Meet junior Noah Webb (Kodak, Tennessee) who has been playing baseball since he was in kindergarten and is a catcher for the ETSU Buccaneers.
Growing up, Webb played two sports, baseball in the spring and football in the fall.
“I’ve always been really attracted to baseball and football. My parents always wanted me to play two sports, and I guess because their seasons are the opposite times, they were the only two sports that worked out for me and that I actually enjoyed,” said Webb.
When Webb was 12 years old, he went to a huge tournament known as Cooperstown in New York. Youth baseball players from all over can come and compete while staying in the area.
“I went with all my friends that I have grown up with and one of the teams we played against were from Hawaii. It’s like a big thing where the kids got together to play. We would trade pins and stay on campus. It’s a cool thing for kids to go through that they usually wouldn’t.”
Cooperstown is a village popular with the baseball community; because it is the location of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
In his junior year of high school, Webb tore his UCL and had to undergo Tommy John Surgery. This time in his baseball career took a toll on him mentally more than physically.
“It wasn’t really painful, I guess after throwing it would be more painful because you are moving something that has not been moved in months,” said Webb. “Really it was mentally tough to throw and know that the last time you threw you were throwing [this hard], and now you’re throwing, and you’re barely throwing the ball hard at all.”
When Webb came to ETSU as a freshman preparing for his first collegiate season, COVID-19 took that away. Webb made the most of it and, in the end, was grateful for the experience given to him.
“It almost helped me to be able to be like, okay this is a taste of what college baseball is. I didn’t experience a whole season, but it got me more mentally prepared for the next season with how things are, the preparations that you have to have as well as the expectations that I personally set for myself to have for the next season,” said Webb.
Webb grew up close to his family and friends and expressed his love for having built a community here at ETSU with his team being one of the most important things to him.
“Being away from home you don’t have your family or your friends that you’ve grown up with your whole entire life. Having these guys around is like my family away from my family,” said Webb. “Building bonds, grinding on and off the field with them, it’s just the little things and moments that make our bond even better.”
