Loukas Rettas is a driven and passionate athlete who plays for the Wellington Colts 12U Travel Baseball Team out of Wellington, Florida. A versatile player with the ability to make an impact all over the field, Loukas takes on multiple key roles, including pitcher, catcher, third base, and centerfield. Whether he’s striking out batters on the mound, commanding the game from behind the plate, or tracking down fly balls in the outfield, Loukas brings intensity, focus, and leadership to every play. His love for the game runs deep, and his journey is powered by hard work, strong values, and a commitment to constant improvement.

How did you first get started playing?
When I was younger, we lived in Sparta, New Jersey, and we had a very large backyard. My father gave me a glove and started playing catch with me. I soon realized how much fun baseball was, and I started playing with my brother on his coach pitch team.

What position do you play, and what do you love most about it?
I play several positions, but my primary position is pitcher. I have a strong passion for pitching because I love the competition with the batter. Pitchers not only engage in an athletic battle with each batter, but they engage in a mental battle as well. Pitching requires a great deal of strategy when changing speed, location, and movement of the ball to disrupt a batter’s timing and mechanics. So there is a lot that goes into being a successful pitcher, and I love the mental chess game that I get to play with each batter because it is constantly changing.

Who introduced you to the sport or inspired your passion for the game?
My father introduced me to the game of baseball at a very young age. He would drive me into the city to see the New York Yankees play, and I fell in love with the sport. Watching one of the most successful sports teams in history compete on a regular basis was a huge inspiration to me. I want to be successful like them. I want to play baseball as long as I can.

What’s been your most memorable moment on the field so far?
I would say that my most memorable moment came in Cooperstown this year when I recorded my 100th strikeout of the 2025 Spring Season while playing at All Star Village. I didn’t expect to reach the 100 milestone, but I had a good tournament, striking out 20 in 8.2 innings to finish the season with 102 strikeouts in 52 innings. I worked extremely hard on my pitching skills for years now, and surpassing the 100-strikeout mark was pretty emotional for me. My coach called timeout and grabbed the ball, and the infielders were hugging me. My teammates in the dugout were chanting, “One Hundred! One Hundred!” My teammates made it a really special moment. I think the combination of reaching the milestone while playing at All Star Village in Cooperstown, which was one of the best times of my life, made it a memorable moment that I will forever cherish.

How has your game evolved since you first started playing?
My control over the ball when pitching has progressed quite well. Of course, I have tons of work to do, but I have gotten better at delivering a combination of the four pitches I use in my pitching arsenal. I believe being able to deliver different pitches with very different speeds and movement on the ball has helped me tremendously, especially the two-seam fastball.

Now I also play catcher quite a bit, and I have improved my catching skills over the past year. I like playing catcher because, like pitching, the catcher is involved in every play of the game. My dad talked to me quite a bit over the years about Thurman Munson, a catcher for the New York Yankees when he was a boy. He told me that Thurman Munson said what he did behind the plate was more important than hitting because, as a catcher, he touched so many different aspects of the game. I really like that part about catching. I like being constantly involved in every pitch of every inning.

From a hitting perspective, I had a decent year. I finished the year with a batting average of .372 with 3 home runs. I think hitting is the hardest thing to do in baseball. I watch baseball a lot and listen to players talk about the game, and Deion Sanders always says that baseball is the hardest sport because of hitting. The best players in the world fail 7 out of 10 times at the plate.

Overall, my game has significantly progressed, as I was awarded the Pitching Award and the Most Valuable Player Award for my team for this Spring Season. This was the first time that I was awarded the MVP award for my team. But I have a long road ahead, and there is much to do.

What does a typical training week look like for you during the season?
So the Spring Season for baseball has ended, and I am now on a Summer Training Schedule. I am a two-sport athlete, so I also play football. Spring is the main season for baseball, and the fall is the main season for football, but I do play both sports all year round. I just prioritize them differently throughout the year.

For my summer training schedule, in general, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I take batting training from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM; then I take QB training from 11 AM to 12 Noon, lunch from 12 Noon to 1 PM, and then strength training from 1 PM to 2 PM. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I take speed and agility training from 10 AM to 11 AM. I work on catching drills on Tuesday afternoon and fielding drills on Thursday afternoon. I have football practice Monday through Thursday from 6 PM to 8 PM. I have Friday nights off. I reserve Saturdays for football scrimmages and Sunday for baseball games with my Summer Travel Baseball Team. If no games are scheduled, then I can rest or train if I get restless—it’s really up to me. But rest and recovery are important to me.

My father shuts down my pitching after the Spring Baseball Season is over with. I do pitch regularly during the Spring Season, but he doesn’t want me pitching all year round. He monitors how many innings and pitches I throw throughout the Spring Season to protect my arm from overuse. My professional pitching trainer is Shaun Garceau out of SGB Training in West Palm Beach, FL. I have been working with Coach Shaun for about four years now and follow his guidance on how to train for my age. Also, my father brings me to a pediatric orthopedist for regular checkups and to monitor my growth plates. Thankfully, I never have had any issues. Although I do play baseball all year round, in general I do not pitch a baseball outside of the Spring Season.

