TAMPA, Fla. -- Jack Teeter can talk baseball with anyone. But as much as Jack loves talking baseball, he loves playing it even more. 

“It’s just something I’ve been doing for years,” Teeter said. “You know, I’ve been practicing it for so long that at this point it’s just natural and I know I have a gift in doing it.”

Jack’s love of baseball deepened when it was taken away from him. His Academy at the Lakes junior season was nearly a wash, but not because of the Coronavirus. Because of something more sinister.

“They said, oh you need some testing at the ER, so we went over there,” Teeter said. “And one CAT scan later, you might have cancer.”

Jack’s diagnosis was the start of journey that took him through chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Through hair loss and weight loss. And through the realization that he had cancer.

“It doesn’t fully register with you right away,” Teeter said. “Like, you hear it, but it doesn’t click in your head. It didn’t click in my head until about a week later that I had it.”

“He lost 50 pounds in a month, from start to finish,” his father Brian Teeter said. “And looked like he was dying. To go from healthy kid to that, it was tough.”

Throughout his battle, Jack kept his eye on the prize -- baseball.

“I saw the light at the end of the tunnel around the second or third chemo,” he said. “I got another scan and they said I was responding very well. I’m like, I’m going to get through this.”

Jack’s been cleared to return to baseball. He’s back with a renewed love of the game and a greater appreciation for the game. And some added measurables to his repertoire.

“Heart wise, it doesn’t get better than that,” said Anthony Telford, Florida Baseball Institute Pitching Coach. “I mean, he’s just an amazing kid, an amazing kid.”

“I can get through anything now,” Teeter said. “Shoot, I get through cancer, I can do anything. I can persevere through anything. With just a little bit of hard work, it’s all going to be okay.”