Plum’s varsity baseball team is on firm footing thanks to the continued generosity of a former player.

When Nick Frazetta first donated cleats to the team last year, it was something the 2017 Plum graduate said he would be doing every year.

He made good on that promise March 30, giving each of the team’s players Nike cleats the team’s captains had selected. In total, the shoes cost about $1,300.

“It’s an impressive display of generosity, it really is,” Plum coach Carl Vollmer said. “I was more impressed this year than last with the generosity and the message. The message continues to get better. He becomes more and more impressive as a person.”

Frazetta, 25, now lives in Arlington, Va., where he is vice president of Yeckley, Tantlinger & Subich Wealth Management.

After graduating from high school, he earned a degree in economics at Penn State, graduating in 2021.

Frazetta said he wanted to find a unique way to give back. Rather than a scholarship, which would help one student, he chose cleats, which he said they all need and use.

“I always thought it would be cool as a team to have the same cleats,” he said. “I was big into shoes when I was younger.”

The school district does not provide cleats as part of the team’s uniform. Previously, each player bought cleats on their own, Vollmer said.

Vollmer expects the players to use their cleats through the high school season and into the summer and fall.

In his 20th season as the team’s coach, Vollmer said Frazetta was a good student, an excellent teammate and a good player.

“He really does kind of represent what you want and hope as kids come through your program, that they gain from it,” he said. “It’s not always just about baseball. It’s about all of the things associated with it, the discipline, the time management, the focus, the determination, all of the things that you hope that you can be a part of instilling or helping to instill those qualities and just having a program that emphasizes those things.”

As he continues to look for ways to give back to his hometown community, Frazetta said he plans to continue donating cleats to the team each year.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.

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Source: Trib-Live