By Rick Assad
Even though Hudson Nichols played two seasons on the Village Christian High varsity baseball team after transferring from Burroughs, the longtime Burbank resident made an indelible impact, especially his final season.
The Crusaders finished 19-9-1 and 6-6 in the Olympic League for third place and had an impressive dash to the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship game.
After winning four playoff games with victories coming against Milken 8-1, Brentwood School 8-4, West Covina 7-1, and Diamond Bar 5-2, the team fell short of the ultimate goal, losing to Colony 8-3, but this doesn’t dampen the thrill of being there and almost matching what his older brother, Gunnar, a pitcher at Pepperdine University did two years earlier as the ace of the Burroughs pitching staff.
The older Nichols brother was on the mound for the Bears and was brilliant, tossing a 1-0, complete-game versus Moreno Valley in the Division V title game.
Nichols is at the Malibu campus and chimed in on his younger brother.
“I would say all of his success and progress was all his own doing,” he said. “I was just there for him to talk through more of the mental side of things if he ever needed it.”
Nichols, a soon-to-be college freshman, said many memories are still fresh.
“A lot of things stand out in my prep baseball career, but going to the championship my senior year stands out the most,” said the 6-foot-4, 195-pound pitcher/outfielder who batted .310 and had nine extra-base hits that included one home run will play baseball at Glendale Community College and major in business. “We all knew as a team we had something special, and we capitalized on it. Unlike my brother, we didn’t win it, but for me, I didn’t think we needed a championship to validate what we did to make it that far.”
The Crusaders’ four-game run-up to the championship game was thrilling for Nichols, who was given the Village Christian Student-Athlete Award and named the Economic Student of the Year in his final year on the campus.
“The game that stands out to me the most was our second to last game in the playoffs against Diamond Bar,” he said. “My teammate, Ethan Tibert hit two home runs, one of which was a walk-off. We didn’t give up, which I think sums up our season pretty well.”
One advantage is that the younger Nichols has an older brother and a father, Brian, a 1996 Burroughs graduate who was a pitcher and later who pitched three years in college and was drafted in 1999 by the New York Mets organization, all played the game.
“Having people in my family that have played and are playing at a high level of baseball helps a ton,” he said. “I struggle with the mental part of baseball, so to have a dad that played at the professional level tell me things he wishes he did or didn’t do well has been a huge help. Also having a brother that is currently playing at a Division I college level pushes me a lot to get better.”
Nichols explained what his father has meant to his development.
“I cannot stress enough how much my dad helped me out to get to where I am. The amount of time and effort he put into working with me is unimaginable,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of times when I stopped believing in myself and my dad was the one to keep me going.”
Nichols went on: “He’s learned a lot of information and made a lot of connections from playing baseball for so long, and he does his best to pass it along to me,” he said.
The senior Nichols felt his job was to encourage and be there for his sons.
“I think the advantage of having previous baseball experience allowed me to be more supportive when things were challenging,” he said. “Early on Hudson had days where he struggled in batting practice while working to improve his swing. A year later he went two-for-two in a game against a UCLA commit with that same swing. We all knew Hudson had it in him, so my role was just to encourage him to keep working through the tough days long enough to have the good ones.”
Nichols added: “Kate [his wife] and I are so proud of Hudson and are excited to see him continue to grow as a student-athlete over the next four years,” he continued.
Being on the mound and in control of the game appealed to Nichols who saw his squad defeat Burbank 3-0 in the season opener, Providence 18-4 in the second game and were beaten by Burroughs 8-3 in the sixth contest.
“I enjoy pitching a lot more than playing the outfield. I enjoy the outfield because I get to hit. I love being in command when I pitch,” he admitted. “When you’re pitching the game revolves around you. That comes with a lot of pressure, but that comes with the ability to make the largest impact on the field. You are able to control the game. That’s why I love it.”
Nichols addressed the mental aspect of baseball.
“I think most people would agree that baseball is incredibly hard mentally, maybe even more than physically,” he offered. “You can be considered a Hall of Famer with a .300 batting average in the Major Leagues, which means you can fail 70 percent and still have success.”
Nichols added: “Keeping that in mind is the biggest thing for me to keep my composure when things don’t go right,” he said. “Mechanics aside, that is the biggest thing I know I need to work on, especially as a pitcher when your fielders look at you for leadership.”
Nichols has played with determination and confidence.
“What’s made me successful so far is the belief I’ve had in myself and also the belief of others around me,” he said. “Believing in what I can be in the future rather than looking at myself now is the thing pushing me the most.”
Being steady and even keeled has also assisted Nichols’ development.
“I approached every game the same besides playoffs, which I wish I didn’t do,” he said. “Being a Burroughs kid for two years, I was longing for a Burbank versus Burroughs type rivalry. Although I didn’t get that at Village, the close and competitive games did not disappoint.”
Still the incredible playoff battle will always be something special for Nichols.
“Our playoff run last season is something that I will never forget,” he said. “Our team and coaching staff put a lot of time in and it paid off. We were chasing school history which made the run even more memorable. Even though we lost, trophy in hand or not, what we did that year was special and it is something I’m never going to forget.”
Nichols added: “We played Colony which was arguably the best team we played that year and we simply got beat. We had built up so much momentum leading into the championship game, that losing it kind of felt like the end of the season despite having a game in a week,” he noted. “That week before Pacifica [6-1 loss in the state playoffs] was filled with finals and graduation, which resulted in us not playing our best baseball like we previously were doing.”
Unlike Frank Sinatra who famously sang about some of his regrets in “My Way,” looking back, Nichols didn’t have any.
“I wouldn’t have changed a thing. If you would’ve asked me this two years ago, my answer would have been much different,” he pointed out. “There were things that I didn’t expect to happen or go my way, but without those things I wouldn’t have met a bunch of people and made lifelong memories.”
