Athlete of the Week: Janyssa Martin
Age 17 | School Central | Grade 11
Last week the Central Union Spartans won a share of their first Imperial Valley League softball title since 2001, ending a drought of 18 years.
All that’s transpired since then could fill several of what used to be called encyclopedias, before the internet crowded them out of the intellectual marketplace.
Current star Janyssa Martin hadn’t yet been born. A scion of one of El Centro’s most storied baseball families, Martin is a big reason why the Spartans aren’t waiting ’til next year any more.
She’s one of the team’s main table-setters — their pitching ace and leadoff hitter. She gets them going.
Martin takes this responsibility seriously. There’s little she loves more than to start a game off with an emphatic strikeout of an opponent’s leadoff hitter.
“It feels great,” she says, “Especially when it’s someone at the top of the lineup. When it’s the first batter of the game, it’s kinda nice to set the tone.” And she maintains that aggression at the plate.
“My dad has always told me, ‘When you go up there, you go up there to hit it through someone, not to someone,’ so that’s my approach. … If I’m gonna swing, I’m gonna swing hard,” she says.
Martin going full-bore has borne plenty of fruit for Central. She leads the team in batting average, hitting .435 for the year and finished top two in the IVL in strikeouts as a pitcher.
The Spartans’ last three contests have all been complete-game victories for Martin. The wins over Imperial (8-3) and Brawley (3-2) secured them their banner, and her Tuesday victory over Calipatria (5-2) propelled them into the CIF-SDS Division III double-elimination bracket.
Martin is all-in on this year’s squad and has her eyes on CIF title that eluded them last year.“I think we can go all the way — I think we can,” Martin said. “These past few games we’ve been good at coming out aggressive and staying ahead, and I think we need to [keep it up] because when we get down, it’s not good, but when we keep each other up, we’re unstoppable.
“I’m not bragging on my team or anything,” she added, laughing, “It hasn’t been all easy — I think it takes every team a while to gel — but [we’ve gotten to the point] where we gel really well. We know how to come together in tough situations and pull each other up.”
My favorites
Athlete — “I’ve been really liking Kawhi Leonard. I don’t know why. My brothers love him. I don’t even watch basketball that often, but I saw him play and I was like, ‘WOW!’”
Team — “I’ve always loved the Florida Gators in softball.”
Class — Math (“It depends what kind, but I love algebra or geometry … not pre-calc.”)
TV show — “Friends”
Non-sports activity — “Does working out count?”
Song — “Speechless,” by Dan + Shay
Musical act — Dan + Shay
What do you enjoy most about your sport?
“I love how mental it is. It’s not just a physical sport … you have to use your brain to break down each play and know what you’re gonna do almost before it happens. I [also] love the team environment.”
What’s one of the best memories you’ve had playing?
“Oh gosh, that’s hard — you know how many years I’ve been playing? A good one was when we beat Southwest for the first time (in my high school career). That was nice.”
Who inspires you and why?
“I’d say my family — my whole family. They’re all sports-oriented, and we push each other to be better. I always appreciated them and they’re always here at my games.”
What are your goals going forward?
“Well, I want to end out this year strong, and if we go down, I want to make sure that we go down fighting — but I think we can make it all the way ’til the end. My goal is to have us be CIF champions.”