Baseball is a game that passes from generation to generation. Times change and so do uniforms, but the legacy of the game remains. At 14 years old, Will Bowdoin, an eighth-grader at Frederica Academy, learned the game the right way from his father Sidney, who enjoyed a successful career at Valdosta High in the late seventies. Bowdoin has been coached mainly by his father since T-ball, but his father taught him the importance of fundamentals, practicing hard, and loving the game.
His father isn’t the only influence inspiring the love of the game in Bowdoin. His mother, Angie, is just as passionate as the rest of the family about baseball. As an eighth-grader, Bowdoin is starting at shortstop for Frederica Academy’s varsity baseball team.
“He is one of the most fundamental young players I’ve ever seen. He is baseball savvy beyond his age. His work ethic is his greatest attribute. Bowdoin hates to fail and lose and is an intense competitor. He prides himself on doing things correctly and is extremely coachable. I’m looking forward to watching him grow as a baseball player and young man. He has a very bright future ahead of him,” Frederica Academy head baseball coach Greg Roberts says.
Baseball isn’t the only sport Bowdoin plays for the Knights. He was also the quarterback for the Frederica Middle School football team. “Football has really helped me a lot because it’s taught me it’s how big you are. You learn to be able to hit and how to take a hit and get up. Football has made me tougher, and that has made me a better athlete – especially the weightlifting and the cardio and speed workouts that I have done,” Bowdoin says.
Bowdoin has played baseball competitively since he was young, but what made a huge difference for him was playing for a travel team, the North Florida Hurricanes, based out of Jacksonville. One of his coaches with the team was Mark Campbell, a catcher in the Houston Astros organization, who caught Nolan Ryan during his time with Houston. Playing with his friend Randin Jernagin, a former In the Game Rising Star from Risley Middle School, Bowdoin learned a lot from Campbell.
Besides playing shortstop, Bowdoin is also a pitcher. After learning to control his pitches through travel ball, he now has pretty good command of three pitches. “I throw a 12-to-6 curve ball about 55 mph, a straight change up that drops in on right-handed hitters that hits about 60 mph. I throw two different fast baseballs, a two-seam and a four-seam that has been clocked between 75 and 80 miles per hour,” Bowdoin says.
Throwing the ball is only part of the game for Bowdoin. He learned how to work certain hitters and keep himself ahead in the count and hitters guessing about what pitch might come next. Normally he works as a starter, but as the youngest member of Frederica’s varsity, he hasn’t thrown any this season so far but is willing serve in any role on the mound.
“I’ve normally been a starting pitcher, learning to work ahead in the count, throw strikes, and keep the ball away from hitters and hit my spots. I’ve learned to look at scouting reports on hitters and also learned to know the certain sequence of pitches to throw certain hitters,” Bowdoin says.
Bowdoin is just as calculating at the plate as he is on the mound or in the field. He isn’t going to the plate just to swing a bat; he understands the purpose of each and every bat. Hitting as a three and four hole, he walks a lot, and the fact that he is a selective hitter gives his teammates a chance to see more pitches.
“I want to make the pitcher give me the pitch that I want to hit, not what he wants me to hit. I am very selective as a hitter, but I also understand situations. If I am in a situation that I need to get a bunt down, I will do that. It’s normally [my] goal to get a pitch that I can drive right over the shortstop’s head into to the gap. One of my coaches told me that the best curve ball hitters are usually good fastball hitters, too,” Bowdoin says.
Bowdoin got his first varsity hit for Frederica this season against the Coastal Hurricanes, an independent team made up of players that are homeschooled. Though pleased with the hit and his .460 batting average, his most memorable experience related to baseball occurred during his travel ball time.
“My favorite baseball experience was being able to go to Cooperstown, where the Baseball Hall of Fame is. We got to play a tournament at the stadium there, which was absolutely amazing. Even more important than athletics, is my commitment to Christ. I know God has given me the ability to play, and I just want to make sure I honor him in all that I do,” Bowdoin says.
SE-RS-4.14-WillBowdoin
Passing on the love of the game
By John Wood
