Keep on swinging

Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 4, 2018

LAKE CHARLES — It was an otherwise forgettable at-bat late in a forgettable early-season defeat.

And while it lasted just three swings, it changed the perspective of a lot of people and the direction of an entire team. 

For those three swings, all which missed the ball by a good measure and didn’t look very pretty either, said a lot about the young man who was taking them and the journey he was traveling.

On a cold night in Hammond, and just hours after being cleared to play, Austin Nelson stepped in the batter’s box late in a game that was long lost and took his cuts. When he was through, the two-sport athlete at McNeese State had made a major statement all things considered.

“I was back,” said Nelson. “I wanted to let everybody know I was back.”

Despite everything else that has happened to him, the junior out of Sulphur High School hasn’t stopped swinging since.

“They were terrible,” said Nelson. “Worst swings of my life, but they told me I was better. It was important that I play in that game for me, my family and my teammates.”

Earlier that day Nelson was in Shreveport being cleared by doctors to return to play. He texted his coach and told him he was coming. He got there in the fifth inning.

“He is a remarkable person, a remarkable story,” said McNeese baseball coach Justin Hill. “Those three swings did more for us and said more about him than anything else could. Once he got to the game there was no way he wasn’t going to play.” 

The at-bat marked a remarkable comeback for Nelson, who just a few months earlier had undergone brain surgery. Some wondered if he would ever play sports again, even fewer thought he would return to football, which he has done as well. 

“It’s quite amazing when you consider what he had done to him and went through to not only come back and play at the level he is for us,” said head football coach Lance Guidry. “He is an amazing person first and most importantly. That’s what you notice about him right off the bat.”

It was during his sophomore season in the fall of 2016 when the tight end who doubles as a power hitter in the spring was suffering from impaired vision that limited him to playing in just six games. But that was just the start of a long struggle. 

“I could not see out of my right eye,” said Nelson. “I was trying to catch passes with only one eye working. I could not catch a ball that hit me in the hands. It was frustrating but I didn’t think it was anything serious.

“During the spring I didn’t feel well either, but I wasn’t going to tell anybody. I just thought I was out of shape and wanted to keep playing through it.”

Nelson later found out that his vision troubles were caused by a brain tumor. Suddenly, his athletic career was put on hold as he struggled for his life. When his parents, tears in their eyes, showed up to tell him the news Nelson responded, “O.K., let’s go get it fixed.”

That’s how he approaches all his obstacles and to him, this was just the latest.

“I never really worried about that,” said Nelson. “My parents and teammates were concerned but I wasn’t. I just wanted to get it fixed so I could go back and play. It wasn’t going to stop me.”

News of the tumor ripped through two sports programs.

“We were all in shock,” said Guidry. “We didn’t know if he would ever come back to play football. We weren’t even thinking about that. We were just wanting him to get healthy.”

So on November 30th, 2016 Nelson underwent surgery to relieve pressure from the tumor on his right eye. Just over three months later he was stepping back up to the plate.

“He wanted to play right away,” said Hill. “He loves to play. He has made the decision it is important for him to play and live his life.

“He has chosen that it is worth the risk.”

Nelson doesn’t worry about what might happen, even when he plays football. He admits his mom and dad are worried, but not him.

“I don’t think about anything bad happening to me,” he said. “I play as hard as I can. I don’t think I got a second chance or anything, I just love to play both sports and want to play them as long as I can. 

“There was a lot of talk, especially about playing football, but this ended up being my decision and my life. I was going to play if the doctors let me.”

His comeback has inspired others and impressed his coaches.

“He is a real throwback,” said Guidry. “He just goes to work and does what needs to be done. To be honest, we worry about it and think about it much more than he does. To him it’s over.”

But Nelson’s health issues were not.

A shoulder injury cost him both the football and baseball seasons last year. True to his nature, he didn’t let a little surgery on his shoulder slow him down, not after what he had been through.

He came back and is starting at tight end for the 4-1 Cowboys, catching three passes in last week’s victory for 45 yards and has become one of the “enforcers” on the McNeese offense according to Guidry. 

“Just another thing you have to overcome,” Nelson said. “I think it helped me. I got to work all the way back with the rehabbing.”

When you consider all the talk of head injuries and parents not letting their children play football, Nelson’s willingness to keep playing the game is a story upon itself. He has had more than his share of reasons to quit.

“I never considered that once,” Nelson said. “There was some talk I should stick to only baseball, but not by me.

“I hope I can be an inspiration for others, especially younger kids who know my story. That’s why I talk about it so openly. Maybe that is why I try to take every play and play it as hard as I can. I know nothing is guaranteed and I don’t want to regret missing out.”

Nelson’s college career started with a game at LSU that was rained out, but he got to stand on the turf at Tiger Stadium for 11 plays and take in the setting. The same thing happened two weeks back when the Cowboys traveled to BYU.

Both times left a lasting impression on him.

“You stand on those fields and look around at all those people in the stands, with all the noise and you can’t help but feel it,” said Nelson. “Especially at BYU, I just felt so blessed to be there, so blessed to be able to play.

“I don’t ever want to take those moments for granted. I want to make the most of my chances while they last.”

What he did on that night in Hammond has left a lasting impression on those who where there and knew his story.

“Those three swings gave us all a new perspective not just on baseball, but life,” said Hill.

That’s how three swings in a lost game became a giant victory for a player and two programs at one school.

And Nelson isn’t about to stop swinging anytime soon.