Aidan Lipman feels it’s important to be well rounded, which is why he is part of Nottingham High’s Key Club, National Honor Society, Student Council, Peer Leadership group and varsity soccer team.
But there’s one activity that sparks him on to all the others.
“I can’t imagine life without baseball,” Lipman said. “I’ve been playing since I started walking and it’s been my drive for all these years. I’ve worked really hard. It’s been good to see my success.”
He enjoyed pretty good success as a junior and is doing even better as a senior.
Last year, with a strong cast of seniors carrying the load, Lipman flew under the radar and hit a solid .304 with 11 RBI and 13 runs scored. This season, as one of two seniors along with Brandon Rigas, the pressure is on to produce and Lipman was doing so early in the season.
Through Nottingham’s 5-5 start, he was batting a team-high .375 with two doubles, five walks, a .459 on-base percentage, .438 slugging percentage and .897 OPS.
“We kind of moved him around from the top to the two hole,” coach Charlie “Sir Sushi” Iacono said. “Wherever we put him he’s willing to do anything for the team. He can bunt, hit and run. He’s done a great job in the two hole getting our lineup started.”
Lipman batted fifth and sixth last year, but has welcomed moving higher in the lineup. “It’s definitely different,” he said. “You really have to look for that good pitch. I try to find something early in the count to hit. But I’m also very comfortable hitting with two strikes.”
One of the main reasons for the right-handed swinger’s higher average is his willingness and ability to hit the ball to the opposite field.
“I’ve had to work on that,” Lipman said. “I’ve always been a pull kind of hitter. This year I’ve been a lot better spraying the ball all over the place. If I just hit the ball to the pull side they’re gonna stand there and wait for it.”
Iacono felt it was almost a must that Lipman be better at hitting the ball where it’s pitched.
“Not just him but everybody,” the coach said. “A typical high school hitter struggles to hit the mid-away pitch to the opposite field and if you look at the good teams in the CVC that’s how they beat you. They use the whole field, they battle with two strikes.”
Lipman began his career playing rec ball with HTRBA and Nottingham Babe Ruth. He also played travel for the Hamilton A’s and Trenton Thunder Baseball Academy.
When he got to Nottingham, his parents encouraged Lipman to go out for a second sport to stay active and make friends, so he chose soccer and ended up playing all four years.
“That was more about having fun and connecting with people,” he said. “It was fun, I really enjoyed it even if I’m not the best at it. And I’m a little shy so it was a good way to start making friends my freshman year.”
He played shortstop for the JV team as a freshman, and got just one varsity at-bat that year. The following season he hit .277 in 47 at-bats while playing second base. He climbed over .300 last year and was flirting with .400 as of Apr. 23 of this season. Aside from hitting, Lipman also had to take over shortstop for the graduated Jordan Raba, one of the CVC’s best at that position this decade.
“Filling that void at shortstop was a question we were looking at,” Iacono said. “We knew he’d be one of the top two or three guys to replace Jordan. He said ‘Yeah let me go out there and play.’
“We started him in the scrimmages and there’s been no looking back. He’s there for the whole year, he’s doing a great job, making all the routine plays and just being a leader in the dugout. There’s a lot of youth on this team, we’ve only got two seniors. He sets a good example by doing the right things every single day.”
Having played shortstop in the past, Lipman made it his goal to return there.
“I knew Jordan was graduating and I’d have to work for it, and it would be mine if I could take it,” he said. “I knew it would be a challenge moving to short, but I feel like I’ve done a good job so far.”
Lipman prepared for the campaign with rigorous off-season work at Centercourt Lawrence. He took ground balls religiously, saying “I’m always trying to get as much work as possible because I want to do as good as I can all the time.”
Oftentimes, when a player switches to a new position — especially one as important as shortstop — it can affect their hitting because of the focus they are putting on defense. But Lipman has stuck to his usual routine.
“When I go up I try not to put pressure on myself,” he said. “Just take it one pitch at a time. I take a deep breath before every pitch. I step back and collect myself and just do the best I can.”
Along with accepting a new position and new spot in the lineup, Lipman and Rigas (who was batting .321 through 10 games) also have to lead an extremely young team that includes four freshmen and four sophomores.
Lipman is a lead-by-example guy.
“Aidan is a coach’s dream,” Iacono said. “He’s done whatever we’ve asked him to do. He did a lot in the off-season with the legion team and doing his lifting. He’s a gamer on the field. He’s doing a great job with everything we expect as a leader, as a baseball player and in the classroom.”
Lipman doesn’t mind leading, but feels he has help.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys and they know they can come to me whenever, and I’m always there to give them advice,” he said. “But really everyone’s a leader on this team, it’s not just one guy. We all fit in very well. We’re all like pieces to the puzzle.”
One thing that’s not puzzling to Lipman is his academics, as witnessed by a 4.48 weighted GPA.
“The classroom is very important to me,” he said. “Getting good grades is something my parents want me to do and that’s more important than baseball sometimes. I’ve gotta balance it.”
His next stop is the University of Delaware, where he will major in sports management.
“Sports is my life, I want to stay connected with that any way I can,” he said. “Whether it’s working with a major sports team or any way I can stay connected, that’s what I want to do.”
As for baseball, he said “I’m considering playing club baseball. I love this game. I love playing. Any way I can still play, I’ll be happy doing it.”
And why not? It seems to be the key that opens up all the other great things he does with his well-rounded life.
Senior Aidan Lipman was batting a team-high .375 for Nottingham this season. (Photo by Wes Kirkpatrick.),
