Watching Chad Wallen pitch is like watching an artist work. With a dab here and a dab there, he picks his spots and hits them, often leaving batters befuddled.
“My favorite part of the game has to be pitching. When I’m on the mound, I get to block the whole world out and just focus on doing what I love,” says Wallen, a 6’2”, 210-pound senior who plays for Coach Greg Roberts’ Glynn Academy Red Terrors in Brunswick.
“For the most part, Chad is a quiet, laid-back guy,” Coach Roberts says. “He comes out of his shell when he is standing on the mound. It’s almost like that is the one place on earth that he feels the most comfortable.”
Baseball games become a family affair at Edo Miller Park when Glynn Academy plays. His mom, Laura Wallen, can be found somewhere between home plate and the snack bar watching the game along with Chad’s grandfather, “Papa” Ed Wallen, who never misses a game.
Chad’s father, Ted Wallen, is also there. The former head baseball coach of the Georgia Perimeter College Jaguars in Atlanta from 2000-2008, he is now an assistant coach for Glynn Academy.
“When he’s on the field, he pushes me just like everybody else,” Chad says. “He’s my coach. When he’s off the field, he’s back to being my dad, but it doesn’t matter what mode he’s in, we always talk baseball.”
On the field is Chad’s cousin and teammate, Jeffrey Wallen. “He’s like my best friend,” Chad says. “We spend basically everyday together. He’s like another brother to me.”
Chad started playing baseball very young, while his father was still at Georgia Perimeter College. When he was 12 years old, he hit a homerun in a tournament in Cooperstown, New York, the home of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He continued to play at Glynn Middle School in seventh and eighth grades. He played basketball at Glynn Academy his junior year but decided to concentrate solely on baseball his senior season, a decision widely accepted among Red Terror faithful. Wallen didn’t become a starter until last year when he played first base. This year, he has blossomed into a hard-throwing right handed pitcher that helped put Glynn Academy atop the standings of Region 3-AAAAA at the end of March. He adds leadership and dedication that everyone on the team learns from, and everyone knows that he takes his baseball career very seriously.
“He is the most disciplined pitcher I’ve ever caught,” says Chad’s teammate, Glynn Academy catcher Garrison Hurd. “He’s a smart pitcher. He’s not one of those guys that will try and throw it to where you cannot hit it; he forces the opposing team to put the ball in play, and our defense makes plays. And just when they think they have him down he’ll start mixing in his change-up, cutter, and breaking ball. I’ve never seen more than four hits off of him in a game. He’s that dude.”
In the Terrors’ second game of the 2016 season, Wallen tossed a complete game against Woodstock High from north of Atlanta, striking out 11 and giving up just three hits. He also had two hits of his own and an RBI. Later in the season, he threw a one-hit shutout against region foe Ware County and finished the game with just 68 pitches. At one point this season, he had an earned run average of 1.75. Following the annual three-game series with crosstown rival Brunswick High, Wallen was named the Player of the Series by the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame. He won two games in the series sweep by the Terrors, allowing just one earned run with 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings while batting .444.
A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a solid student, he hopes to play baseball in college next year.
“I am leaning toward going to a junior college the first two years,” he says. “South Georgia State College and Southern Union in Alabama are two that really interest me.” Wallen plans on majoring in physical therapy in college. For now, he is working to improve his game so that he can attract the attention of college scouts.
“I don’t believe I have reached my full potential yet,” he says.
Coach Roberts believes Wallen will play in college and could one day become a baseball coach. He has worked tirelessly to become the player he has, and his coaches are impressed at how he has improved over the past year, calling it a true testament that hard work and dedication pay off.
At home, Wallen is the oldest of three children, with a sister who plays middle school softball and a younger brother with a penchant for video games.
“Probably the coolest thing I have ever done is to be a big brother to my little brother Curry,” he says. “He is autistic and has taught me more about life than I could ever teach him.”
SE-0416-PS-Wallen
PS- Chad Wallen
Glynn Academy baseball
By Rob Asbell
At Home on the Mound
