Kent Reporter Athletes of the Week: Kentridge

Published 2:25 pm Friday, April 3, 2026

The Kent Reporter Athletes of the Week for Aprril 3 are from Kentridge High School: Akoni Nazarino (junior), baseball, and Jozi Thompson (junior), fastptich.

What do you value in your sport or about your team?

Nazarino: What I value about baseball is how honest the game is. The work you put in off the field always shows up on the field. I value my relationships from being on this team. I have a lot of respect for my coaches, because of the time and effort they put in away from their families to help us reach our goals.

Thompson: In my sport I value commitment and integrity. I value commitment because once you commit to anything, especially a sport you’re in it till the end, you also commit to everything you do in the game. In every swing, pitch, and sprint you are always committing to it. Without commitment sports wouldn’t exist. I value integrity because honesty is huge part of life, when you mess up and say my “my bad I got you next time.” Everyone on the team now has that trust with you. Without integrity there would be no trust within the team. On my team I value friendship, I treat everyone like a family member when I am playing softball. Softball is a big part of my life and the people who choose to play are also part of that. Without the friendships I’ve made from softball I wouldn’t be able to play the way I play. When you feel loved and wanted on a team with your friends it boosts your confidence and helps your mentality in the game.

What have you learned from your sport that you can take with you throughout your life/future?

Nazarino:I’ve learned that your not always going to feel or be your best, but you still have to show up and compete. It’s taught me discipline, how to handle failure, and how to stay composed when things aren’t going your way.

Thompson: I have learned that not everything you do will be perfect, but everything you do can be effective as long as you control what you can control. Just because you didn’t pitch the perfect pitch or hit the perfect hit, everything you do affects the game and affects your team. I can take that into my future with college ball and life after my education by controlling the controllables and just remembering that not everything is going to be perfect, but everything can be effective if you control what you can control.

What do you do when you aren’t motivated and what helps you stay motivated?

Nazarino: I try to think of the positive things, what I have done well and what I have done to get to this point at where I am. I try to stay more discipline more then motivation, because motivation will come and go. Being around my teammates and coaches help a lot too, pushing each other and keeping each other locked in and accountable.

Thompson: When I am not motivated I watch softball games old and new games. I also rewatch my own games that were on video. It puts my mind into a coaching perspective on myself, to see what I can improve on. Then after that I go and work on what I’ve seen I was doing wrong. It almost always motivates me.

Do you have a favorite pre-game meal?

Nazarino: On days that I’m pitching, I stop by a gas station or Safeway and get a Reign energy drink. On days I don’t pitch, I have a vanilla yogurt parfait from Safeway.

Thompson: My favorite pre-game meal is a Caesar salad and Cheez-Its.

What advice would you give to a teammate that is struggling?

Nazarino: I would tell them that they are on this team for a reason. They are valued in our program and that even in their tough time at wherever they’re at. Stay confident and keep showing up, don’t try to do much. Just focus on getting a little better every day and things will eventually come together.

Thompson: No matter what you do if you fail or if you do well, everyone has your back to pick you up. You can fail a thousand times but at the end of the day it was one failure it was one bad game. The wins and losses aren’t on your back, they’re on the teams. We win together and we lose together, there’s no reason to let one mistake mess with you forever.

From the sidelines:

Nazarino: Akoni demonstrates leadership each day out on the baseball field. Keeps his team in the game and every time he is on the mound he puts them in a situation to win. His last start against Liberty HS, he went 4 innings, allowing 0 runs, 0 walks with 8 strikeouts. Hes a competitor on the mound and pushes his teammates every day.

Thompson: Jozi returns to KR fastpitch as a junior this season. In our three games she has pitched 17 innings. She has 9 earned runs, 41 strikeouts, and a 3.7 ERA. She leads our team to a batting average of .700, OMB at .786, and 2 HR. She continues to be a leader to her teammates and is constantly looking to help others improve while also refining her own skills. She was nominated as one of our captains this year as well and has stepped into that role without hesitation.