Will Henderson usually works hard at the ballpark.
He recently was able to enjoy himself at one.
Henderson is a recent graduate of Father Judge High School and one of the top baseball players in the Catholic League. He was First-Team All-Catholic at catcher in leading the Crusaders to the quarterfinals of the Catholic League playoffs.
And while he never hung a banner with the Crusaders, he was able to win a championship before his days representing Judge were over when he helped the Catholic League win the Carpenter Cup.
On Aug. 4 at Citizens Bank Park before the Phillies played the Nationals.
It gave Henderson one final celebration while representing the school he loved.
And once again, he proved he has great hands.
“It was a lot of fun that they honored us, it was really cool,” said Henderson, who played for the PCL last year as a junior, too. “I held the trophy, they just handed it to me and I held it while they took a picture. It was a really big trophy, I was afraid I’d drop it. It wasn’t heavy, but it was huge. It’s a really nice trophy.
“It was fun, we got to go to the game, it was really nice. We had a lot of fun. The Carpenter Cup team, you play against these guys, so you know them, but you don’t really know them too well. We all got along really well. A lot of us knew each other, but by the end of the tournament we all had a really good relationship.”
It’s been a great year for Henderson, who was the unquestioned leader for the Crusaders. He not only was the vocal leader of the team, looking out for his teammates, but when the team needed someone to step up and play out of position, he volunteered, showing everyone that winning was far more important than individual wants.
He had fun while doing it.
“Our third baseman quit the team so we needed someone to play there,” Henderson said. “We had another really good catcher, he didn’t play third base. I have, so it wasn’t too hard.
“I like catcher, but it was fun. I played third base my whole life. I had to practice it for a few days but once I got back into the swing of things, it wasn’t bad. I had a lot of fun. I’m a catcher, but if I need to play somewhere else, I’ll do it.”
The Crusaders didn’t go as far as Henderson would have liked, but that doesn’t take away from the strong season.
They avenged a loss to Archbishop Ryan in the playoffs by defeating the Raiders before falling to Conwell-Egan in the quarterfinals.
“We had a good year, we had a lot of new players who did well,” Henderson said. “We were very close. We were all good friends, but honestly, not a lot of this year’s team was on varsity last year, so before this year I was friends with them, but this year we became super close. I think we’ll all be friends for the rest of their life.”
But now Henderson is turning the page on high school.
He’s bound for Lackawanna College in Scranton to play baseball.
Henderson knows that school pretty well. It’s the same school his brother Brooks spent two seasons at before transferring to University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Things are different, though. When Brooks went there, Lackawanna was a two-year program, but now it’s a Division II program, which means the younger Henderson could stay there for a while.
“It’s a great school that plays in one of the best conferences in the nation for baseball,” Henderson said. “I’m excited. I know the coaches, I talk to them a lot, they’ll be very good for me.
“I want to stay with business (for a major), but I might look at finance at some point. I want to work my way through that. I’ve heard good things, a lot of great career opportunities and good trajectories with it. It’s a great school for academics and baseball.”
Henderson is ready to take the next step, but he knows he has a great foundation behind him. That includes his older brother and his mom. The three of them are a team, and all three are great teammates.
“I mean my whole life, she’s taken me everywhere, always taught me to work hard. I failed a lot and she always pushed me to never quit. You’re not going to be good at everything until you work hard at everything. She taught me to work hard. She’s a hard worker. She works two jobs to get me and Brooks where we need to be. Traveling and everything. She works hard for us.
“I always work hard because of her. She taught me that.”
So did his brother.
“I think my brother has always been that guy, he was always a leader, he was captain since sophomore year,” Henderson said. “I was a captain also. He was a great role model and leader to go off of. He’s still playing, he has a crazy schedule. But we talk every day. When he’s away it’s harder to talk but we talk just about every day. He’s always there for me.” ••
