RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Someday, Taylor Dockins‘ life will be a major studio film and I will be one of the first in line to buy a ticket.
I’ve already had a front row seat to her incredible softball life that has included her setting records as a pitcher and hitter for Norco (California) High, including her 108 career wins being the most in CIF-Southern Section history, and Taylor winning the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year in 2016-2017.
Taylor would go on to play in the 2017 PGF All-American Game televised on ESPN and in her first season pitching for Cal State Fullerton in 2018 she threw a no-hitter. She would go 7-4 as a freshman and 6-5 as a sophomore in 2019 while pitching in NCAA Regional games both years.
But that’s not the story.
Taylor was in Colorado playing for her So Cal Choppers team in the summer of 2016 when excruciating pain in her back and stomach became so intense that she had to be rushed to the hospital. There she was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer that ultimately led to the removal of a softball-sized mass on her liver.
Over the last four years, Taylor has endured frequent rounds of debilitating chemo treatments and continual doctor visits, but despite all of this—from her senior in high school to her first two years playing for the Titans—Taylor has succeeded despite the physical and emotional drain on her having to battle this insidious disease. She missed the truncated 2020 season, what would have been her junior year, because of ongoing chemo treatments.
On Monday of this week (May 4), Taylor had another chemo treatment but got a great sendoff the day before as the Titans softball team surprised the pitcher by driving by her So Cal home en masse (I counted 15 vehicles) honking horns, holding up signs of support and shouting phrases of encouragement and love while honoring the “social distancing” restrictions necessary in our strange spring of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the video below, you’ll see Taylor in the driveway with her father Rick videotaping behind and her mom Debi on the sidewalk soaking in the visit from the Titans’ team. It’s evident the love that her teammates and friends have for her and her father put the video on his Facebook page and posted the following that night:
“This was so much needed for our girl as she goes in for her chemo treatment tomorrow. We love our entire CSUF SOFTBALL TEAM and we are truly blessed to have you all in our life forever. I can’t even express in words how much she needed this since she has been really struggling this past week with back pain and continuous itching from the past treatment.”
Having known the Dockins family for years, I reached out to Rick and got his permission to share the video and asked how the surprise team vehicular visits came to be.
“T was just getting ready for her treatment on Monday and since she has been on quarantine since March 10, (Titans Head Coach) Kelly (Ford) thought it would be a great boost for her. Coach Ford reached out to my wife on Friday and told her the plan. T was totally shocked and I think even got a little emotional. She is feeling pretty good this week so far, thank God.”
Rick added that even with the grueling medical treatments, Taylor is working hard to stay in shape to hopefully soon get back on the dirt.
“She has three different chemos administered every other week,” he said. “She does still try to get out and run a couple miles every other day to keep her body strong.”
Softball successes and medical trails, though, don’t define who Taylor is. Her faith in God and her ever-positive outlook on life is inspiring, as is the way she makes others feel in her presence. She loves people and they love her. She’s a bright light in what can be dark times and, as I can personally attest, she just makes you feel better by being around her, despite all the hellacious pain and discomfort she must surely be enduring.
When Taylor received the trophy for the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Jennie Finch presented it to her (see the fun video below) and the softball legend nailed it when she said upon meeting Taylor that she could sense the young athlete is “full of love” and yet is “humble.”
Her Norco High coaches and teammates came out to celebrate with her then, just as her Titans teammates drove out to support her prior to her latest medical treatment this week. Simply, “T” is loved and everyone around her is doing a great job of making sure she knows that.
And THAT will be the theme of the story in the Hollywood movie I can’t wait to see.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
*****
For more on Taylor’s amazing and inspirational journey on and off the softball fields, check out these other videos: