As much as he possibly can, 14-year-old Brandon Wright wants to be outside. Every chance he gets, the eighth-grader at Calvary Christian School enjoys hunting and fishing. It’s no wonder he plays two open-air sports as well. “I’ve always loved being outdoors. That’s just me,” says Wright.
Also characteristic of Wright is his love of the two sports he plays. Baseball and football have deep roots in Wright’s life. His early start at playing baseball came from a passion he developed very young at the hands of a somewhat unlikely source.
“When I was four years old, my grandmother would have me in the backyard and she would lob it in there and I would hit it as hard as I could. Of course, it didn’t go very far but I tried. It was back then that I started to love baseball,” he says.
From there Wright began playing T-ball at Northern Little League at the age of six. He continued in Little League play until the sixth grade when as a 12-year-old his team went as far as the Georgia state championship. Even though Wright’s team didn’t emerge the winner, he has great memories of playing baseball during that time and it prompted him to continue the sport in middle school at Calvary.
During the years Wright has played organized baseball, he has seen time at many positions. Most often the right-handed 5’7” athlete has been a catcher, pitcher, and first baseman. His first year in the Knights middle school baseball program, Wright was the starting catcher. He pitched in three games but his favorite place is behind the plate, as catcher, which Wright considers the best seat in the house.
Wright considers the position of catcher a leadership position. In his mind, he has a job to do which not only involves watching every play and helping his pitcher, but also keeping his team in the game. He doesn’t call the pitches but Wright still feels a responsibility to lead the team.
“In middle school coaches make the calls unless it’s not a very pretty game. If it’s not a very pretty game then I might get to make a few but I like being a leader. I like being in control and making things work,” says Wright.
Making things work in baseball doesn’t mean Wright isn’t open to instruction or learning from others with more experience. Last year Wright played infield positions in one JV baseball game. The starting catcher for the JV team recently signed an athletic scholarship to attend LaGrange College to play baseball. Wright took every opportunity to learn from his teammate’s talent and experience.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be behind some great catchers. I’ve learned a lot from them by asking questions about everything you can think of to ask. I learned about throw downs. When you go from Little League when guys can’t steal until the pitch crosses the plate to guys who can steal as soon as pitchers start to pitch, you learn to be quicker, to be faster,” he says.
Wright considers his arm strength to be his best asset on the field with his love of the game coming in a close second. He is counting on both to see him through this season on the middle school team and the Junior Varsity team.
This spring Wright will be one of three seventh- and eighth-graders starting the season on the JV team, according to new Calvary baseball coach Steve Smith.
“Brandon will also be dressing for varsity games to provide depth off of the bench and by the end of the year, he could potentially see some time in varsity games,” says Smith.
Smith expects Wright to have a productive year as a member of the JV team, where his primary positions will be catcher and first base. There might be a few opportunities for Wright to play third base and spend some time on the mound as a pitcher, which would give Wright a chance to perfect his favorite pitch, the fastball.
Already Smith has seen that the young athlete has promise as a high school player.
“Brandon has shown his strengths to be his leadership ability with the middle school players. He has quickly picked up our new program that we have implemented this season with our players. His work ethic and drive to get better each day has given our coaches a window into the potential that he has. Brandon will play a big part in the success of the Calvary baseball teams both this year and the next four years after,” Smith says.
Next year will be a big year for Wright. As mentioned before, he is a two-sport athlete, playing football in the fall for the Knights. He was the middle school quarterback for both his seventh-grade and eighth-grade seasons and also saw time as a middle linebacker. While he can trace his love of the sport back even further than when he started playing baseball, Wright did not actually participate in football until middle school.
“I am a huge Auburn fan. I’ve been going to Auburn games since I was six months old. I have season tickets. I went to both the 2010 championship game and this year’s championship game. I always loved football and wanted to play,” says Wright.
His enthusiasm is obvious when he talks about football. When asked which sport is his favorite, Wright hesitates before saying that’s almost too difficult to answer. Both are outdoor sports, both use his leadership skills and both are physical games that require him to be actively involved in every play. Maybe it just comes down to what time of year you ask the question because for Wright. Right now is all about baseball.
“I can be having the worst day of my life but when I step between the lines on the field, everything changes. It’s the best day then,” he says.
Getting to know Brandon
Family: Parents, Dana and Donna Wright
Pets: Eight horses and three dogs
Favorite food: Grilled chicken
Place to eat: Red Lobster
Music: Country
Favorite team (college or professional): Auburn; Atlanta Braves
Favorite athletes: Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson
Person he would most like to spend a day with: Gus Malzahn
Place he would most like to visit: Seattle’s football stadium to see how loud it really is
Favorite movie: Facing the Giants
Person he most admires: My dad
Favorite scripture: Philippians 4:13
Best thing about Calvary Christian School: Bible class
Columbus Valley/Rising Star/April 2014
Brandon Wright
Calvary Christian School
Columbus, GA
By Beth Welch
Photos by Jerry Christenson
Calvary athlete is an outside kind of guy
Wonderful article!