Submitted photo: Clay Jones is a senior pitcher for the Marshall baseball team that overcame an injury to his right arm to play at the varsity level while both throwing and catching with his left arm.

I have been following sports of all kinds since I was a little kid, so I have really enjoyed watching some great athletes perform all over Minnesota the last 70 years. I have gotten to know many of them personally and I value their friendship more than I can say. And since I started doing coverage of games in the area for the Independent, I have met so many more great young men and women while reporting the games. I enjoy every chance I get to know these athletes, and in my travels to Marshall, I met another outstanding young man.

His name is Clay Jones, and he is a Senior at Marshall High School. He is polite and soft-spoken, and he is the kind of kid that you can like at first glance. He was an offensive lineman on the Tigers football team, and he is currently finishing up his last year as a pitcher on the baseball team.

I have not had a chance to watch him play, since I haven’t covered many Marshall games. Jake and Samantha do a great job with that, and I am mainly covering RTR games. But I wish I would have had to chance to take in a football or baseball game in the last couple of years. Then I would have had the chance to watch Clay pitch, or throw blocks on the football field.

Clay did not make any All-State teams, in fact, I don’t think he was an All-Conference player in either sport. Like thousands of other kids around the state, he just tried to contribute to the Tigers success. His football coach, Terry Bahlman, told me that Clay was a hard worker, and bided his time like a lot of players have to do until his chance to play came.

“He started out in the offensive line, and when he was a junior, we switched him to guard. He ended up being probably our best trap blocker by his senior year. He worked in a three-man rotation, and he played a lot in our State semi-final game. He has been a good leader for us, and he played special teams. He worked hard, never complained, and had a great attitude.”

Now I suppose this could be said of hundreds of athletes who played high school sports. So what makes Clay stand out among these athletes? Well, Clay was born with a birth injury that limited the use of his right arm.

Treatments and a surgery for a nerve transfer didn’t resolve the issue, so Clay went on with life. He started playing T-ball like everybody else, but learning to catch with his right hand and arm was an issue. His mobility was limited, as was the reaction time with his right arm. He had to learn how to hold his glove in his right hand, throw with his left hand, then transfer the glove back to his left hand to catch a ball, then transfer the glove back to his right hand to throw the ball.

At that age, any of those things are hard and he could have gotten easily discouraged. After hundreds of hours of practice, Clay mastered the art so he could pitch effectively.

This is the same story as Jim Abbott, who did the exact same thing, but was able to make it all the way to the major leagues. In fact, he pitched a no-hitter in 1993 for the New York Yankees. His story gained national attention, being able to pitch at the highest level for 10 years, despite being born without a right hand. Clay may not reach that level, but he is doing what he can to make the Marshall Tigers a winning team.

Chace Pollock is the baseball coach for the Tigers, and he had nothing but praise for Clay. “He is the type of kid that comes out every practice and every game with a good attitude. He is all about the team, and you never hear Clay have an excuse for anything. Obviously, there are some challenges for him, but he has never complained to any of our coaches.

“He works hard in practice, and always tries his best, since that is the only way he knows how to do things. His parents had a lot to do with instilling that kind of attitude and work effort, since it would have been easy for all of them to just give up when things don’t go well. He never has a “Why Me?, or this is too hard” attitude, and he has a unique ability, which he can use to his advantage as a pitcher. You can’t practice against what he does, and he can keep hitters off-balance, and that makes it really fun to watch. He pitched for me in summer league baseball, and he beat the two best teams in back-to-back games. Nearly every coach and umpire has come to me after games and asked about him. They are all intrigued and mesmerized by what he can do.”

This season, Clay has been a reliever for Marshall.

“Our team this season has been great for pitchers, since we don’t make many errors and we hit the ball well. That makes it easier for our pitchers to do their job,” Clay said, adding that if this would have happened just a few years ago, it would have been a lot tougher adjustment. “But I have been doing this all of my life, so I don’t even think about it anymore. I had to try different things, do things a different way. The only thing I have a little trouble with is line drives back at me. I have to hope I can just knock it down and get the out. Otherwise, for the most part, it has gone pretty well.”

Coach Bahlman also offered those same sentiments. “He kept his nose to the grindstone, worked hard, never complained. We made a few adjustments in the weight room, and once you gave him something to do, he did it with a great attitude. Some things worked, and some things didn’t, but we helped him with his strength exercises, and he some real contributions to our football team. I know his teammates looked up to him, and his hard work paid off.”

Clay had this to offer on his career so far. ” I really thank the coaches and my parents for all the help and support they have given to me. I wouldn’t be able to do things I have done without their help. They were always willing to work with me, and they were always very accommodating. That has made it all a great experience for me, and it made all my hard work pay off.”

Clay may never make the major leagues, or throw a no-hitter (although I wouldn’t bet against it). He may not win every game he plays, but he is winning the game of life in an All-American way. Congratulations to this terrific athlete and young man. Look for his name somewhere in the near future. He will be the name on the top of the leaderboard!

-Oscar Hansen is a sports correspondent for the Marshall Independent