Junior Blake Wilson pitches for the Legacy baseball team.

There’s always a certain scenario in front of the homes of every family. A father and his son throwing around a baseball. The mother working hard in the kitchen preparing a meal. The young boy, only just now learning how to throw a ball, has no idea that he will one day play for the Legacy baseball team as their pitcher. Never knowing that it would overwhelm his entire life.

“I didn’t decide, [baseball] just came to me naturally,” junior Blake Wilson said.

Back and forth, the boy shifted from adolescent growth spurts, to a strong young man. Being six feet tall and built strong and burly, the head coach, David Walden, at Legacy sees potential in Wilson. Walden sees a very quiet, hard working, dedicated athlete who’s very talented in the sport. Wilson has grown up with his life revolving around the sport, playing for more than a decade and doing everything in his power to reach his full potential, so there’s no questioning what Walden sees.

“I wouldn’t change anything about my life.” Wilson said. “I would be a different person if things changed and I like who I am.”

Back and forth the young man juggles playing baseball and engaging in school work. Wilson has taken, and continues to take, all AP classes and ranks 5th in the junior class. Dreaming of going to Lubbock Christian University, Wilson has dedicated his life to getting there in either academics or on a baseball scholarship. The school, as well as the idea of college, has been on the radar screen of every high school student at some point in their life. However, for Wilson, it has pushed him to work even harder than the average teenager.

“I gotta work real hard,” Wilson said,”because it’s pretty hard to go to practice everyday after school and have room for homework.”

Back and forth, the mother of this devoted athlete watches from the sidelines as her son prepares himself for his future. Not realizing it, but the son, who in his free time works out at the gym, tries to hang out with his friends and scarfs down the food she makes, actually has a very emotional connection to her. Wilson explains that the work ethic and constant, positive attitude she exuberates has always inspired him. He has watched her from his own field of play, and mimicked her in order to be the motivated young man he is today.

“She’s the best mom ever,” Wilson said.

Back and forth, the boy and his father toss the ball. Back and forth they reminisce in silence. Back and forth, the boy watches the ball sway in the cool evening breeze, not realizing that when he grows up he will be like the ball, tough on the outside but with a soft interior, being tossed back and forth between school and baseball. Back and forth, gaining speed and wisdom in both directions.