It doesn't take much time on the internet to find motivational quotes for athletes. Some of those quotes emphasize that each athlete's journey is their own and not to be compared to others.
Hays High senior Dylan Haselhorst has had a different journey that ultimately landed him an opportunity to play baseball at Barton County Community College next season. It is unlike most.
Haselhorst has played baseball since he was little. Some of the summer time was spent playing baseball with a team from Hays. At the time Haselhort went to school in Kinsley. His freshman year of high school the sport was not offered at Kinsley. The Coyotes added the program his sophomore season.
Prior to starting his junior year the Haselhorst family moved to Hays where Dylan's dad is originally from.
The only problem was that he transferred into a program that had a large senior class and there wasn't an everyday opportunity to play varsity baseball. Haselhorst stayed with it. He played everyday as the junior varsity catcher while learning how to call the game from behind the plate.
So how did Haselhorst end up with an opportunity to play collegiate baseball? Back when he played his only season of baseball at Kinsley, they had a game at Ellinwood. There the Ellinwood coach liked what he saw and gave Haselhorst's name to the Barton coach. The communication started there.
Then during the 2023 summer Dylan made a more concerted effort in his contact with the Cougars. Among other things he sent video of his play during the summer. Eventually the offer came and was accepted.
Haselhorst has yet to play an inning of varsity baseball at Hays High. A decision that Indian head coach Dustin Dreher said was not easy in 2023. As a program they felt like Haselhorst had a better opportunity to develop by being behind the plate every day on junior varsity instead of playing occasionally on the varsity level.
Dreher says that Haselhorst has improved on every aspect of the game and has been a great leader in the first week of practice. This year's baseball team has ten seniors on it. Behind the plate sending signals to the pitcher will be the Barton County Community College baseball signee Dylan Haselhorst.