MAY 6, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, HAGE A13
HAYS,
continued from Page A10
“Nolan Ryan is one of
my dad’s favorite players and
I remember seeing a video of
him beating up Robin Ventura
after he rushed the mound. I
thought, ‘A pitcher can do
that? I want to be a pitcher,’”
Riley said.
Even before that fateful day,
baseball had a firm grasp on
the future Celtic. His oldest
brother is nine years his senior
and another brother graduated
from McNary last year.
“I grew up watching them
play baseball but, even more
than that, it was something all
of us could do together – just
play catch in the yard. And it
was something I could do with
my dad by ourselves,” Riley
said.
Riley was pitching in a
tournament at Thurston High
School last July when he first
started experiencing pain in
his elbow.
“It was the third or fourth
inning and I’d been trying to
get a pitch on the outside half
because I’d been missing my
spot there all day. I finally just
tried to put some speed on it
and that’s when I felt it,” Riley
said.
He finished the game but
couldn’t move his arm easily
for the next few days. Soon,
the only time his elbow wasn’t
aching was when he was
throwing.
He went to the doctor in
October and X-rays revealed
an old stress fracture. That
alone wasn’t so out of the ordi-
nary, but bone fluid was leaking
into Riley’s elbow and creating
a pseudo-joint and causing the
pain. There was also a possibili-
ty of a ulnar collateral ligament
(UCL) tear, which would have
resulted in the infamous Tom-
my John surgery, but that was
eliminated as a cause.
Kyle said the UCL tear
would have been the worst
possible diagnosis, but it was
clear that going under the
knife for the stress fracture was
the best possible route.
“I knew immediately that
the right decision was to have
surgery if he ever wanted to
play baseball again,” Kyle said.
Riley reluctantly opted for
the surgery and returned for
his check-up on his birthday.
When Riley asked when
he would be able to throw
again he was expecting several
months. At best, he hoped he
would be able to pitch for the
Celtic varsity team this season.
Unfortunately, the physician’s
assistant dropped the hammer.
“He said I was out for a year
if not for good,” Riley said.
Back in his family’s car, Ri-
ley’s mother asked if he was
okay.
“I had a panic attack, I had
tears rolling down my face. I
was absolutely crushed that he
had said that,” Riley said.
Some dark days followed,
but Kyle said he was deter-
mined not to let Riley focus
on the negatives.
Slowly, things got better.
Riley got cleared to drive. He
learned that his teammates
weren’t going to abandon
him just because he wasn’t
on the mound. In March, he
was cleared to throw again. He
started the same way his jour-
ney began.
“It was just me and my dad
playing catch in the back yard.
He had to remind me that it’s
a marathon and not a sprint,
and that we have a goal we are
working toward for my senior
year,” Riley said.
That goal is becoming the
Greater Valley Conference
Pitcher of the Year. In the
short-term, Riley is hoping
to be cleared to pitch again in
time for summer baseball.
While the past year has
been an arduous one, Riley
said he’s come through it with
a lot of lessons learned.
“God is always good, He
has my best interests at heart
and He’s always there for me.
I also have a great support staff
in my friends and family and
we’ll always be close whether
I play baseball or not,” Riley
said.
Regardless of whether his
arm proves up the task, Riley
and Kyle get to maintain their
bond over the space where al-
most all baseball dreams start –
playing catch.
“Those moments are amaz-
ing although they don’t come
as often as they once did, but I
love playing catch with him,”
said Kyle. “I am a very blessed
father because I have a son
who wants to spend time with
me. Even if it’s 10 minutes of
playing catch, it makes my day
when he asks.”
B-ball summer camps set
The McNary High School
boys basketball program is now
signing up participants for its
summer camps.
The Freshman Training
Camp is slated to meet May
31 through June 19. The cost
is $105 and includes a camp T-
shirt and entry to the summer
youth camp June 20 through
23. The camp consists of seven
90-minute training sessions and
five tournaments. Players will
be selected – based on skill and
availability – to participate in
tournament games.
The summer youth camp,
$55, will be held at Whiteaker
Middle School. Grades three
through five will meet from 9
a.m. to noon. Grades six through
eight will meet from 1 to 4 p.m.
The camp focuses on develop-
ing fundamental skills to help
athletes improve their game.
Registration forms for both
camps are available at the Mc-
Nary, 595 Chemawa Road N.
On the
court
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Celt Maria Munguia-Ortiz returns a volley in competition Tuesday, May 3. The Lady Celts
were swept 8-0 by West Albany in the team’s only game last week.