The Houston Tigers look like a real threat to capture a district title this week with a 19-4 record.
The Tigers have a strong roster from top to bottom but one player in particular is really stealing the show.
“He’s been up here with me up at the high school program since he was about three years old,” said Houston Head Coach Brent Hall.
Hall is talking about his son, Garyn, a senior on the current Houston team. Garyn says some of his earliest memories came in the dugout as a kid.
“It really started ever since I could walk, he was just taking me here,” Garyn said. “Watching him coach when I was little I was just hoping I would get the chance to play with him.”
Watching his dad, and now playing for him, has made Garyn a savvy baseball player.
“He has really good instincts for the game and has a really good feel for the game,” Hall said of his son.
That has led to Garyn having the green light on the base paths.
“He knows he can go when he can but I usually tell him to. If he goes on his own, I’m fine with that,” Hall said.
Garyn is chasing the state record for most career stolen bases. He’s stolen more than 118 bases during his time at Houston.
“It really starts in the dugout, we do a thing on how long [the pitchers] stay set, how many looks you do. If the catcher has an open stance if you can get his signs it’s just really little things that people wouldn’t always pick up on,” Garyn said.
Fellow Houston senior Ryan Wolfe thinks Garyn’s swagger also helps.
“It’s the fact that he’s the most confident guy on the team and he feels like he’s the best and I feel like that helps him a lot,” Ryan said.
Now, as Garyn chases down a state record, he has just three stolen bases to go to catch the record mark of 121.
“I get a little bit of a bigger lead because I’m a quicker guy, but normally whenever they pick up that front foot I’m gone,” Garyn said.
He’s good at going from first to second – but he’s hoping to go from second to first in the state record books.
