When Christian Brothers College High School senior Matt Vierling isn’t pitching for the Cadets, he’s playing with a competitive club, the St. Louis Gamers; studying for an advanced-placement class; or fulfilling his role as vice president of the student-leadership council. “It’s tough with all the training year-round and a high-level schedule,” Matt says. “It’s all about time management. You have to plan your week out on Sunday or else you’re just going to be unorganized.”
This fall, Matt will play baseball for the University of Notre Dame. His father played Division I football at the University of Kansas, and Matt takes his advice very seriously. “My dad says you’ve got to have time management skills, especially when you get into college,” Matt says. “It’s going to be imperative to stay organized, or losing track of everything is what will make life go downhill. It’s on me if I don’t get something done.”
Discover fun things to do with the family
Subscribe to the St. Louis Family newsletter for family-friendly things to do and news for local parents, sent every Monday.
The 18-year-old schedules himself very tightly, telling us about his workouts, his training three times a week for pitching and two times a week for hitting, his physical therapy for an ankle injury, spending time with friends, fishing at a lake house, and of course, his school work.
He speaks with a mature, calm demeanor and is quite humble about his accolades yet confident about his skills, pushing himself to get involved in showcases and leagues that earned national recognition. When he talks about getting ready to pitch a game, we think of the boy he describes just starting out on a Catholic Youth Council team. “Never step on the line is kind of my thing. I have the same process of manicuring my bat a little bit, tying my shoes the same way; I’m kind of superstitious with that kind of stuff.”
