Chaminade’s Nolan Mowry using baseball to navigate grief and to honor his mother, who died from breast cancer

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Some of Nolan Mowry’s fondest memories of his mother are from their time together after baseball games.

Win or lose, a visit with mom was part of his routine.

“After every game, I’d always go visit with her near our dugout and we’d chat about the game through the chain-link fence,” Mowry said. “She’d always ask me how I felt about my performance, what I thought I could’ve done better – stuff like that.”

This spring is Mowry’s first high school season without his mother, Amy Mowry, who died after a bout with breast cancer on Sept.  26.

“I miss those fence visits. I miss her,” Mowry said.

Just 16 years old, he is navigating the rigors of his junior year at Chaminade High. This is a time when most juniors are thinking about college, their grades, about tests and gearing up for their senior year.

Mowry is taking on all of that, plus playing varsity baseball and, of course, the grief from losing his mother.

“Baseball has definitely helped me,” he said. “The entire team came to my mom’s funeral. They all have my back and helped me with the process of coming back to baseball. As I played more games, it began to feel right. I started to play better, and it all came back. It’s been a healthy distraction.”

His father Matt Mowry has been blown away by Nolan’s resilience and spirit.

“It’s pretty amazing how he’s dealing with it,” Matt Mowry said. “I don’t know how he does it. It’s a credit to his mother and how she raised him.”

Matt Mowry is the longtime baseball coach at Birmingham Charter. His schedule, like Nolan’s, is packed during the baseball season, which means Matt can’t get to a lot of Nolan’s games. Matt used to feel at peace knowing that Amy would be at Nolan’s games. Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore.

“During baseball season, Amy would joke about being a single mother because things would get so busy,” Matt said chuckling. “She’d go to every game to watch Nolan, especially the home games. She’s not there anymore, and that has to be hard, but he’s handling it so well. It’s so impressive.”

On top of dealing with the passing of his mother, Nolan had double hernia surgery in December that slowed his return to the baseball field, but eventually he made his way back.

“It felt weird,” said Nolan, explaining his initial return to the diamond. “It’s hard to explain. But it was very hard not to think about my mom even though I was at baseball practice or playing in a game.”

There are many forms of grief. Losing a loved one might be the heaviest form of grief to experience, especially as a teenager.

Chaminade coach Kyle Wilkerson taught Nolan in a sports management class last year, which allowed Wilkerson to learn more about Nolan off the field. It grew the two closer.

“He’s one of the most resilient kids I think I’ve ever been around,” Wilkerson said. “He’s the same kid all the time, whether nobody is watching or everyone is watching. Despite what he’s going through, he’s still one of the last kids to leave the field every day.”

Chaminade’s support has been instrumental in Nolan’s first year without his mother, especially his baseball family. The mothers of Chaminade’s players get a game jersey with their son’s name and number on the back. The program made two jerseys for Nolan, one for his older sister Kyla that reads “Nolan’s Sister” and one for his grandma that reads “Nolan’s Grandma.”

It’s one of many ways Amy Mowry is honored. She had been a school counselor at Birmingham Charter since 2005.

Matt wears a breast cancer ribbon on his helmet when he’s coaching third base and wears a necklace she used to wear everyday.

“She never took this thing off,” Matt said. “I wear it now. It’s a little feminine, but ya know …”

Nolan said he has a way of connecting with his mom before each game.

“I take a moment to myself, find a patch a dirt somewhere on the field and draw a heart with her initials in it,” Nolan said. “I know she’s with me.”

Chaminade and Birmingham played each other on Feb. 22 and it was an emotional day for the Mowry family. The field had breast cancer ribbons chalked on it. Matt and Nolan met at home plate before the game and shared a moment.

Birmingham baseball coach Matt Mowry with his son Nolan, who plays at Chaminade. Mowry’s daughter Kyla (right) supporting both teams. A family affair tonight, and likely, an emotional one. Wife and mother, Amy Mowry, passed away in September. ????????️ pic.twitter.com/k0jyqNtHxJ

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) February 23, 2023

“It was really emotional before the game, but once that game started, I just wanted to beat my dad,” Nolan said laughing. “And we did.”

Nolan went 1 for 3 that day as Chaminade beat Birmingham 5-4.

“She was definitely on his side that day,” Matt said. “I’m OK with that.”

Mowry is the ultimate utility player, according to Wilkerson. He plays left and right field. He’s started at catcher on many occasions this year, and he can pitch, too.

“We can put him anywhere and he can help us. He can play all nine positions because he has so much knowledge from being around the game his whole life,” Wilkerson said.