By Moses Leos III

Hays High seniors Bryce Symmes and Josh Burnett have never known the game of baseball without each other on the same team.

From their T-ball days with the Manchaca Diamondbacks to playing with the Hays Rebels, Symmes and Burnett have shared a friendship they say is more of a brotherhood.

As both players ready for college, they will continue to take the field together as they play at Coastal Bend College in Beeville next season.

“It’s funny, because we had coaches along the way who said, ‘you won’t play together after (high school),’” Burnett said. “It’s funny that we’re keeping the dream alive of that ‘deadly combo,’ as I picture it in a way.”

Their friendship began when they both played T-ball together with the Manchaca Youth Optimist League. Burnett said out of all of the kids on the team, the two “sort of clicked.” Soon the two have been “brothers ever since,” Burnett said.

“People have mistaken us for actually being brothers [when we were younger],” Symmes said.

They continued that friendship as they rose through the ranks of little league baseball. Symmes said most of the time, both of their fathers were head coaches or assistant coaches of the team.

But it was their fathers who Burnett said continued their friendship.

“They went under the radar a bit to get us on the same team,” Burnett said. “I’m sure it was perfectly legal, but they saw that we played well together. That we were just a good combo.”

On the field, both players said they were cohesive and worked well together. During their days in coach pitch baseball, Burnett said they were ‘tearing it up” with inside the park homeruns.

Off the field, the two hung out as they hunted and fished, which Burnett said kept them both out of trouble.

Once the two continued their progression through the sport, their reliance on each other took a higher significance. It was bolstered after their fathers began to become spectators and not their coaches. For both, the experience was “weird,” Symmes said. 

In addition, the two soon began to view the challenges of playing a higher level. Symmes said moving into high school baseball was a “lot more upbeat and intense.”

“Growing up, it was okay if you made an error,” Symmes said. “But when you got to high school, everything changed. The little things that didn’t matter when you’re younger mattered a lot.”

Burnett said the move to high school baseball was “overwhelming,” as the duo quickly learned the speed of the game.

“It does change pretty drastically, especially from freshman to junior varsity, and JV to varsity,” Burnett said.

But through it all, the two continued their brotherhood on and off the field. Working as throwing partners before a game, which was a practice they had employed when they were younger, helped, Burnett said. He said it relaxed both of them as they prepared for games.

A level of competitiveness also helped spur them along. Symmes said they help push each other along, which was the “main thing.”

Burnett said even though their competitive nature is mostly humorous, they also help each other when they have an off day.

“We mess with each other and talk crap to each other,” Symmes said. “It’s an always friendly competitiveness.”

Continuing their trek through baseball into the college ranks wasn’t a sure thing, however.

While both players were looking at colleges, neither was sure where they would end up, Burnett said.

Once Burnett committed to CBC, Symmes made the decision to follow suit. Burnett said it was a “blessing” that both will continue to be on the same team through junior college.

Both said they hope to continue playing on the same team after two years at CBC, wherever they may go.

“It’s a plus,” Symmes said. “Out of all the things that come with baseball, having your best buddy there to get to be around and get through that first year of college is key.”

And even after their baseball careers conclude, the two hope to pass along the same life lessons baseball and their fathers gave them. They want to make sure their own kids play on the same fields.

“It’s keeping the tradition alive and passing [baseball] along to our kids,” Burnett said.