Local baseball participant hopes tale of pal’s suicide will encourage others in want to get help

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

A former Olathe Northwest baseball player is heading to Spring education with the Houston Astros enterprise. Austin Hansen turned 14 years old and a freshman at Olathe Northwest High School while he met Conner Taylor, a junior, on the baseball group. Taylor changed into years older than him. However, he first stopped via Olathe South High School and Olathe West High School to discuss his struggles and his buddy’s suicide and cope with his demise.

“I got known as up to fit up for a varsity recreation and just form of hangout at the dugout, and he became one of the one youngsters that changed into there and willing to speak to me and prefer to take me under his wing,” said Hansen. It turned into Taylor’s personality that made the 2 of them get on well. “He was terrific fun. He becomes always smiling, and he became a child that became like, he could do whatever for you,” said Hansen. But Taylor becomes coping with plenty of the diamond. In 2016, when the 2 of them had been at exceptional colleges playing baseball, Taylor took his very own existence. Hansen is located out from a telephone name from every other friend.

“I was like, wow, that is incredible. I can’t agree with this is going on after which I hung up the smartphone and half-hour later I needed to visit exercise,” said Hansen. But Austin held his emotions inner. “I’ll address it myself like I’ll address it internally,” stated Hansen. After about 12 months, Austin’s love for baseball diminished. “I went up to my coach and became like I can throw a perfect sport in College World Series right now, and I could no longer care, and I began balling after exercise,” stated Hansen. So he subsequently determined to take action and get some assist. “I became like I can’t live like this anymore. I have to deal with my troubles, or I’m going to become like Conner,” said Hansen.

After maintaining back, Austin subsequently advised his mother and father what he became going via. “It becomes hard for us as mother and father to deal with it due to the fact we desired to help him, and we wanted to try and repair his pain, and you couldn’t,” said Dawn Hansen, Austin’s mother. But now Hansen worked his way from Olathe Northwest High School to the Oklahoma Sooners and now pitching for the Houston Astros employer. When he receives the mound, he thinks approximately of his buddy, Conner. “I even have a bit gesture I have his quantity tattooed on my side, so I touch it and factor to the sky simply to realize that I’m like doing this for you and please look over me while I’m out right here,” said Hansen. On Friday, Hansen shared his story in front of a set of Olathe athletes from South and West, hoping this evokes them to talk up along with his foundations, Athletes Cares. “We want to impact one man or woman, if I’ve impacted one man or woman out of this whole organization these days, then I did my activity,” said Hansen, “If absolutely everyone can just impact one person an afternoon, then it’ll become million and hundreds of thousands of people.”