Male Athlete of the Year: Jake Coro

Jake Coro was at Johnston High School for just four years, but to basketball coach and baseball manager Steve DeMeo it seemed much longer than that.

Jake’s older brother, Zach, played for the baseball team before he himself enrolled at Johnston, and Jake would always be there on the field running around or trying to get involved.

“If it wasn't for my brother, I definitely wouldn't have gotten so close with the coaching staff,” Jake Coro said. “He was just a freshman and I was in seventh grade and I started going to the practices and it helped me get used to the game and get used to everyone else.”

Fast forward to 2016 and Jake Coro, matured and battle-hardened on the field and the court, is the Boys’ Athlete of the Year for Johnston.

Coro ran the point in basketball, and he sacrificed his position at shortstop to move to second base this season for the baseball team. Over the last couple seasons, Coro has shown how much he has grown in both sports.

A turning point could have come this spring when All-State shortstop John Willette transferred to Johnston from Hendricken. Coro had been a mainstay at shortstop, and DeMeo told him that when Willette was eligible, he would take over the position. Coro handled it well, as he had only one goal in mind.

“We talked preseason that when John was eligible Jake had to go to second base, and he was disappointed but he said, I want to go to McCoy, whatever we got to do,” DeMeo said. “He came back and played better. Talent gets you so far, but heart and soul, which Jake has an abundance of, is what we’re gonna miss.”

The shift certainly didn't affect Coro’s performance at the dish. The senior captain barreled the ball all season, hitting to a tune of .413 with four doubles and nine RBIs out of the leadoff spot. His standout campaign earned him First-Team All-State honors and helped lead Johnston to a Division I Final Four appearance.

“Baseball is his main love as far as athletics, and he just wants to win,” DeMeo said. “If we put him in the outfield, he would have been his best outfielder. He understands what to do and he’s a great leader. He’s not really rah-rah, but more lead by example. Even our last game of the season [against South Kingstown] we were down 9-5, there was no quitting. Those are the guys you really, really appreciate it.”

Baseball may have been his first love, but Coro had a natural talent for basketball as well. Coro averaged 9.2 points per game for the Panthers, facilitating the game from the point guard position.

DeMeo thought back to one game a couple of years ago when Johnston made a furious comeback against Mount Saint Charles. Coro drilled four 3-pointers and notched a few steals to help send the game into overtime.

“He saved our bacon in at least three games in basketball,” DeMeo said. “It was all on his shoulders. He wouldn’t lose his ground. He wouldn’t be denied.”

Coro’s hard work over the years has paid off as he earned a baseball scholarship to play at Division II powerhouse Southern New Hampshire University. His hole will be almost impossible to fill on the basketball and baseball roster, as he brought more than just talent in the winter and spring.

“Everybody knows him [as a] very free spirit,” DeMeo said. “Never-ending, non-stop. Before the game, after the game. He will succeed because he will outwork everybody else. He’s not gonna get away with some of his stuff because the competition is much better, but he will work at his weaknesses. We weren’t the only ones to recognize his greatness.”

Coro knows that his time in blue has prepared him well for future endeavors.

“[It was] definitely a grind,” Coro said. “Hard work and dedication. The most important thing I’ll take away is the stuff I learned and the people who have helped me be who I am today.”