'His Resilience Is Inspiring': San Francisco Star Student Athlete

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — We all know student athletes who also bring their A-game to other parts of their lives.

Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize these heroes making a difference in their communities. We’re working to let all your neighbors know the individual stories behind the leaderboard.

This submission comes from Michael Williamson who nominated Marshall, a Freshman in high school of San Francisco.

Star student athlete’s name

Marshall - Freshman in high school

Star student athlete’s home state

California

Star student athlete’s Patch town

San Francisco

How do you know the star student athlete?

Son

What sport does the star student athlete play?

Baseball

Why do you believe the star student athlete should be recognized?

He had to go through a lot of adversity with his Mother’s leukemia, then of course the pandemic, and then his own injuries once baseball restarted in 2021, just six months into the season: rotator cuff and little league elbow injuries, which kept him out of baseball for 10 months of rehab. Then upon return, he had a bad collision with a catcher at home plate on astroturf that gave him a hip pointer injury. This took another few months of rehab again. Then, during that last rehab process, unfortunately, his last coach wasn’t as understanding as he could have been, and was not being fair to him. So he decided to leave that travel team, and join another one in South San Francisco for the Fall Ball Season. Upon his return again to baseball, he struggled at the plate with his batting, whereas before he led his old team in batting average. He wanted to get better again, but realized he needed help. He asked his first travel team coach, if he would work with him in the batting cages once a week where he would then work on points from that session during the week with his dad. That coach agreed and helped him get his swing back, and actually improve it. Marshall was able to come back and play the last 2 games of the Fall season where he batted .500 and had an on base percentage of .750! Then in the playoffs, he batted .750 and had an on base percentage of .900! All the while he kept a 3.5 GPA that enabled him to get into a really good high school that his older brothers attended. He also attends Church on Sundays where he helps as a deacon during the administration of the Sacrament. Through both Church and both his Jr. and now Sr. high schools, he does volunteer service in the community, like feeding the homeless lunches that include a pair of socks in each lunch bag. They prepared the lunches and then drove around San Francisco delivering them to various people in different areas of the city.
He has gone through a lot of adversity, but has battled back through each one, to become a leader in most scenarios, on and off the field. He’s a well rounded, principled, young man who always plays fair, even when life might not have been as fair to him. He has learned at his young age that all you can do, is all you can do in most situations, and that if you focus on the solution and work towards it, you can achieve just about anything in life. This makes me very proud to be his father, and I don’t think it has been a “normal” childhood for him. Thus, my nominating him here.

What's one thing you want everyone to know about the star student athlete?

His resilience is inspiring. His mom almost dies, but recovers through her own perseverance, then he has to persevere through his first team folding, then his own injuries and rehabs, then a coach who is not fair to him, then going to yet another new team, still dealing with a new injury, and coming back and excelling in the playoffs and all the while getting good grades at school, and contributing to the community through his volunteer work. Not many kids have had to go through such trials and tribulations at an early age. He’s always upbeat and positive, for the most part, but especially when around his teammates and classmates. He is a dynamic leader.

Keep up the great work, Marshall!

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