The Jewish Link of New Jersey and Gotham Burger would like to recognize Joshua Kirsch as this week’s Sportstar of the Week. The nine-year-old, rising fourth grader at the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, was a key contributor behind the plate for the West Orange Warriors championship team. The Warriors are a summer travel team that competes with teams from neighboring towns including Caldwell, South Orange, Cedar Grove, Parsippany and others. The team started its summer season with a losing record, but they got hot and winning all the way to and including the championship series against Ivy Hill—2 games to 1 (12-6, 18-19, 19-4 in the championship game).

Joshua’s mom told the JLNJ “I am so proud of how hard he played all season. This summer has been really hot and it couldn’t have been easy wearing all that catcher’s gear, but he did it almost every game and never complained once. Whatever the coach asked him to do, he always did with a smile.”

JLNJ caught up with Joshua and he shared his thoughts:

Joshua congrats on a great season. Who is your role model?

Derek Jeter because he’s really good at baseball and I just want to play as well as he does one day.

Who is your favorite professional athlete?

John Cena (WWE) because he helps people, especially kids, who are sick.

Do you have a pregame routine?

Before games I eat a healthy dinner and drink Gatorade

What is your earliest sports memory?

When I had a diving catch playing right field on my Mountaintop League baseball team, the A’s, last year. Everyone thought I would never catch it and when I did, everyone cheered, even the parents on the other team—and I got the game ball.

What is your favorite sports memory?

When my Mountaintop team, the White Sox, won the championship this spring. Also, when I got to pitch my first game this summer when we played a home game against a team from Parsippany.

What is your favorite thing to do, when not playing baseball?

I really enjoy watching WWE wrestling.

What is the best thing about being a Sportstar?

I like that people recognize how hard I work. Also, maybe I can be a role model for younger kids.

The Gotham Burger Sportstar of the Week will receive a $10 gift certificate to Gotham Burger. Please send nominees for next week’s Gotham Burger Sportstar of the Week to [email protected].