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Riding Into the Sunset

On a warm summer’s day in a rural part of western Glynn County, Caden Hutchinson strolls down a path on his family’s property. By his side is his horse, Jack.

“I ride him occasionally, but mostly he just follows me down and hangs out at our pond while I’m fishing,” Hutchinson said.

There won’t be much time for Hutchinson and Jack to go fishing in the coming weeks. As the heat of summer sets in and classrooms take time off, conditioning drills begin all over Southeast Georgia. For Hutchinson, a former Risley Middle School three-sport standout, it means hard work.

“I know there will be a lot more competition and the games will be faster,” said the soon-to-be Glynn Academy Red Terror.

This summer Hutchinson will make the change from Risley Middle green to GA red and white. He has been practicing five days a week and weight training the other two days.

“I’ll be playing some five-star travel baseball, practicing with the GA baseball team, and GA football conditioning,” he said. “Lots of weight lifting and running.”

His plan is to play both football and baseball at the high school level. Coaches believe that will happen because it is hard to determine his best sport.

“Hard to say which one,” Robbie Snow, Risley baseball and football coach, said. “He is great at both.”

Hutchinson is a combination of strength, toughness, and speed.

“Overall stronger than any I have ever coached,” Snow said, adding that Hutchinson’s competitiveness makes him stand out.

At Risley Middle School, Hutchinson was a wrestler, football player, and baseball player – a triple-threat athlete who helped lead the Wildcats to big seasons in all three sports. On the gridiron he was a tailback and middle linebacker. Hutchinson, or “Big C” as he is sometimes known, is not bigger than other players at 5’5″ and 165 pounds, but he can still bull his way over defenders when he carries the ball. He is a tough runner with tremendous speed and power. Most of the time he is an elusive runner who outruns opponents to the endzone. As a linebacker, he fights off blocks and uses his speed to make big hits in the backfield. Hutchinson played both ways and hardly ever came off the field.

“He was always making tackles or getting those extra yards,” Snow said.

Hutchinson scored the majority of the Wildcats’ touchdowns and made most of the tackles on defense.

“Let’s just say without him, we don’t win that many games,” Snow said.

On the baseball diamond, Hutchinson played shortstop, catcher, and pitcher for Snow’s Wildcats, who were 11-1 this season. Hutchinson had a batting average of over .560 and an on-base percentage of .700. As a pitcher, he won every outing with an earned run average of below 1.0.

“He struck out an average of two batters per inning,” Snow said.

After defeating the three other Brunswick-area middle schools – Jane Macon, Glynn, and Needwood – the Risley Wildcats claimed the city championship. The Wildcats got big wins against most of their opponents. Their only setback was an early season loss to McIntosh County Middle School in Darien. The loss seemed to inspire the Risley players, who mowed down their remaining opponents including two victories over McIntosh. The Wildcats faced the Buccaneers in the area middle school finals and came away with a 15-3 victory in a game called after four innings.

“There was a sense of nervousness in the locker room before the game,” Hutchinson said. “We came out with some big hits putting us in the lead early in the game, and we won.”

The son of Benji and April Hutchinson, Caden Hutchinson’s favorite subject is science.

“In college I would like to get a degree in education and be an athletic coach, but my ultimate sports dream would be to go pro,” Hutchinson said.

He received Risley Middle’s first ever John Williams athletic award for students who performed in three or more sports. He was also on the Glynn County 14U all-star baseball team that won the Georgia State Championship in 2016. Hutchinson started playing baseball for the Glynn County Recreation Department at 6 years old.

“I loved it so much my dad and friends, Jaimie Jobe and Matt Wilson, put together a travel team, the Diamond Dawgs, so I could play on a team with my friends.”

His father coached him in travel ball and all-stars.

“Caden had always had tons of energy, and sports has given him an outlet for that as well as teaching him about commitment and hard work,” Benji Hutchinson said. “The first thing that comes to mind about his early years is playing soft toss in the yard. He was only 6 or so, but he swung the bat so hard it spun him around and popped him in the back of the head. He was okay, and we laugh about it now and how far he’s come.”

Caden Hutchinson credited his dad for encouraging his athletic activities.

“He puts his heart into helping push me to not give up and work hard for what I want,” Hutchinson said.

Favorites:

Snack: Bananas with peanut butter.

Food: Hibachi steak and shrimp.

Hobby: Fishing.

Pro team: Patriots.

College team: Georgia Tech.

Pro player: Mike Trout.

TV show: “The Walking Dead.”

Movie: “Lord of the Rings.”

Movie star: Kate Upton.

School subject: Science.

Pets: My horse, Jack.

Place to travel: Scalloping in St. Marks, Florida.

Car: Ford Raptor.

Who inspires you and why? My dad inspires me because he was a good athlete and I want to be one.


SE-RS-0617-Hutchinson

Rising Star

Caden Hutchinson

Risley Middle School

By Rob Asbell

Photography by Michael Brinson

Riding Into the Sunset

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