TEMPE, AZ — A Marcos De Niza High School baseball player is inspiring others while on his road to recovery. Nathan Dierker is now home after being badly hurt in a crash and is now walking on his own.
Dierker is a shortstop and pitcher for the Marcos De Niza Padres.
The teenager says things stopped for a moment after he and his grandfather were in a serious crash near Desert Breeze Boulevard and Ray Road in Chandler last month.
"The first couple of weeks were rough. It was surgery. It was being there, it was constant pain for a minute,” said Dierker.
So far, the teenager has only been able to practice with the Padres. He planned to play his first game on Monday.
But, after doctors say the crash broke two bones near his spine, he's forced to wear a brace and stay off the field.
"It's just been a healing process from there. It's just therapy. No bending. No twisting. It's going to be a few months of recovery,” added Dierker.
Coach Matt Courtney welcomed Dierker, this year, as a transfer student.
"He's a hard worker. First one there. He's always working hard and doing what he needs to do. Doing everything to get better and working outside of school,” said coach Courtney.
Dierker's coaches arranged for all the baseball players to visit their teammate in the hospital after surgery.
"It was good to see him laughing. When he first got in there, he was hurting. He was hurting bad,” said teammate Julien Arroyo.
He's since been released and is now back home.
Courtney tells ABC15, for the Padres, it's bigger than baseball.
"He was never down. He was always like a very happy person on our bench,” said teammate Anthony Pietrangeli.
His team says Dierker's energy is what makes their friend and teammate stand out.
"Whenever we are down, we don't really have anyone else to really uplift us. So, it is definitely different,” added Pietrangeli.
"I am going to be there. Hopefully, they'll let me in the dugout, maybe? I am going to be there for them and support them very soon. I know they miss me and I miss them,” added Dierker.
Coaches believe Dierker will be finishing his sophomore year online. The teen is hopeful he will make a full recovery and be able to one day hit the baseball diamond again.
