Athletes will often say that sports can be an outlet, a way to forget about things going on their lives. Others simply play sports for the fun of it, senior Clay Holzworth is one of those people. Holzworth is a pitcher for the Noblesville Baseball team, and has played the sport for fourteen years and this year has had great senior season so far.

“Well, til 6th grade, I played baseball, basketball, and football. [I] dropped football, kept with baseball [and] basketball,” Holzworth said. “It just started to get too much in high school, so I switched purely to baseball starting sophomore year.”

Despite dropping all other sports, Holzworth just enjoys heading out onto the field and having fun with his teammates, who he has played with for years.

“I think they’re all a ton of fun. Most of us have been playing since we were really young,” Holzworth said. “A lot of us played on the same [youth] teams so we’ve know each other for a long time. It’s cool to play with them then and to play with them now.”

One of these teams that Holzworth was on was coached by Justin Keever, his current head coach for the Noblesville High School baseball team. Having known Holzworth for awhile, Keever says he has been able to see Holzworth grow into a phenomenal baseball player and an even better teammate.

“He’s a genuine kid and he really cares about other people, definitely looks at what’s best for everybody first,” Keever said. “He’s got a servant-heart type of deal. He works very hard [and] tries to get the most out of his ability. [He’s] always thinking of ways to get better.”

While Holzworth is a varsity pitcher, the postion was originally not something that he initially considered, and he says he stumbled upon it due to Keever’s curiosity.

“I used to be a catcher and three weeks before sophomore year started [my coach] said ‘Hey Clay, jump on the mound, [let’s] see what you’ve got’.” Holzworth said. “I got up there, and then [afterwards] our pitching coach said, ‘Yep, today is the last day you’ll ever catch.’”

Since then, Clay has flourished as a pitcher, and he will be taking his talents to Butler University, and hopefully get a chance to play Major League Baseball.

“Next year I’m going to Butler University, to continue my baseball career. After that, hopefully I make it to the majors. So that’s the dream.”

Even with all the pressure that comes with playing college baseball, Holzworth’s aim is to keep his mind on what he enjoys most when it comes to baseball.

Holzworth said “Just have fun.”