Cerros beats all odds to lead Yoemen JV
The Cameron Yoemen varsity baseball team is highly ranked in the 3A Top 25 polls and are getting much deserved attention. But shadowed underneath the success of the varsity team is a truly inspiring story taking place on the Junior Varsity team.
Yvonni Cerros is a freshman on the Junior Varsity team who plays pitcher and outfield for the Yoemen. What makes his story so incredible is that he was born with and is playing with only one hand.
Yvonni was born in Brenham. He and his family moved to Rockdale for a brief time then moved to Cameron in Kindergarten and they have lived here ever since.
Growing up, he always felt different, which made things much tougher. For him, one of the bigger challenges was just going to school, which he really didn’t like to do. He dreaded school because he thought kids would judge him, so he didn’t like going to school. Around the time of third grade, he decided that he had to get over it and deal with those challenges. One thing that helped him throughout his childhood was his intense love and interest in sports, one of those being baseball, so when he was still a kid, he chose to give it a try.
“I started T-ball, and T-ball was hard too,” Yvonni said. “I didn’t know really how to do anything. But, I liked baseball, so I just stuck to it and I figured out the mechanics on how to do it and I just like the sport.”
It was tough for him, but he chose to find a way to make it work and he stuck it out with baseball, no matter the challenges.
“Baseball has been a challenge,” he said. “I’ve played baseball for nine to ten years, and I’ve had a lot of challenges in sports, but I’ve gotten through them because of how long I’ve been playing.”
He has also had different challenges in all the sports he participates in. In addition to baseball, he also plays football, basketball, and runs track and field. Yvonni decided to try out for the baseball team in sixth grade where he first met coach Hector Delgadillo. Delgadillo teaches at Cameron Junior High School and it happened to be his first year in Cameron where he met Yvonni.
“I did notice that, but it didn’t stop us from coaching him just like any of the other kids,” Delgadillo said. “We never saw it as a disability, and I think the other kids just grew up with him, so they understood that he’s got one hand. I feel like he’s put in the work and he’s gone about his business every day since we had him in the sixth grade when we had him in our little P.E. class, and then through seventh and eighth grade athletics where he played football, basketball, and ran track. Kudos to a kid like him who just never gave up and so to see him and to see the hard work. He never used that as an excuse, so I knew that was a good sign that he was going to get in there and play. We talked to him and was going to coach him up just like the other kids, nothing different.”
Yvonni ended up trying out for what is known as select teams last year and ended up making the team. He was nervous at first because he understood that people don’t usually see someone with one hand try out for a select baseball team. He ended up playing for the ICON select baseball out of Temple.
During his time in Junior High, he also played football, basketball and ran track. In basketball, he played point guard. In football, he played wide receiver on offense and cornerback on defense. In track and field, he ran the 4x400, 800- and 400-meter runs and the triple jump. While on the JV Maroon team this year, he is continuing to earn the respect of many people, including opposing team coaches.
“Not only me, but as far as our other coaches, they’re very impressed,” Delgadillo said. “On the baseball side of it, I got other coaches that come up to me and have complimented him. Because they see it, everybody sees it, but no matter what, he still goes out there and plays the game. It’s still 60 feet if he’s on the mound pitching, or he’s still got to catch a fly ball when he’s out there on defense, or he’s still got to swing the bat. He’s been accustomed to it because he’s played with it his whole life. I’m very impressed for a kid like him to come out here and basically not shy away, and I think it’s helped that the group of kids we have also backed him up from day one. We just see him as another kid, it’s nothing different. We know everyone struggles and so for him, he never uses that as an excuse and I’m very impressed with everything he’s done.”
As well as he has been doing on the JV maroon team, Yvonni is still determined to make the varsity team soon in his high school career.
“I want to make varsity, so I got to put in more work than others, and having one arm, I have to put in a lot more work than people that have two,” Yvonni said .
Delgadillo believes that because he’s still young and there’s a lot to teach, a lot to learn, and that he’s got to put in the extra work, but that won’t stop Yvonni.
“Every year, whenever we start the season, I always tell them it’s a fresh start, a clean start, and everyone’s got a chance to make varsity,” Delgadillo said. “So that’s basically our tryout, you’re trying out for a team. You’re trying out for the JV maroon (JV A team) or you’re trying out for the varsity team, and if we can find a spot for you, and you can help us, then you’ll have a role on that team. I can definitely see him helping us. Defensively, I think he’s an awesome outfielder. He’s just got a knack for playing outfield, and on the mound, I think he’s thrown so much that he’s gotten used to that, and it helps that he’s a pretty athletic kid, despite having one hand. And he’s able to get the job done here at the JV level. Next year if he can help us moving forward then definitely.”
Yvonni might not be on varsity just yet, but one thing for sure is that he has been an inspiration to everyone on the team, the coach, and to people within the community. All of this fuels him to keep up the hard work and to silence all the doubters in his life who say there’s no way he can play baseball. Another key person in his life who helps him is his mother, who is a big part of his success.
“I mean I can’t change the fact that I have one hand, so I just don’t listen to them, I just do myself,” Yvonni said. “My mom pushes me to do what I can do.”
Delgadillo also believes that he is a big inspiration to the team. He feels that although he’s limited, he’s definitely capable of doing what everyone else can do out on the field.
“I think it’s a huge inspiration because I think the kids feed off of him and it’s almost like if he’s able to come out here and do what everyone else is doing, I think it pushes other kids because they see the hard work he’s putting in and they see the success he has whether it’s on the mound or at the plate,” Delgadillo said. “He’s getting the job done, and I think other kids are inspired by that and they love watching him have success because they understand it. Not just the kids here, but also outside the community. The kids who’ve watched him, parents, families, coaches who’ve watched him grow up. And to be able to come out here and play for the Yoemen is huge success overall for him.”
Cameron is lucky to have such a dedicated young man in the sport of baseball and we will be watching eagerly to see how far he can go.