Most kids who have the last few periods off of school during their senior year try to take it easy. Aurora Central Catholic’s Brodie Curry is definitely not one of those people.
Curry and teammate Grant Bohr, who’s also his cousin, have been using that time to help out coach Rich Swann in getting the field ready for that day’s practice or game.
“It’s something me and my cousin like doing,” Curry said of his recent routine with Bohr. “We’re always making daily 7-Eleven runs. We finish the field and we have some time.
“We’ll go get a Big Gulp and come back, and we’re ready to play or practice.”
While Swann definitely appreciates the help with manual labor, Curry’s contributions on the field are even more valuable for the Chargers. The senior outfielder is a four-year varsity starter in baseball and football who recently collected his 100th career hit.
Even though Swann made room in the lineup for Curry as a freshman, he’s still impressed with how Curry’s career has developed.
“I think he’s exceeded the expectations,” Swann said. “We knew he was a good player. We knew he could hit with some power. I didn’t know he could hit for the average that he’s hitting for.
“He runs the bases really well, steals bases. He’s done more than we thought he would.”
Curry caught his whole life before arriving at ACC. Between solid depth behind the plate and his athleticism, however, he has moved around. He spent his first two seasons primarily at first base before heading to the outfield.
His early exposure to varsity gave him confidence.
“It made me realize that I was a lot better player than what I personally thought I was,” Curry said. “I knew I had the bat. I just didn’t know where they were going to put me in the field.”
Curry went from 26 hits as a freshman to 32 as a sophomore and 38 last season, leaving him at 96 coming into this season. He quickly raced past the 100-hit threshold.
This spring, he’s 13-for-25 with 13 runs, three doubles, a homer and nine RBIs for ACC (4-3).
“I know it makes my family proud,” Curry said. “It makes my dad (Billy) proud. He was a college baseball player. It was one of those things that I wanted to accomplish.”
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A lot of those hits have been on a field that Curry and Bohr manicured themselves.
“They drag the field, they line it, they chalk it,” Swann said. “Seriously. It’s been a pleasure to have those two guys around. They have a pickup truck. They go to our barn and get all our equipment out for practice. I show up and everything is out there ready to go.”
Bohr confirmed that he enjoys doing the pregame work.
“It’s fun,” Bohr said. “We take a lot of pride in it. We drive the tractor and the golf cart and the Gator and everything.”
The days of lining the field are running out for Curry, however. He’s decided to join an operators union after high school, forgoing a chance to play college baseball.
“l know it sounds bad to say, but I’ve never been interested in going to college,” Curry said. “It would be fun to play at the next level, but it wasn’t something I always wanted to do.
“I was just going to graduate and go into the trades.”
That makes these next two months special to him.
“I’m definitely trying to soak up as much as I can because the last four years have gone by quick,” Curry said. “To think that I’ve done eight seasons of sports and it’s going to be over in two months.
“It’s shocking, going from school and going to do my sport to now waking up at 5:30 and going to work every day.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.