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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.”
tinleyjunction.com sports the Tinley Junction | May 9, 2019 | 47 fastbreak THURSDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK Young Bulldogs win a title and help a cop with cancer 1st and 3 JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA SOME THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN THE POSTSEASON REGARDING TINLEY PARK TEAMS 1. Bickel and Spells Andrew track runners John Bickel (above) and Mychah Spells hope to make an impact in the IHSA state meet in the dashes and hurdle events. 2. Bolts soccer team Last year, Andrew’s girls soccer team finished fourth in the state in Class 3A and hopes for another big run in 2019, 3. Throwing terror Tinley Park High School’s Rebecca Beltran, who finished seventh in the discus in Class 2A last year, could finish in the top three this season. Jeff Vorva Sports Editor Sports news in the village of Tinley Park is on a hot streak. We have had some incredible cover stories in the past couple of weeks about wonderful things going on not only on the playing fields and courts but in real life as well. The cover story this week on Nate Tholl is not too shabby, either. Some of the special stories in <strong>TP</strong> have filtered down to youth baseball as well. The Tinley Park Bulldogs’ 8U baseball squad opened its season heading over the state border and winning the Tomahawk Tuneup in St. John, Indiana. The team, consisting of Charlie Wagner, Sarah Aggen, Austin Neighbors, Nathan Hesse, Gavin Jurkovic, Drew Hullinger, Ryan Metz, Logan Viau, Jackson Harris, Cayden Rasmason and Casey Westin coached by Steve Westin, Justin Viau, Scott Hesse, went 4-0 in the tournament. And, get this, the Bulldogs beat the Dyer Dirtbags, 10-4 in the championship game. “Yes, that’s really their name,” Steve Westin said. “It was funny to hear fans yelling ‘come on, Dirtbags!’ ’’ But that’s not the best part of the story. The best part is that money from the tournament went to Jessie Hernandez, a Lynwood police sergeant who is battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Herandez may not be well known around here, but he is one of those guys who coaches middle school basketball and is a volunteer coach for the St. John’s travel squad. He has had low grade cancer for years and now it has spread past the lymph nodes and is in his bone marrow, spleen and liver according to information from the Cuffing Cancer campaign. Money is going to help pay for chemo treatments. The tournament that the Bulldogs were in raised close to $5,000 according to Westin. Perhaps the young Bulldogs do not realize what they have done. Winning the trophy and a championship is probably the reward the boys are enjoying the most. When they get older, they can look back and remember not only winning a championship but The Tinley Park Bulldogs 8U team won a tournament in Indiana which raised money for Jessie Hernandez, a Lynwood police sergeant who has cancer. PHOTO SUBMITTED also helping to be a part of something bigger and better. Heading to nationals Some members of the Moraine Valley Community College men’s tennis team will participate in the National Junior College Athletics Association Division I national tournament starting on Monday, May 13 in Tucson, Arizona. The Cyclones have a heavy Andrew High School presence. The first singles player is sophomore Nick Karczynski, who finished second in the Region IV tennis tournament on April 27, hosted by Moraine in Palos Hills. Andrew grads John McGuire and Sean McKernan are also on the roster. The assistant coach is Andrew’s boys and girls coach Mike Maratea. Nick Karczynski, an Andrew graduate, has helped Moraine Valley’s tennis team qualify for nationals. PHOTO COURTESY OF MORAINE VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Speaking of Moraine... Andrew basketball player Kirsten Kamholz committed to Moraine and will play for Delwyn Jones, whose team qualified for nationals for the third time in school history earlier this year. Not to put any pressure on anyone, but the last time Jones signed up a player from coach Bobby Matz’s stable of talent is was Michelle Borgen, who was one of the top center/forwards in the country. She helped get the Cyclones to the national tournament for the second time in school history in 2017 and this season averaged 17.2 points and 8.4 rebounds for Indiana University Northwest, which made it to the round of 16 of the NAIA National Division II Tournament. LISTEN UP “He has always loved the game of baseball and has passed the love to his brother and sister.” Kathleen Tholl – Mother of college baseball star Nate Tholl, who has prospered despite health issues WHAT2WATCH GIRLS SOCCER TBA, Tuesday, May 14 • IHSA Regional semifinal action begins in Class 2A and 3A Index 44 – Sports roundup 42 – Athlete of the Week Compiled by Sports Editor Jeff Vorva, J.VORVA@22ndcm.com
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