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Adversity is Brandon Wolmer’s middle name
Brandon Wolmer on the mound of Dunkin Donuts Park, home of the Yard Goats during the Moose Showcase games (Photo: Adam Wolmer)

Adversity is Brandon Wolmer’s middle name

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (BVM) Freshman year of high school for Brandon Wolmer was full of promise.  He made the Hall High School freshman baseball team as their ace pitcher and as an extra hitter for the team.  Throughout the season, Wolmer started many big games against some of the top schools that the team faced on the schedule which included the final game on the schedule against crosstown rival, Conard.

“It was nerve-racking,” Wolmer said. “I was shaking for a little but I wanted to do the best that I could. It was one of the most fun games I had ever played in. It was always intense, a constant battle back and forth, each team trying to get the upper hand.”

During the summer, he played for the town’s Post-96 13u team as one of their pitchers and towards the end of the season, Wolmer complained of arm pain in the UCL. He was shut down for a few weeks, tried throwing again but in the end, the pain just hadn’t gone away.  Wolmer went to see a couple of doctors and in the end, he needed to have Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL.

“My first reaction was holy crap I really messed up,” Wolmer said. “Then fear went through my head. The idea of surgery scared the heck out of me. I really had no time to process the whole situation.”

After having surgery, Wolmer was forced to miss out on his sophomore year, being a manager for the varsity team in the process.

“It was super hard to miss my sophomore year. I was sad a lot of the time,” Wolmer said. “Even though I stayed involved with the team by being the team manager, it just wasn’t the same for me. I see my teammates competing, and I just can’t stop thinking, I want to be out there. I just want to play. Why me? Why can’t I play? I should be playing right now.”

After months of waiting, Wolmer was given clearance to begin throwing, pretty much at a perfect time since it was the beginning of December, which was around the time he began his preseason throwing program.

“Brandon was extremely determined coming off of Tommy John surgery,”  said Mike Perry.  Perry has worked with Wolmer as his pitching coach for a few years. “He knew the road ahead was going to be both long and challenging but was committed to the process. As he progressed through the throwing program he pushed himself to return stronger than before. Brandon was able to successfully recover from the surgery and continues to play the game he loves” said Mike Perry, who has worked with Wolmer as his pitching coach.

The junior season was tough on Wolmer.  He played for the JV baseball team. Most importantly, he was allowed back on the mound.

Fourteen months after surgery he was back on the bump for Hall High School and [it was] extremely exciting and nerve-racking at the same time to see him pitch. We watched how hard he worked during his physical therapy and working through the pitching program designed by coach Mike Perry. He really pushed himself to the limit to make the comeback and we continue to be proud of him,”  Brandon’s parents, Adam and Cheryl Wolmer said.

Innings were limited for everyone, and it was tough on Brandon getting a couple of innings every week but the summer season was where the man was back.

In the summer of 2018, Brandon played for one of Connecticut’s newest travel teams, the CT Moose.  He was on the 16u team as one of the pitchers, but a long summer with a few tournaments, three to four games each week, left a lot of innings for Brandon to throw and he took it to his advantage.  By the middle of the summer, he was throwing over 100 pitches a game and was throwing five to six innings apiece. He was using his pitch arsenal to his advantage, fooling hitters and using an ability seen time and time again from Justin Verlander, getting stronger as the game gets longer.

Everything was leading up to senior year, the chance to finally take the mound for the varsity team, something that Brandon had longed for. He could not catch a break.  COVID-19 became an issue and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference canceled the spring season.  Brandon worked so hard to get back to the game he loved and was so excited for senior season, only for it not to be.

Brandon also had a message for all of those who have setbacks because of injury.

“It is only a little setback. Don’t let this define your career. Let it make you work harder than ever to be the best you can be,” Brandon said. “Plenty of people have been injured, but the best don’t take it and sit down. They use it to motivate them and make them work harder and be better than anyone.”

Feb. 21 marked the third year since the surgery.  Right now, Brandon is off at Hofstra University studying to become an engineer and is gearing up for another summer season with the Moose.