remember practicing almost every chance I got my eighth and ninth grade summer , and it paid off . I give credit to my dad . He always took me out when he had a chance and made sure I was getting a good amount of practice in . I also give credit to myself . I spent a lot of my time practicing , a lot of time being alone , and that is something I believe was very beneficial for my game .”
Fletcher ’ s dedication paid off as he managed to finish all-state three times throughout his career while helping lead his team to the conference championship in his junior year and taking home overall medalist in the conference championship match . After finding himself down multiple strokes against Marmaduke all-state standout Brooks Vangilder with only seven holes to play , Fletcher rallied late and forced a playoff hole to win the tournament . Much later into the night , the Buffalo Island Central Mustangs forced a playoff against Bay . Fletcher would play in the twilight hours at the Big Lake Country Club in his second playoff round of the day sending the schools arch rival home while giving the Yellowjackets another conference title . “ Playing golf at Bay the past few years has been a blast ! I have made some of the best sports memories and enjoyed competing year in and year out . I ' m a big fan of winning , so our success has made it very memorable . Being able to play well in the bigger tournaments like district and state is something I will never forget . Junior year was by far the most memorable for golf . Playing in the playoff holes were some of the most fun I have had in sports . I loved having all the pressure on my shoulders , and it made it so much sweeter of a victory . My favorite memory of that day was when I made the final putt and the team stormed onto the green to celebrate .”
Duck has always been a small individual . He barely scrapes 5 ’ 7 on a good day strutting around in his Rip Wheeler style cowboy boots . It ’ s a challenge that at times has played against him in various sports . He knew the only way to help overcome that issue was to hit the weight room hard , and it helped pay off in both sports . “ The biggest obstacle I have always had in sports is my size . I have always been one of the smallest guys on the field , and I have learned to embrace that over the years . A quote that has always stuck with me is , “ obstacles don ’ t have to stop you . If you run into a wall , don ' t turn around and give up . Figure out how to climb it , go through it , or work around it .” ( Michael Jordan ) Being smaller than most kids , I have learned that I have to outwork other people to make up for it . I think being small is a big blessing in my life and has helped me become the player and person I am today .” The best way Fletcher knew to overcome part of that obstacle was to get stronger . He ’ s watched his relative and Los Angeles Dodger ’ s top prospect Gavin Stone rise to the major league ’ s by getting stronger . “ I worked out quite a bit during the offseason , which I think was a big factor in my success . I had much more power at the plate and added a good amount of velocity off of the mound .” Between his sophomore and junior season , Fletcher added over 10 miles per hour on his fastball and has seen his velocity tick up even further . It ’ s provided him more power at the plate and on the golf course .
In addition to the work he ’ s put in on his own , he ’ s very grateful for two people . His mom and his coach , Nolan Smith . As mentioned , Smith stepped in his sophomore year and did the majority of the work with the team . Bay recognized what Smith did for the school and his alma mater and again asked him to come back but in a larger capacity the following season . “ Coach Smith has been a very big blessing to the baseball program at Bay the last few years . He has sacrificed a lot of his own time and