enright took. After graduating from Munster in 2007, Enright played at South Suburban College and then won a Division II national championship at Southern Indiana in 2010.
Enright said the mental part of the game is often the most crucial one for junior college players.
“The biggest thing that young guys do is give at-bats away,” he said. “They’ll swing at bad pitches early so that, in two of their four at-bats that day, they didn’t give themselves the best chance to maximize their damage at the plate. They’ll do things that not only hurt their team but also hurt their numbers, and those numbers are important.”
Enright said it’s the numbers that get the attention of four-year programs.
“You have to understand that every at-bat is its own individual game,” he said. “Whether we were winning or losing, or whether I was having a good or bad day, I still attacked every at-bat with the same mental focus. Because when you’re being recruited by a four-year school and there’s scholarship money on the line, every at-bat is important.”
Enright said he has seen improvement from Horneman in those areas too.
“He’s come quite a ways as far as not being affected by bad at-bats or at-bats with negative outcomes,” Enright said. “Recently he’s had some at-bats late in games that were really good and even-keeled.”
That’s a good sign for Horneman, who has a key event coming Sept. 9-10. The Puma Classic in Indianapolis is a showcase for junior college players like him.
“That’s where all of the four-year schools go,” he said. “I’ll have to do well in front of them and, hopefully, get some looks.”
Although Horneman is aiming for a Division I program, that isn’t the only offer he’ll accept.
“I want to shoot as high as I can,” he said. “But whoever picks me up picks me up.”