How do you mentally prepare for games? Any pregame rituals or routines?
Absolutely. I’ve been taught that scouts and college coaches will size you up just by the way you warm up. I do have a specific band and stretch routine for my arm that I do for each game before I participate in team warmups. I also have a specific set of catcher stretches that I do, whether I am catching or not, to make sure that I am loose and flexible just in case my coach assigns me to catch during the game.

I warm up with intensity, and I am sure to do my exercises properly. I have been taught that someone is always watching—and you might not know who it is.

What’s one skill you’ve worked hardest to improve?
I definitely think hitting the baseball is the hardest thing to do in the game of baseball. Seeing the ball is very challenging sometimes. Because of this, I train on my hitting skills at least 6 hours a week during the summer. Hitting is such a mental battle. I have to train my mind to be in the right mindset to do the best I can do at the plate. The smallest change in my hitting mechanics can change my entire swing. My professional hitting coach is Joe Ferro out of SGB Training in West Palm Beach, FL. Coach Joe is one of the best hitting coaches in the country and knows more about the game of baseball than anyone I know.

How do you handle slumps or rough stretches during the season?
I think everyone goes through slumps in baseball. Baseball is such a huge game of failure. I think part of getting through a slump is to do all you can to make sure whatever difficulties you are having don’t leave you totally defeated in your mind. My coaches have drilled into my head that mental toughness is key to recovering from any setbacks I face. Staying focused and disciplined on my training and mastering fundamentals within my motor preferences are essential to improve my performance.

Do you play or train year-round, or take time off in the offseason?
I definitely train and play all year round. I take vacations with my family, usually immediately after school ends, where I will take a couple of weeks off to let my body rest. That’s the idea anyway, until I ask my dad to take me to the batting cages in whatever city we are in. That usually happens by the second or third day.

What do you value most about being part of your team?
I take a tremendous amount of pride being the captain of my baseball team. I feel a tremendous responsibility to my teammates to do everything I can do to help us win games and progress forward as a team. My coaches have drilled into my head that to whom much is given, much is required. I value the camaraderie with teammates the most. I pick them up when they need help, and they do the same for me. I have the best teammates in the world.

How do you balance individual performance with team goals?
Team goals are everything. If I have a great game but we lose, I feel horrible. I don’t like losing. Losing doesn’t feel good no matter how good or bad I play. Waking up on a Monday after a victory feels great, even if I didn’t have a great game. I often talk with my teammates about getting 1% better every day. We win and lose as a team and constantly help each other to improve our game every day.

This year, my team won the South Florida Travel Baseball League Minor League Championship. I would not trade that championship ring in for any personal achievements or awards. Being the league champions was the ultimate goal.

Who’s a teammate that inspires or pushes you to be better?
My co-captain, Jocam Torres, definitely pushes me the most out of everyone. We hold each other accountable for our performance. And if one of us is not performing up to par, one of us will let the other one know about it. We have been playing with each other for four years now, so we have been through a lot together. We are both pretty intense competitors, so it wouldn’t be uncommon for us to jaw at each other a little bit during the game. We both want to win, and we expect more from each other as leaders of the team.

How do you respond to pressure in high-stakes moments?
I always want the ball when the game is on the line. If we are in the last inning and the other team is threatening to score, I fully expect to get the ball to take the mound and close the game out for us. After sitting for three innings during a game in Cooperstown, I got the call to come during the last inning when the other team got a man on first and second and was threatening to score. I was so fired up—there was no other place else I would rather have been. I was able to get the final two outs, and we won the game. It was a great feeling.

What has the sport taught you about life beyond the field?
Mental toughness is a transferrable skill. It comes in handy both on and off the field. Everything is not always going to go my way. In fact, in the game of baseball, things don’t go my way most of the time. Having the mental toughness not to lose confidence, to stay focused on achieving my goals, and to sometimes be patient has helped me with problems I have faced with schoolwork and other issues off the field.

How do you stay motivated when things get tough?
I rely on my faith to get me through any adversity I am faced with. I believe that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I pray every day to Him to give me the strength to play the game of baseball in His image. There is no baseball without God. I try to make a lot of room for Jesus in my life. There are no atheists in foxholes.

Who is a role model or professional athlete you look up to and why?
I really look up to Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees. He is an exceptional pitcher who plays with an intensity I can relate to. He gets pumped up for games, and his competitiveness and passion for the game are inspiring to me. He plays the game the way I want to play it.

What are your goals moving forward in your athletic career?
In the near term, I will have been accepted into the Wellington Sports Academy in Wellington, Florida, to play baseball for the school. I will be graduating with the class of 2032.

I hope to eventually get a D1 scholarship to play baseball with a world-class program. And the dream is to someday play in the big leagues.

If you could give advice to a younger player just starting out, what would it be?
Get a routine and stick to it. Routines help me tremendously. And never give up. Never quit. Never stop competing—right down to the last pitch.

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