WATERVILLE, Maine — Alex Maxsimic is in the midst of a dilemma common to student-athletes at the end of their interscholastic careers.
The recent Brewer High School graduate, a Mr. Baseball finalist and Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A Player of the Year for his work both behind and at the plate for the Witches this spring, already has carved out his career path.
Maxsimic has studied at the United Technologies Center in Bangor with an eye toward becoming an electrician, and a direct educational path toward that end is available at Eastern Maine Community College beginning this fall.
But continuing to satisfy his passion for baseball is another powerful urge, with schools such as Husson University of Bangor offering him the chance to continue playing the sport while pursuing studies that could provide the business background for his electrician’s work.
“It’s a very hard decision. I’m down to the wire now,” said Maxsimic on Friday just before playing in the Maine Senior All-Star A-B Classic at Colby College. “I told Husson I was going to give it a shot but before that I was going to go to EMCC for electrical because they don’t have electrical at Husson.
“It’s just all about whether I want to play baseball but get a business degree or go straight toward my career as an electrician.”
Maxsimic already has received at least one job offer pending his graduation from EMCC, but his baseball career as a four-year starter at catcher for Brewer also is blossoming as evidenced by his postseason recognition.
“It meant a lot, but it came out of nowhere, actually,” said Maxsimic of the KVAC player of the year honor. “I wasn’t expecting it. I was expecting maybe first team or something but that really came out of nowhere. It felt good.”
Maxsimic batted .450 for coach Dana Corey’s Witches, who won the KVAC Class A championship and finished second in Class A North with a 13-3 record before being upset by No. 7 Mt. Ararat of Topsham in the regional quarterfinals.
“We had big plans,” he said. “The KVAC was just the start of the hardware, that’s what we kept saying. We thought we were going to continue the season, but good things always come to an end.”
While Maxsimic was the ultimate source of positional stability for Brewer during his high school days, he pitched and played nearly everywhere but catcher in his earlier years.
“Honestly, it was my dad (George) who really made me think about it,” he said. “I didn’t make pitchers and catchers (preseason practices) my freshman year, I didn’t get asked and it was kind of heartbreaking.”
Maxsimic went from not being invited to the earliest practices for pitchers and catchers to a starting berth behind the plate in a matter of weeks.
“(Brewer assistant coach) Dennis (Kiah) looked at Alex, and Dennis is a great catcher coach, he can see things that other people might not see,” said Corey. “He just thought Alex had the charisma for it, the characteristics for it and the toughness to be behind the plate and that’s what you have to have day in and day out.”
Neither offense nor defense excellence came immediately, as Maxsimic worked to improve his ability to block pitches in the dirt while also doing what he could to control where the ball went off his bat. In his all-star appearance he drove an outside pitch into right-center field for a first-inning single that led to the North’s first run in a 5-2 loss to the South.
“I think it was just dedication,” he said. “When I first got to high school there was a kid above me who could block really well and I knew I couldn’t block well so I worked on it, and I knew I had a really good arm so I took advantage of that.
“I did a lot of work outside of practice with my dad in the yard and it paid off. It was just determination and not taking no for an answer.”
That mix of physical skills and passion for the sport made Maxsimic an easy underclassman for his coaches and teammates to support.
“I like the way he hustles,” said Corey. “He loves the game. He plays hard during practice. He enjoys the game, you can just see it, and his enthusiasm grows on the other kids. When you’ve got somebody like that it’s special.”
Maxsimic hit third in Brewer’s batting order this season, his ability to make contact resulting in few strikeouts and enabling the Witches to play hit-and-run with few fears of a swing and miss. On defense, only six baserunners attempted to steal against him and a veteran pitching staff led by classmates Jack Corey and Alex Brooks.
“The catcher position is the most important position on the baseball field,” said Hampden Academy coach McLean Poulin. “They see everything and you need a good leader and one who has a great baseball mind. Alex fits this description and I believe he is one of the best if not the best catcher in the state.
“Alex is also a true team player and is very unselfish. If he needs to put a bunt down to advance the runner, that’s what he’ll do and he’ll take great pride in doing that for his team.”
It’s both the success he’s enjoyed on the diamond and the joy of being part of a team — Maxsimic is playing American Legion baseball for the Brewer Falcons this summer — that make his pending educational decision even more difficult.
“The four years went by in a split second,” said Maxsimic. “I wish I could have taken advantage of it more when I was younger. Back then I probably would have said I was working hard, but if I could tell any freshman or sophomore now I would tell them to take advantage of the opportunity and work as much as you can on it.
“Now it’s just whether you want to go to your career now or later, and I just don’t want any regrets. I don’t want to look back and think, ‘Geez, I really should have taken advantage of this, I wish I could go back.’ That’s my worst nightmare.”
