Anderson’s Thompson Says Make-A-Wish is the Best Thing That Ever Happened in His Life
To learn more and see video about David's story, visit the Miami Herald's website HERE.
MIAMI -- In 2003, NCAA Division II established a national alliance with Make-A-Wish, a global charity that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Anderson University baseball pitcher David Thompson knows the power of Make-A-Wish better than most Division II student-athletes.
At 14, Thompson was diagnosed with metabolic kidney disease, which led to multiple spinal fractures throughout his teenage years, keeping him away from his passion of baseball. Missing season after season, including his first year able to play high school baseball, the Pembroke Pines, Fla. native was placed in the Make-A-Wish program to bring just enough baseball into his life.
Learning about the news, Thompson wanted to meet former Major League Baseball pitcher and legendary pitching coach Tom House with his wish. House, who inspired the movie The Million Dollar Arm, worked with Thompson on the campus of the University of Southern California, and was amazed of how well the future Trojan performed. House realized that Thompson's dream was to play collegiately and he worked with him to achieve his goal.
"(House) seemed almost in awe seeing I was capable of playing baseball at a high level and doing well," Thompson said. "He really worked me and I got a lot better through him and my level of confidence went through the roof. He sent me on a path to achieve my dream on becoming a hard-throwing pitcher in college. It was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Thompson will be entering his senior season at Anderson in 2016, as he has totaled 29 total appearances and six wins for his collegiate career. This season the righty struck out 42 hitters in 51 innings and earned the victory in AU's first-ever SAC Tournament win in late April.