For Gavin King, a senior pitcher at Liberty Creek who signed with South Carolina, the past two months have been small steps toward finding balance.
The 6-foot-6 Flamethrower tore his right ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) from two bones and underwent Tommy John surgery last month.
On Tuesday, he stretched out a lightweight band and lifted a 4-pound weight for the first time since getting the needle.
“I think it felt great,” King said Thursday morning. “After doing nothing for the past two months, he would do three sets of 30 reps, and it was hard to get back on track quickly. I was pretty tired after that.”
According to the program sheet he is currently following, King is two weeks ahead of his normal recovery schedule. He is trying to stay as inactive as possible, as evidenced by the fact that he wears a brace on his injured elbow, while trying to stay in shape to return in better shape from the injury that cost him his senior season. .
He was out of sorts for the first time in the preseason, striking out two Whitehouse batters and then getting two more strike counts on two curveballs. “I felt something was wrong with the second breaking ball, so I threw a fastball to get out of that situation.”
The next day, he visited Dr. Damon Petty, a Nashville-based orthopedic sports medicine specialist who previously worked with the Kings' pitching coach and former MLB player Jeff Bennett.
Petty delivered the bad news, and King underwent season-ending surgery on March 26.
“I was always devastated when I found out,” he said.
“I really, really didn't know how to feel. It felt like my entire world was taken away from me. I don't even know the words to describe it, to be honest.”
It capped a trying high school career for King, who played his first two seasons at Pope Prep and whose participation as a junior was limited due to TSSAA transfer eligibility.
By being close to the Liberty Creek team, he was able to accept the reality of the situation. King met with them the day after surgery and hasn't missed a game all year.
The Wolves, who finished the regular season with six wins and finished second in the 2A standings, entered their final two games of the regular season against Hendersonville and Springfield with an 11-12 record.
King spoke with South Carolina associate head coach Monte Lee after receiving the news. “It's going to be a tough journey and there's going to be things you have to go through not just mentally but physically,” Lee told King. “But they’re looking forward to me getting there and looking forward to me rehabbing with them.”
They talked about maintaining command and supplementing it with speed when he returns. King's fastest pitch, a weapon with three variations of his fastball, curveball and changeup, had reached 95 mph before this spring.
His recovery program provides a roadmap for starting sessions towards mid-August. If you can complete that without pain, you can begin your pitching program.
Clearing both hurdles will pave the way for a return in March 2025.
If he suffers a setback or starts to feel uncomfortable, his shutdown time will match his previous progress.
King feels he can still contribute to the Shamcocks in his freshman season, even if he doesn't reach that goal.
“No matter how the situation unfolds, whether I'm in the dugout, cheering on my teammates who are still recovering, or on the mound or in the rubber, I will continue to be a great attribute to my team. I feel that,'' he said.
“I feel like we're in really good shape at the University of South Carolina. I feel like everyone involved is helping each other out, working on all cylinders and trying to get the most out of each of them.”