Watching an LHS baseball game, one might think that senior Davis Ogilvie is incredibly anxious. Hopping on one leg, skipping and crouching during breaks in the game, Ogilvie looks like the most nervous member of the Cats team. Unfortunately, Ogilvie does these things for a reason other than nerves.
In 2002, Ogilvie was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome. This is a disease involving the thalamus portion of the brain, which affects motor reflexes. Tourette’s causes tics, uncontrollable spasms and outbursts. Unlike what the stereotype might suggest, Ogilvie does not yell profanities.
“On an average day that my tics are bad, it’s unbelievable how much stress and pain they cause. It’s like I’m doing 10 pushups every minute, and then doing jumping jacks along with that. I’m just so tired I don’t want to do anything,” Ogilvie said.
It would seem that competing in high level sports, then, such as varsity baseball, would be nearly impossible. Ogilvie has taken it upon himself, though, to prove that wrong.
Ogilvie is not always dealing with tics when he is on the field. In fact, they only happen when he is not directly involved in the game. When he is batting, his tics disappear. If he steps away from the plate to walk back to the dugout, though, the tics can come out.
“I could be tic-ing up until the pitch, but once [the pitch] comes in I stop and am focused on [it]. But if I miss it or foul it off or get on base, the tics may come out again,” Ogilvie said.
Though Tourette’s does not affect Ogilvie while he is in action, it is something that the coaches are constantly monitoring.
We usually check on him between innings,” coach Dan Gooris said. ”He doesn’t tic while he’s performing an action, but for example, when he’s pitching, his tics can get bad during the setup. It is definitely something that we need to watch.”
The purpose of the coaches watching Ogilvie is not because he causes errors when he tics. In fact, neither Gooris nor teammates can remember a time that he has made an error due to tic-ing.
“It really has nothing to do with his performance or a health concern. We just think that it’s better for him that we check, and make sure he is still alright,” Gooris said.
Olgilvie does not think about tic-ing while he is tic-ing. In fact, he can still comprehend everything that is being said to him. Still though, some team members will stop talking to him until he is done tic-ing.
“Sometimes when I am talking to him, he starts to tic. I usually just stop and wait for him to finish, then we pick up the conversation where we left off,” junior Kyle Cibrario said. “When it happens on the field, none of us are particularly concerned. It doesn’t cause him to mess up.”
Ogilvie, a utility infielder and pitcher, has had varying degrees of difficulty with his Tourette's during his time playing LHS baseball. His tics were very bad during his sophomore year, making it the low-point of his career.
That year, outside of baseball, his grades suffered and he was forced to miss school. On the days he attended, he was showing up late in the day or leaving early. He could do very little outside of school other than sleep.
Not only was his life outside of baseball difficult, but he was also struggling to get on the field. During one week of his sophomore year, he missed three games due to his Tourette's being out of control. After missing the games, he was determined to come back and play in the next one.
“I played the whole game, but I struggled a lot. I jumped all around at shortstop, and even bumped into an opposing player on second base,” Ogilvie said.
The struggle of dealing with the tics usually affects Ogilvie only when waiting to make a play in the infield. Sophomore year, though, his Tourette's was so bad that he was affected at the plate as well.
“Another time, I was walking to the batter's box and just stopped and clenched my face and did my tic routine. The umpire looked at me like I was a whack job, which pissed me off even more. I slammed my bat on the ground and got ready to hit,” Ogilvie said. “After every pitch, I would tic, and then get ready again. But even though I looked like a screw job, I got a hit that at bat.”
To this day, Ogilvie has not had a worse experience involving baseball and Tourette's. Since that low point during his sophomore season, his Tourette's has not been nearly as bad. The illness does still linger, though, and does affect his daily life. Tourette’s still causes him to sporadically stretch, and can wear him down at anytime.
Like many famous athletes, Ogilvie has managed to see the positive side of his illness.
“If anything, my Tourette's has made me a better baseball player. I've learned valuable lessons because of my Tourette's,” he said.
This is very similar to the message that former Minnesota Twins left fielder Jim Eisenrich tells people who come to him asking for his assistance. Though he is not a household name, Eisenrich went through many of the same struggles that Ogilvie currently goes through. Eisenrich is the only major league baseball player to have had Tourette's. After Eisenrich retired, he began the Jim Eisenrich Foundation, providing mental support for children struggling with Tourette's.
While the chances of Ogilvie ever making the professional level are slim, he does feel that he can make people more aware of discrimination, much like Eisenrich did.
“If I could change anything about my life, it would be the way people see me and the way they see Tourette's syndrome. People may see me jump or skip, maybe stretch, open my jaw or do weird movements with my arm, and just laugh and point. They don't think about what could be wrong,” Ogilvie said.
Ogilvie’s Tourette’s will affect him for the rest of his life in anything that he does. He thoroughly believes, tough, that because of his illness, he is a stronger, more determined person.
“I’ve learned to never let anything get the best of you,” Ogilvie said.
Photo by M. Kalish