Courtesy of Salem State Sports Information

Salem, Mass. -- Salem State baseball will welcome a new addition to the team this season. Nick Jarvis from Middleton, Mass. has been selected by head coach Mike Ward to fill the role of team manager for the Vikings in 2016.

Nick, a member of the the SOAR program at Salem State, which assists students diagnosed with anxiety and related disorders transition to college, spent this past summer working with the North Shore Navigators, a collegiate summer baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts featuring current players Richard Fecteau (Newburyport, Mass.) and Pete Gonski (East Lyme, Conn.). Nick will continue to build on his baseball experience at Salem State by helping pitching coach Al Donovan with a wide range of responsibilities.

Coach Ward was introduced to Nick through Mike Plansky, founder of "You're With Us!", a Boston area based organization, which creates opportunities with able-bodied college groups for young adults(14 ) with disabilities. Plansky, the former director of athletics at Marblehead and Dedham high schools was also the head men's basketball coach at Endicott College from 2002-2005. With Nick, who would like to pursue a career in Sport Management coming to Salem State, an opportunity presented itself, and coach Ward was convinced after meeting him that both he and the team would benefit by having Nick join the program.

"Nick has been a great addition to our team. Our players and coaches really enjoy having him around. He has a great personality and has been helpful to our coaching staff. Nick really cares about baseball and enjoys being part of our team. I am glad that we can work with him to help him to continue develop so he can reach his goals."

Salem State, the defending Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference champions, will open the season on March 5 at Endicott College.