Spells is a high school athlete that had to learn that there are moments in life that are bigger than sports. What Josh and his family had to go through all while doing his best on the field, is what makes him such an incredible person.
Josh Spells goes to Berrien high school where he will be in the graduating class of 2023 and plays baseball with the hopes of it getting him into a good college. He’s played baseball his entire young life, even at an early age with the sport being connected to him through his family. “It just runs in my family really. My dad and my brother played it in high school and got really deep into the playoffs. It’s just really fun in my opinion.” He plays multiple positions which include outfield, second base, and pitcher, however, he has one in particular that he especially likes.
“The Outfield. Just hosing people at home or throwing somebody out, the feeling is just amazing. The diving catches gets everybody hyped.” The way Spells describes it shows that he’s not afraid of making the big play when he needs too. Also getting people hyped shows that he can help light a fire underneath his team and get them energized through the rest of the game. That’s the type of player that every team needs, a player that can help bring up others and boost up everyone’s confidence in a big game. And just like every player, Josh has someone that looks out for him when he’s playing and helps encourage him, for him that’s his mother.
“She’s really had a big impact on everything. She supports me a lot.” A mother’s love is something that a lot of people can relate too and Josh has that loving relationship with her that got stronger over time. His mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had kept it a secret to her sons until she knew her options. Her strength and making sure that her sons weren’t worried was a priority for her and Josh’s statement reflects that “I was worried, I didn’t want to worry too much because she didn’t want us too. But it was still stuck inside of me deep down.” During that time of doubt, Josh turned to Baseball to help be his escape from what his family was going through and it was going well for a while, but there was also days that it would be a lot for him.
“It hurt to play and worry about her.” Having something that worrisome on a young student athlete mind is heartbreaking to imagine, and there was another added stress that took over once his mom was recovering. Josh’s dad had left the family during his mom’s radiation treatments which took a toll on the family overall as they were already dealing with her recovery. His mother tried to keep him and his brother strong throughout the whole ordeal as she says “It was pretty much me and the boys and I always wanted to make sure I kept it as normal as possible. I wanted them to know no matter how sick I was, no matter how bad things are, there’s always something positive.”
After her surgery and recovery, Josh’s mom was doing better and things started truly getting back to normal. Josh kept things normal to begin with and with his mom always being there for him, there wasn’t a dramatic change once she fully recovered. “She’s doing good now and is getting better and better, it’s kind of a happy feeling.” That’s when Josh got the idea to share his story on social media to the world and put one word that really stands out among everything, perspective.
Josh said that he got the idea from his teammates that also had single mom’s and it clearly got buzz. His mom had no idea that he did it, and when he showed it to her, she was happy that it got such a positive reception. Josh, just like his mom said in her previous statement, was looking at the positives, even when things weren’t going his way. Josh said that he wants to study and work in Business/Sports management when he goes to college because he wants to help people that are going through what he went through. With the type of attitude he displays and work ethic that he’s shown so far, there’s no doubt that he will reach his goals.
