TP_050919

46 | May 9, 2019 | the tinley Junction sports
tinleyjunction.com
No fallout from Fallot as Tholl overcomes heart problems
JEFF VORVA, Sports Editor
Tinley Park’s Nate
Tholl was born with heart
problems, one kidney and
had three heart surgeries
performed by the time he
took his final class in third
grade.
“The doctors told my
parents [Bruce and Kathleen]
I was never going to
be able to play sports,” he
said. “My dad was a little
bit upset about that.”
In the Tinley Park and
Orland Park area, the name
Tholl is sports royalty, especially
on the baseball
and softball diamonds and
in the coaching ranks.
Despite having a heart
defect known as Tetralogy
of Fallot, Nate was
not particularly interested
in allowing the doctors’
predictions to come true.
He was determined to play
sports and play them for as
long as he could and add to
the Tholl legacy.
On April 28, at Andre’s
West Banquet Hall on
Old Highway 141 in Fenton
Missouri, a suburb of
St. Louis, the young man
whom doctors said would
not play sports earned
the Webster University
Inspiration Award at the
school’s athletics banquet.
At the time of the banquet,
the baseball star was hitting
a team-high .356 for
the Gorloks and was second
on the team in hits with
37 and stolen bases with
15, Earlier in April he was
named to the D3Baseball.
com Team of the Week for
hitting .700 in three games
against Iowa Wesleyan.
“Nate hasn’t let anything
stop him and he proves
that you can do anything
despite all the health obstacles
he has had to overcome
in his life,” Webster
Nate Tholl of Tinley Park has been a force for Webster University’s baseball team despite numerous health
problems. BREELYN CRAIG/WEBSTER SPORTS INFORMATION
coach Bill Kurich bragged
at the banquet.
Keep fighting
Tholl, who attended St.
Laurence High School,
said he tries to keep his
condition confidential because
he does not want
people to treat him different.
But those who
know the hell he has gone
through - especially those
closest to him - admire his
ability to thrive.
“Looking at him and
watching him play, you
would never know all
that he has been through,”
Kathleen said. “He has
always loved the game of
baseball and has passed
the love to his brother and
sister [Jake, a senior baseball
star at Trinity Christian
College and Kaitlin, a
junior softball standout at
Andrew].
“He has taught us all
how to never give up and
keep fighting for what you
love.”
Jake said he learned
some life lessons from
watching Nate.
“People always told him
he wasn’t going to be able
to do this and he wasn’t going
to be able to do that,”
Jake said. “For him to go
out there and play - and
not just play, but play well
- that’s something that was
awesome to see. I’ve seen
my brother go out throughout
his life and have this
major problem and conquer
it like it was nothing.
Some people today have
no clue that he has a heart
condition unless they play
with him.
“Ever since I was
younger, I realized that I
don’t have to play baseball,
it’s something I get
to do. Nate being in that
situation changed the way
I looked at the game. It’s
a privilege to be able to
play the game and practice.
Some people love the
game and can’t play. Being
able to see my brother go
out there and play and defy
the odds shows me how I
should play the game.”
Nate has tried to take
everything in stride. After
this first two surgeries at
ages eight weeks and eight
months, he took a break
from the scalpel for awhile
but needed a balloon procedure
done on his pulmonary
valve in third grade.
“When I was younger, I
thought nothing of it,” he
said. “When I had a surgery
in third grade, everyone
was freaking out. My
mom was crying. I didn’t
know what the big deal
was. I knew I would be
out in two to three hours. I
would be fine.”
Positive attitude
He is not out of the
woods.
Every year, Nate receives
an echocardiogram
just to see if the pulmonary
valve is still doing its
job correctly. Now that he
is older, he has a few more
concerns than he did back
in the carefree no-big-deal
era in third grade.
“Now when I go, I know
how serious and scary it
could be,” Nate said. “I’ve
been fine throughout all
the years. I have a positive
Nate Tholl
attitude. I always hope that
everything comes up for
the best.
“Until that day comes
when they tell me something
is going to happen,
I’m just going to hope everything
is fine.”
On the field, there is
more work to do. The Gorloks
won 26 of their first
35 games and were ranked
25th in two national polls
at the end of April and
hope to be playing in June
at the NCAA Division III
College World Series in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Off the field, he is preparing
to graduate with
a degree in business on
Saturday, May 9. The plan
is to try to earn a masters
degree at Webster and he
is crossing his fingers he
can land a job as an assistant
baseball coach at the
school.
When he looks back at
his career, Nate said his
problems were not all that
bad.
“It wasn’t too much
trouble,” he said. “Obviously
there are times when
I’m a little bit more tired
and I get drained a little
quicker. But I don’t think
it’s held me back. I think
I’m actually lucky. I feel
I’m a very lucky person to
be able to play sports and
to be able to play through
college. I don’t think it’s
been too big of an issue.”