A quote from baseball legend Roberto Clemente stuck with Carpinteria’s Miles Souza the moment he read it on poster given to him by his 5th grade teacher.
Clemente’s quote says: “Any time you have an opportunity to make things better and you don’t, then you’re wasting your time on this Earth.”
Souza, who still has the poster hanging in his bedroom, tries to live by those words.
On Monday, the Carpinteria High junior and two-sport athlete was recognized for the difference he makes on and off the field by being named the school’s recipient of the Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award.
He was presented the award at Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon.
“I strive to emulate the words of Roberto Clemente as a student, a teammate and a community member,” Souza said in a statement to award sponsor and presenter Dave Pintard.
Souza has earned Citrus Coast League All-Academic honors in both basketball and baseball and was named first-team all-league in baseball last season as a sophomore.
He also was named recipient of the Daryl Brown Warrior Award last year.
Souza’s academics are top notch. He holds a 4.5 grade point average carrying a class schedule that includes Advanced Placement and college dual enrollment courses.
He is a member of the California Scholarship Federation and a Presidential Award of Academic Excellence honoree all three years of high school. At Carpinteria, he has received academic department awards in math and science.
Souza helps prepare students for college readiness as an AVID tutor.
In the community, he’s been a volunteer assistant coach for the Santa Barbara Pony Baseball, assisted with Carpinteria Valley Little League and Carpinteria AYSO, and volunteers with the annual Russell Cup and other track & field meets hosted by Carpinteria High.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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