By Elizabeth Wilkes
- Carson Waln
- The Galloway School, Senior
Carson has been involved with athletics since he was 4 years old. When he was in middle school, he decided he wanted to play baseball in college.
“I played a ton of sports like every little kid does, but baseball was the only sport that every year I looked forward to,” said Carson.
His dad encouraged him to play catcher from the start, a position he has kept throughout his career. He has always admired retired Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers catcher Ivan Rodríguez, and as a young player tried to emulate his performance as a defensive catcher.
When Carson joined the East Cobb Baseball club at 14, he was able to grow his skills as a catcher. Some summers were filled with over 80 games. When he was 16, the East Cobb Titans won a national championship under coach Chance Beam.
“He was my favorite coach. He made me a better player and, at the end of the day, we won some really big tournaments,” said Carson.
As high school approached, Carson was in a bind. He wanted to go to The Galloway School, but at the time the school did not have an active baseball team.
Carson chose to work with the coaches to start up a program which has continued to grow over the past four years. And his work paid off: He’s going to Wofford College next fall and will play baseball there.
Not only has Carson excelled at baseball but also at running. He has been a member of Galloway’s cross country team since freshman year. This past season, the team earned a fifth place finish in the state meet.
“Carson is a true student-athlete,” said cross country and track coach Denny Beatty. “Carson demonstrates outstanding leadership, and leads his teammates by example. He does what is asked of him and more. His dedication and work ethic is superb, and yields positive outcomes, championship results,” Beatty said.
In attempts to garner support for Galloway’s teams, Carson initiated and led a new spirit committee.
“Since we don’t have a football team, it can be difficult to get the students out to other games,” said Carson. “I’ve tried to get more people out to support all the teams at school.”
Carson has a great group of friends at Galloway with whom he shares an intense academic competition.
“It’s a good competition – we are either working together or working against each other to get a better grade,” said Carson. “We’ve got a great, smart bunch of people.”
One of his favorite memories of high school was a mock presidential debate for AP Comparative Government class, in which he acted as Mitt Romney for an hour. He argued political points in front of the entire school. Although he does not plan on being a politician, he thoroughly enjoys debating.
What’s Next:
Carson has signed to play baseball for Wofford College where plans to pursue a pre-med degree. He hopes to be an orthopedic surgeon someday to help get injured players back on the field.