August Backman excelling on the baseball field and in the classroom for the Venice Indians

VENICE, Fla. (WWSB) - This week’s ABC7 Athlete of the Week is Venice High School’s (VHS) August Backman. He’s a junior and star outfielder for the Indians baseball team.

It’s a group that’s the number one ranked team in Florida and number two ranked team in the nation. Despite the early season success, Backman says he and his teammates are motivated to finish the job that they didn’t last season by winning a state championship.

“It’s been good,” Backman said. “We’ve really been connecting a team. We’ve kind of bonded as one.”

For Backman and his teammates, the on the field production isn’t the only thing that matters. This group makes sure they get it done in the classroom too. Backman has a grade point average (GPA) that is unweighted at 3.96 and weighted at 4.97.

His head coach, Craig Faulkner, describes the young man as a model student athlete. “August Backman is as good as they get,” Faulkner said. “He’s a pleasure to coach. He’s off the charts smart. He’s a great teammate. He does everything that you can ask.”

Backman has already made his decision for where he will attend college. “Recently, I decided to go to the University of Florida,” Backman said.

Before he heads to Gainesville, Backman is going make sure that he to finishes what he’s started in high school. The Indians also have unfinished business on the diamond.

“Break that barrier,” Backman said. “We’ve fallen short two years in a row unfortunately, but this year is our year. We’re ready and we’re going to break that barrier of regional finals.”

Backman and the Indians get back to game action on Wednesday when they face the Braden River Pirates.