From gymnastics to Israeli baseball: Chase Engelhard’s journey to U23 European championship

Chase Engelhard, a 23-year-old from Sandy Springs, landed in Prague, Czech Republic, on Aug. 1 to represent Israel in the U23 European Baseball Championship.  It will be the second baseman’s first time in the country, his first Shabbat with the Israeli national team, and his first time staying in an historic Jewish hotel with a mikvah (ritual bath). He’ll be doing it all as a new citizen of Israel.  It’s been a long road from his childhood gymnastics class to varsity football at Riverwood High School to becoming an Israeli citizen in February, but Engelhard had the drive, patience, and flexibility of a professional athlete.  As a child, Engelhard was competitive in soccer, lacrosse, football, baseball, and basketball.  “I played every sport growing up. I was even put in gymnastics as a kid, which is obviously not common for a lot of boys, but my dad saw an athletic future in me,” Engelhard said.  His father is Hadley Engelhard, sports agent for the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). He saw the natural talent in his son.  At 12 years old, Engelhard made the final trials for the 12U USA Baseball team. Although he didn’t make the final cut to represent the US in the Baseball World Cup, he realized something important. “That’s when the spark really hit. I always loved baseball, but that’s when I really realized how much potential I had,” he said.  The youngest of three, Engelhard has stood out in his family as an athlete. Neither of his brothers played baseball at a highly competitive level.  “I was probably beating them up on every sport by the time I was about seven years old,” Engelhard laughed.  At Riverwood High School, Engelhard started as a freshman on the varsity football and baseball teams, but he decided to “hang up the football cleats” the next school year to focus on baseball. The rules of engagement are different now, but Engelhard recalls meeting college baseball coaches his freshman year of high school. Engelhard considered several schools, including Georgia Tech — the alma mater of ball players Mark Teixeira, Nomar Garciaparra, and Jason Veritek.  Engelhard landed at Tulane University in New Orleans in fall 2020. After practicing and playing in scrimmages during fall semester, he started as second baseman in the second game of the spring season. He became an All-American that year.  “I got an opportunity to start, and I made the most of it. I had two doubles and a homer, and they never took me out of the lineup for the rest of the season,” he recalled.  In fall 2023, Engelhard transferred to Florida International University to be close to his grandfather who was unable to travel to watch him play. His grandfather Jerry Engelhard is synonymous in south Florida with youth sports.  On his 23rd birthday in February, Engelhard flew to Israel, met up with three other Jewish American professional baseball players, and became a dual citizen. It was his third trip to the country. It had taken “months and months and months” to find the required documents like his grandparents’ birth certificates, a family tree, and proof that his parents and grandparents are Jewish and that they’d had bar mitzvahs. But playing for Team Israel was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.  “Considering the circumstances of Israel and the Jewish community and what’s going on today, it was a no brainer to make Aliyah and take the opportunity to represent Israel,” he said. “I couldn’t be more proud to be Jewish.”  “When I was in Israel, I felt at home immediately when I got there. There’s a sense of pride and togetherness and camaraderie that the Israeli and Jewish community has going on,” he said. Now Engelhard is under contract with the Boise Hawks, an independent baseball team in the Pioneer League, where he plans to finish the season upon his return from Europe.  “I’m trying to make it all the way to the top,” Engelhard said.  The international baseball ranking system has eight teams in the U23 tournament: Israel, Great Britain, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Italy, France, and Israel.  After Europe, Engelhard will finish the season in Boise. He sees the senior national team in his future with the hope of qualifying for the Olympics.  Remember World Champion, All Star Joc Pederson, the pearl necklace-wearing Braves player who helped win the title in 2021? A right fielder, Pederson also played for the Israel national baseball team in 2013 and 2023.  Engelhard, whose nickname has been Fiver since childhood, said he’s looking forward to building his relationship with his new teammates on the field.  “I love baseball and I love Israel,” he said.  The post From gymnastics to Israeli baseball: Chase Engelhard’s journey to U23 European championship appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.