After six chaotic moves in his first 17 years, Kevin Holguin finally found a home--the baseball field.

The nomadic life of the young Mexican-American has taken him from Phoenix to Mexico twice. He’s lived with his mother and grandparents in Mexico and three sets of relatives in Phoenix.

Throw in three different high schools - two in Phoenix and one in Mexico. Holguin’s life has been a long, winding rollercoaster.

“When I was in Queen Creek I would think ‘What’s going to happen?’ and then I moved again and thought the same thing, ‘What’s going to happen?’”

What happened was a final move to McClintock High School, where he found consistency in his life. He's struggling at the plate so far, but Holguin's story is more than just about stats. 

"One of the reasons he loves McClintock is because it’s a melting pot of different cultures,” said his aunt, Alexa Gale. 

Upon his arrival at McClintock, Holguin became close with classmate Mario Munoz, who told Holguin he should start attending workouts for the baseball team.

Since he was in elementary school, Holguin has always had a passion for baseball. Baseball was the only thing that gave Holguin a sense of normalcy in his life.

“When I’m on the field, baseball is all I’m thinking about. I grew up playing baseball and there are no days off, even in Mexico I would always practice,” Holguin said.

That connection was absent in his early years.

Holguin was born in Phoenix but moved to Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico with his mother two weeks later. He lived with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather until the first grade.    

At six-years-old Holguin’s mother moved him back to the United States to live with his aunt, Delfina Mungaray, uncle Carlos Mungaray and their three sons. Despite having three children of her own, Mungaray adopted Holguin and became his legal guardian.

Holguin lived with the Mungarays until the sixth grade when, Carlos, who was like a father to Holguin, was deported back to Mexico and Delfina moved the family to be with him, leaving Kevin in search of a new home.

Once the Mungarays left for Mexico, Holguin moved in with Delfina’s sister, Alexa, and husband Ryan.

Holguin lived with Alexa and Ryan Gale from the beginning of the seventh grade through the end of ninth. Once again, Kevin had to move.

“When he started high school he had some problems and so did we,” Ryan Gale said. “He was growing up and we were still growing up, too.”

After consulting with her brother, Enrique, Alexa decided the best thing for Kevin was to be with his mother in Mexico.

The move to Mexico was a big culture shock for Holguin. He didn’t have any friends and spent all of his time either at school or working in the town water store.

Holguin had to explain to his mother how advanced education is in the states compared to Mexico. After one year in Hermosillo, Holguin was not doing well and asked his mother to move him back to Arizona.

“There was no point being there if I was going to struggle,” Holguin said.

Holguin relocated to Queen Creek, where he lived with his uncle, Enrique Ochoa. Although he was back where he wanted to be, the uncertainty of tomorrow kept Holguin up at night.

His stint in Queen Creek lasted one year, eventually leading to yet another move, but this time it was the best move of his young life, settling in with the Gale household again.

His aunt Alexa enrolled him in McClintock High School, where he began to flourish. Gale enrolled Holguin at McClintock because she wanted him to have a better high school experience than she did growing up in south Phoenix, and she knew Tempe had excellent high schools.

Holguin accepted Munoz’s invitation to attend the team’s workouts, and he immediately felt a connection with the coaching staff and other players.

McClintock coach Paul Mather knew Holguin was special from the moment the two met.

“Once we got him on the baseball field I was very excited for him,” Mather said. “He was very outgoing and respectful. He’s a very positive young man.”

Mather did not know the complexity of Holguin’s past until he began to file paperwork with the Arizona Interscholastic Association.

“We hit some roadblocks,” Mather said. “That’s when I started to learn what was going on with Kevin.”

Eventually, all of Holguin’s paperwork was completed and was allowed to continue working out with the team.

After months of winter workouts Holguin was offered a roster spot on McClintock’s varsity team. However, there was a major problem standing in the way.

Because Holguin transferred within the state of Arizona, the AIA granted him eligibility to play just the second half of the season. Additionally, Holguin learned he would not be allowed to play during his final year of high school.

Although he spent one year of high school in Mexico, Holguin is still considered a senior by the AIA, which makes him ineligible to play next season.

The circumstances were not what Holguin or the Gales expected, and Alexa questioned why he would even want to join the team.

“I was getting on his case,” she said. “I would ask him why he would even want to play. His grades weren't there yet and he was going to be a second year senior who would be ineligible. I saw it as a waste of time.”

Despite this, Holguin wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Alexa and her husband could see that their nephew had a burning passion for the game and an unbreakable love for his new team, which quickly became family.

“We said don’t worry about sports,” Gale said.” But Kevin said ‘No, I’m going to play.’ We gave him conditions to let him play and he’s met every one of our requirements.”

Although Holguin couldn’t play the first half of the season, he quickly became a vocal leader for the team.

“He’s hard-nosed,” Mather said. “He approaches the game the way he approaches life. He says to himself, ‘I can win this and I’m not going to let this beat me.’”

Mather said Holguin is the epitome of what the team stands for.

“He is not defined by baseball,” Mather said. “Kevin is defined by who he is.”

Ryan Gale believes the traits Kevin possesses have a correlation with the adversity he's faced throughout his life.

“Being in Mexico he got acclimated with working hard and not getting much out of it,” Gale said. “I think when he started at McClintock and started to get something out of his hard work he felt something. He’s self dependent, and I think with the situations he’s been in he’s learned to be self motivated, to do better.”

Both Ryan and Alexa said Kevin was not always the vocal leader he is today, but he is growing into the person he is meant to be.

Holguin said his family motivates him to stay positive and to keep grinding every day. His daily grind is not like that of his peers. He wakes up at 5 a.m. and catches the public bus from Phoenix to Tempe at 6 a.m.

He goes to school, practice and then gets on the bus back to Phoenix to go to work and eventually gets home to eat and study.

“I have more responsibilities,” Holguin said. “It’s life, but I’m not quitting. That’s the family way.”

Holguin carries “the family way” in all aspects of his life and, despite the tough times, he always has a positive outlook.

“There’s always someone that has it worse,” Holguin said. “ My dad separated from the family when my mother was pregnant, but there are some kids who didn’t grow up with any parents or a home.”

Holguin’s future is uncertain.

The one thing he is certain of is he wants to do something to help others. He’s thought a lot about what he could do to give back, and he’s decided that following his cousin’s footsteps by becoming a firefighter is a serious option.

Although that's the job he wants, Ryan and Alexa have taught him that, like his life, he needs to keep more than just one door open.  

Both Ryan and Alexa can see Holguin staying involved with baseball in the future, maybe as a coach.

His positive attitude is portrayed both at home and on the field.

“The world is an open door for Kevin,” Mather said. “Whatever endeavor he takes on he can succeed in. Nine Kevins would help a team win a lot of games.”

Cohen is a sports journalims major at Arizona State. This semester he covered McClintock High School's baseball team.