Hitting a baseball: For a talented athlete like Scott Simon, it’s kind of like riding a bike — you never quite forget how to do it.

Sometimes though, your thought process gets in the way of your performance.

“I still feel like I’m getting back in the process,” Simon said. “I’m used to 50 or 60 summer games that was just lost time for me. I’ve put a lot of hard work into it. I still feel like I’m coming back from the injury.”

For Simon, conquering the mental hurdles associated with injury has allowed a return to the form he exhibited in his first two seasons at NIU, and gain recognition as the Northern Star’s No. 6 athlete of the season.

“I had high expectations last year,” Simon said. “The injury was a setback. I was supposed to be leading a team on the field. We weren’t sure what the problem was with the wrist. Even after surgery I worried I might feel the same pain.”

A steady performance in 2006 has the Marian Central Catholic product second on the team with a .352 batting average, a .452 on base percentage, five home runs and 33 RBIs. Simon leads NIU with 39 runs, 16 doubles and 89 total bases.

So is there a friendly competition for the team lead in batting average?

“We don’t talk about it,” senior right fielder and leading hitter Brian Toner said. “It’s never brought up, maybe it is superstition. But I have so much respect for Scottie. He is such a great player.”

After a year off, Simon has made up for lost time and moved into second place on the NIU all-time hit list. The Algonquin native has recovered to play in all 44 games this year.