South Plantation Perserveres And Looks For Big Things

Kyle Hesse is the type of guy who will inspire anyone.

The South Plantation senior has overcome tons of adversity just to work his way back onto the field. He is a model for hard work, perseverance and a positive attitude. It is a love for baseball that has kept Hesse going despite a bevy of obstacles that have tried to derail his baseball career.

Hesse has always been an accident-prone type of kid, something best proven by the big scar he has after falling through a glass table a few years back. It was all the way back in the sixth-grade when he first injured his knee, a knee that has proven to be more troublesome than any child could ever imagine. Since the initial injury Hesse has dislocated the kneecap more than half a dozen times, and had to undergo two more surgeries. His last operation forced him to miss all of last season after doctors shifted his tibia and inserted two screws into the bone.

Hesse never missed a day of practice last year, and he used the workouts to get physically stronger while using the practices to study the game. There was never a doubt in his mind that he would make a full recovery and return to the field of play. Now that chance has arrived, and he is relishing every moment of it.

“It feels good to put the uniform back, since I haven’t worn it since my sophomore year,” said Hesse. “I bring a lot of passion to the game and I just go out there and I want to win everyday. I hope I inspire them. I just really love this game and it means a lot to me to come back out here.”

While there is always concern that another injury could occur, Hesse does not let such thoughts slow him down. He jokes about it even as he uses the constant reality as a motivator to enjoy every second of the time he gets to continue playing.

“My friends used to joke that I should be wrapped in bubble-wrap,” said Hesse. “Coach wants a lot of leadership from the seniors this year and I want to take one of those roles. I have to fight for my starting spot. I just want to help the team and build some chemistry with them.”

Meanwhile Hesse is just one of many inspirational storylines running through the Paladins roster in 2014. It is a special and unique bunch that is assembled under second-year manager Kendrick Gomez. This group is enjoying the first bit of stability they have ever had during their high school playing careers, and it is ever so important given the turbulence so many of them face in other areas of their lives.

“If anything hurt us last year, it was a lack of senior leadership,” said Gomez. “This year, these guys are seniors and they have their own stories. Just by their life experiences they are going to be leaders. We are going to start seven or eight underclassmen, but we are heading in the right direction.”

Jose Fernandez is another player who went through adversity this past year when a blister formed in his lung and his lung collapsed, hospitalizing him for over two weeks. He recovered from the ordeal with the realization that baseball was his one sport going forward, choosing to give up playing basketball for the Paladins as well. The Cuban native loves the game and he puts in a lot of work at practice to get better. He is still growing accustomed to being a leader, but he enjoys playing for Coach Gomez and he is just happy he is able to keep playing the game.

“Coach Gomez brings energy to the game, I guess because he used to be a football coach,” said Fernandez. “It’s still setting in that I’m a senior. It puts more pressure on you but it makes it more fun to be able to help the other guys improve around you.”

Fernandez sets a great example on the field, and his teammates look up to him and they call the big hulky senior “King Kong”. Just like with Hesse, the guys are inspired and they take more pleasure in practicing and playing games knowing how much these teammates have overcome to be able to be there alongside them.

“It was tough what happened to Jose last year, and the whole team went and visited him in the hospital,” Gomez recalled. “He’s committed to come back even though he could have easily hung up the cleats. He’s an academic kid and he could have easily said he’s not going to take the chance of getting hurt.”

It seems every player on the team has some sort of story, and it cultivates a chemistry that is working to turn the program around.

The Paladins finished at 8-9-1 in Gomez’s first year at the helm, while allowing their young team to gain a lot of valuable playing experience in the process. After several straight years in which the coach was replaced each season, the program was finally able to create a foundation in bringing Gomez back this season. The coach has been with the team for several years, and he says he has no intention of going anywhere.

Stability is crucial to any solid ballclub, and especially one with as many young and unproven players as the Paladins put on the field. Everyday the club grows stronger, with a booster club that is growing and showing its support of the man in charge. The school also has stability under new Principal Christie Henchall, and the administration has also been strong and unwavering in backing their sports programs. South Plantation had a strong freshmen class last year that was headed by starters Zach Birchall and Reese Freeman, and in 2014 they again welcome a talented new wave of freshmen such as Brandon Schrieber and Juan Jeffrey.

“I try to get the guys to learn how to win games. They hadn’t won many games the last few years, so that was the first thing we tried to accomplish,” said Gomez. “Learn how to win, know that’s why we are here, and then learn how to play a full seven innings so we have a win in the end. They have had to change overnight and it wasn’t easy.”

No longer is this a down program struggling to play the game. This is an eager bunch, which channels their youthful energy into one of its greatest strengths rather than any sort of a handicap. They want to win and be a part of the turnaround here at the school. They believe in themselves and they push one another every step of the way.

“We actually have a competition at every position,” Gomez admitted. “We also have plenty of pitchers who are all competing to be the starters. Last year that was more of an issue where we had two or three positions where there was nobody there to push them. But we have that this year, even in our jv program. I think if you can go that deep with talent it makes you a better ball club.”

That depth begins on the mound for this team, where they return all of their starters from a season ago. Seniors Ryan Terrill and Mike Mele combined to start 12 of the team’s 18 games, and Andy Sanchez also returns to assume a larger role as the team’s solid number three man. Terrill is the team’s workhorse, having thrown 38 innings in eight starts last year, going 4-4 with 39 strikeouts. Mele, who is also the school’s starting quarterback, will provide a nice compliment as a strong number two on the staff.

Having graduated the sheer bulk of the team’s offense, it is an even bigger boost knowing that the pitching will ease the pressure to score runs. It will likely take time for hitters to grow into their roles, and thankfully the team has the pitching that can still win them games during that process.

It is a fresh new district for the Paladins this season, and it puts the team in a group of teams which Coach Gomez shares a nice relationship with. This new district includes Cooper City, Cypress Bay, Piper and Western. Coach Gomez admits it is no secret that Wayne Slofsky at Cooper City will have a competitive team, that Piper is up and coming and that Western has always been a solid club. But it is the contests with Cypress Bay that he is the most excited about, since Lightning Manager Mike White is the man who first brought Gomez into coaching. This match up will also be one of the HSBN Game of the Week feature games.

“Everybody knows the adversity that Coach White went through last season with the passing of his wife,” said Gomez. “He is a great friend of mine and she was just an exceptional woman. Coach White and I talk about once a week, and really we talk a lot. That is going to be a very special game.”

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