Athlete of the Week: 10 questions with Paxton Feder, Highland Park baseball

Paxton Feder is a senior center fielder for the Giants. He was named the Central Suburban North’s Player of the Year and will attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison starting next year.

1. Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?

One thing I’ve been doing for a couple years now is I got to put my left cleat on before my right. I don’t know what it is. Also before I run onto the field, a lot of guys like to step over a foul line, I like to give a hop. Those two things I’ve been carrying with me for a couple of years now.

2. Why is Wisconsin a good fit?

I’ve had a lot of family ties to the school. My mom (Aly Feder) went there. My brother (Parker Feder) is a current student there, and my dad (Ben Feder) was a law professor there for a year. It’s a nice family fit with the success they’ve had. I’ve loved growing up around the school and with my brother’s first two years there.

3. What is your dream job?

Right now, as it stands, I’m going into the business realm, but if I could turn that into something in sports, like baseball, doing analytics for a team or anything in that area, that would be a dream job. I hope to stay around the game while using a degree that I worked hard for.

4. What was key to earning Player of the Year honors?

I had a great support system, and there was a lot less pressure senior year. I got to have fun and play baseball rather than stress about the workload that comes with junior year. So the combination of great senior support, with the 12 seniors we have, and being a second-semester senior with a college decision let me let loose and play the game I love.

5. What is your first memory of baseball?

I tink my first memory would be actually playing with some of my current teammates back then. I had a couple buddies on that (Highland Park house league) team when we were around 8 years old. We’ve had a friendship all throughout elementary and middle school. It’s been great to see those guys develop alongside me.

6. What’s your top moment on a baseball field?

I would have to say this past year winning back-to-back conference titles was really awesome, just for the whole team. Seeing the guys work their butt off last year for a conference championship and seeing the seniors leave and getting to do it again.

7. What’s your favorite thing to do off the field?

I love spending time with family, especially on the golf course. I love golfing, I love playing pickleball, just having good company, being around friends friends and being outside when I can.

8. If you’re in Walgreens with a couple bucks, what are you buying?

I would have to say I’m picking up an Arizona Ice Tea, the 99-cent tall one, and probably a Chex Mix bag.

9. What is something people don’t know about you?

I’d say it might be that I’m more musically inclined than people think. I don’t take piano lessons but have been playing piano most of my life. Whenever I run into piano, people might be surprised i can play a little bit. I’ve always been around music.

10. How would you summarize your senior season?

It’s been amazing. It’s truly been about cherishing the final moments with people I’ve spent the most amount of time with. With some of these guys, that’s 10-plus years. A lot of the senior season and the memories come from outside baseball — the team outings we had, the dinner after the conference championship, we went to a Cubs game, countless hangouts at people’s houses. Being around those people one last time has made our on-field success that much better. That part has really helped us as a team.

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