Trinity senior has helped multiple teams over past four years

April 9, 2019

When Trent Shoemaker began his freshman year at Trinity Lutheran High School, he wasn’t sure how many sports he wanted to play.

Shoemaker chose to play basketball his first year at the school, but that was his only year he’d finish as a single-sport athlete.

Along the course of his four years, Shoemaker added football, soccer and baseball to his resume.

“I decided to play soccer to mainly get in shape for basketball,” Shoemaker said. “I ended up really liking it, and I had some friends that encouraged me to play it so I was really glad I did that. That same year, I had more friends that encouraged me to play baseball. I had always really liked baseball, and I’m glad I did that as well.”

Shoemaker has achieved a lot in his athletics career, having received an MVP award in soccer, setting school assists records in basketball, and helping the baseball team win a sectional championship.

Last fall, he decided to try football again and he was one of the leading receivers on the team at the time the Cougars’ season came to an end.

In baseball, during his junior year, Shoemaker played shortstop and second base early in the season before moving to the outfield.

This season Shoemaker has played both in the infield and outfield.

“I like both equally,” Shoemaker said. “In the infield, there is a lot of communication through signs. Coach will let you know what bunt defense he wants you in. If you’re the shortstop, you’ve got to communicate with the rest of the infield, and if you’re the second baseman you’ve got to know if you’re covering the bag or what. You’ve just got to pay attention to what defense you’re in.”

Shoemaker has been batting in the second position this spring.

He said if the lead off batter gets on first base, “I’m looking to bunt him over. We work on bunting a lot. We have a lot of speed and it’s an easy way to get on base.

“I’m not a big power hitter. I’m not going to hit a home run. I’m just looking to put the ball in play because I know if I hit it anywhere I’ll have a chance to get on base with my speed. My goal this year is just to enjoy it. It will be my last time playing sports competitively. I’d like to win a sectional, and a regional game, too.”

Shoemaker began his basketball career at Lutheran Central School.

“My freshman year it was a lot different transitioning from eighth grade to JV,” Shoemaker said. “We had a lot of juniors on the team, and they helped me adapt to that. I’m a perfectionist and I hate messing up. They told me I was going to make mistakes and I had to learn to play through that.

That strategy worked well for Shoemaker.

In his junior year, he set the game, season and career assists marks. He finished second in the state in assists, and assists per game that season.

Shoemaker’s highest scoring game this season was 15 against Hauser. He scored 23 against South Decatur and 20 against West Washington his junior year.

“The home games were great,” Shoemaker said. “We have a lot of great families here and we have a lot of great support no matter what. It just makes it really great for home games. You can always count on the fans to show up and be loud for you.”

He was a striker for the soccer team this past fall.

“Scoring was one aspect of it,” he said. “My sophomore year I thought it was all about scoring goals. Then I learned, with coaching and stuff, you also need to be able to set up your teammates. With coach (Brandan) Tabeling, my junior year, he just encouraged me to come back to the ball and draw the defense out and then play those long balls to guys like A.J. (Goecker) who are quick enough to go get it.

“I was able to do that. It created a lot of offense for our team, and I could fill in those lanes and A.J. could get it back and shoot it or he could shoot it. So it’s about scoring goals, and setting up your teammates as well.”

Shoemaker said it takes teamwork and communication to be successful in soccer.

“You’ve got to know where everyone is going to be on the field and anticipate where they’re going and you’ve got to talk and know what guy you’re going to pick up,” he said. “On defense, they have to communicate a lot because you have to know what guys to mark so they don’t get an easy goal.”

The senior has enjoyed his time at Trinity.

“I’m really glad I chose to come here,” Shoemaker said. “I like how many friends I’ve made here. From an academic standpoint, it’s really a great school. I feel like it’s really prepared me well for college.

“I’ve got to be looking at life after athletics. High school is not just all about athletics. That’s a great aspect of high school, and it’s what makes high school fun, but also being prepared for the next step academically and getting a real job someday. I need to be prepared for that and Trinity has done a really good job of that.”

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Name: Trent Shoemaker

High school: Trinity Lutheran

Parents: Steve and Stacey Shoemaker

Sibling: Mallory

Sports: basketball 4 years, soccer 3 years, baseball 3 years, football 1 year.

Athletic highlights: soccer-most improved 2017, MVP 2018, all-district honorable mention 2018; basketball-holds game, season, career assists records, finished second in state in assists and assists per game 2018; baseball-sectional champions 2017.

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