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Taylor GrinerBerrien Middle SchoolNashville, Georgia by Robert Preston Jr. photography by Micki K Photography |
| Taylor Griner is a competitor. He wants to win, no matter what activity, and he refuses to settle for second best. Whether you’re talking about baseball, football or the classroom, the Berrien Middle School eighth-grader is about one thing – being the best. It’s the way he’s always been, from the first time he stepped on a baseball field. His father, Scott, who played baseball and football for Berrien High when he was growing up, signed Taylor up for baseball when he was about four years old. “I started playing and really liked it,” recalls Taylor, and that’s where it all began. For the last decade, Taylor hasn’t slowed down one bit. Taylor played the travel ball circuit in the early stages of his career. Now, he eschews year-round baseball to play football in the fall and baseball in the spring (and, until he suffered a broken foot in the 2008 Turkey Bowl, basketball in the winter). Taylor doesn’t want to specialize in just one sport; he has too much fun on both the gridiron and the diamond. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a natural athlete who excels at both activities. Taylor is an important part of both his football and baseball teams, pitching and playing shortstop in baseball and serving as Berrien Middle’s quarterback and corner back during football season. Taylor is the kind of kid coaches love. He’s only 5’3” and 130 pounds, but he hasn’t realized that his lack of size should be a disadvantage. He’s tough, never gives up and plays as hard as he can – every play of every game. To survive in Berrien’s conference, you’ve got to be a hard-nosed player. In the high school ranks, Berrien County plays in Region 1-AA, facing the likes of Fitzgerald, Cook, Brooks County, Mitchell County and Thomasville. Formidable opponents to be sure, but all are small schools. In middle school competition, Berrien squares off against some of the AAAAA programs – teams like Lowndes, Coffee and Valdosta. “Those teams are big and they are full of eighth-graders,” says Scott Griner. Berrien is smaller and more inexperienced; Taylor is the only eighth-grader on this year’s baseball team. And that’s where being tough comes in. “He holds his own. He does very well against the bigger teams,” says Scott. During his middle school years, Taylor has turned into a very good baseball player. However, he already had some skills when he reached the sixth grade. All those games he played during travel ball laid a solid baseball foundation for him as he was learning the game. In his first season with Berrien Middle, Taylor earned a spot on the A team, a spot he has held for three years. Taylor is an important piece of Berrien’s baseball puzzle. He pitches and plays shortstop, and he bats in the top third of the order. Taylor has soft hands at |
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short and fields the ball very well. His arm is strong and accurate, and he hits the ball very well. But what may be his biggest asset is his work ethic. “Taylor puts in a lot of extra work. He works out all the time – running, doing push-ups, sit-ups, whatever it takes. He works hard and wants to get better,” says Scott. For Taylor, the time he puts into athletics isn’t work. He’s having fun and would rather be out playing than doing anything else. “It’s just fun,” he says. Last season, Berrien Middle finished second in its league. This year, Taylor would like to end his middle school career with a championship. “That’s my number one goal,” he says. Taylor also set a few secondary goals. He wants to play his best and never give up. Given the relative youth of the team, he has to provide the kind of leadership that only comes from experience. Taylor seems to understand the leadership role he must fill and is ready for the challenge. The 2010 season started well for Taylor; in Berrien’s opening game against Cook, he hit an 0-1 fastball out of the park for a two-run home run. “It was right down the middle,” he recalls. Taylor would rather pitch than play anywhere else on the field. He has good command of five pitches – a knuckle ball, curve, change-up, two-seam fastball and four-seam fastball. Taylor enjoys the one-on-one challenge that comes with facing a hitter. That’s the competitor coming out in him – he’s driven to win that battle at all costs. “When you’re pitching, you’re always in the action. There’s never a dull moment. Your team relies on you,” he says. Taylor’s biggest baseball moment came on the mound. When he was playing with the South Georgia Blazers in a tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Cooperstown, New York, he threw a shutout. For youth baseball players, there aren’t too many bigger stages (except for maybe the Little League World Series) than the youth complex in Cooperstown. When Taylor isn’t pitching, he serves as Berrien Middle’s shortstop. It’s a change of pace from the pitcher’s mound, but there is still plenty of action to go around. “You get most of the balls on the infield at short. I don’t like standing around doing nothing. That’s why I don’t like the outfield,” he says. The 2010 season is important to Taylor for several reasons. Most obviously, it’s his final year at the middle school, which is why he’s so driven to win. It’s a season of redemption, if you will. Taylor didn’t play much baseball last year. He opened the 2008-2009 school year as Berrien’s starting quarterback. His natural athletic ability, competitive streak and work ethic serve him equally well on the football team. Taylor made it through the regular season relatively unscathed. Unfortunately, in the semifinal game against Valdosta in the playoffs, with two minutes left, Taylor’s luck ran out. He rolled to his left and took a hit from a Wildcat defender. His whole body twisted – except for one of his feet. It stayed planted while the rest of his body twisted from the impact. Taylor suffered a broken foot and found himself confined to a cast for three weeks. When doctors removed the cast, he thought his worries were over. He rehabbed the injury in anticipation of baseball season. He made it about halfway through the year before the injury resurfaced. He ended up back in a cast and off his foot for six months. When football season arrived this school year, he wasn’t about to let the injury hold him back. He was Berrien’s starting quarterback and had a pretty good year, all things considered. After the middle school season ended, he played some with the junior varsity squad. In a JV game against Thomasville, he threw a 40-yard touchdown pass. “I couldn’t believe it. It was pretty exciting,” he says. Taylor is an excellent athlete with a bright future ahead of him. He has shown he can handle the pressure of big games and has been successful in just about everything he’s done, not to mention he is a very good student. Of all the positive attributes he has, maybe his biggest asset is his work ethic. Taylor really doesn’t take much time to relax. He is constantly in motion, with the sole purpose of getting better at his chosen activities. “Whenever we have a spare moment, we’re out working on football or baseball,” says Scott. Taylor is active in the Beta Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Alapaha Baptist Church. He also enjoys hunting and hanging out with his friends. “And getting better at all my sports,” he laughs. • Worth NotingTaylor really doesn’t show much favoritism between his chosen sports. When it’s football season he devotes himself to football, and the same goes for baseball. But there’s something about that individual challenge in baseball that really appeals to him. It doesn’t matter whether he’s hitting or pitching – he’s locked into a battle with his opponent and only one will win. Which is why, when In The Game asked whether he would rather throw a touchdown pass or hit a home run, he unequivocally answered, “Home run. It’s one-on-one when you hit a home run.” | |
