From ESPNRISE.com.

There was a common occurrence during Kent-Meridian (Kent, Wash.) baseball games this past spring. When Brody Leach came to the plate, the opposing team's outfielders and infielders would not-so-subtly creep in from their respective positions. The pitcher would then invariably attempt to blow Leach away with a steady diet of fastballs.

These probably weren't meant as signs of disrespect, but there's no mistaking the language of America's pastime: Leach was being underestimated. In baseball, there's only one way to effectively answer, and more often than not, Leach would oblige.

"He'd rip a line drive over the head of the third baseman," Kent-Meridian coach Todd Moser says.

Leach, now a senior, stands 4-foot-3. But you'll have about as much luck getting him to discuss his height as you will getting him to submit a poor at-bat. "I don't really deal with it," he says.

He hasn't had to. Though at a tangible disadvantage playing baseball -- he doesn't have much range in the field and he's not speedy or particularly powerful -- Leach is a tremendously smart and hard-working player.

Used as a relief pitcher and reserve second baseman last season, Leach hopes to crack the starting rotation next spring. On the mound, he has a two-seam fastball, an effective curve and a knuckleball that's still being perfected. He even manages to use his height to his advantage.

"When he keeps the ball down, with the unique arm angle he can pop guys up and get them to hit it into the ground," Moser says.

Leach is also among the top players on Kent-Meridian's golf squad. He's typically upwards of 150 yards off the tee, having honed his swing since his grandfather acquainted him with a set of toy clubs when Leach was only 4 years old.

Even that most height-demanding of sports, basketball, isn't beyond Leach. He played as a freshman and still has some game.

"He's got great ball-handling skills and hustles all over the court," Moser says.

But baseball is his true love, and pitching what he likes best. Although Leach might give batters a different look, his approach is hardly unorthodox.

"When I'm up there I'm just trying to help my team out, trying to get the outs," Leach says. "I just want to strike some guys out so we can win the game."

His unwavering confidence and perpetually positive attitude are impressive to others, but he doesn't give it a second thought. While he understands the attention his height brings, Leach says he steers "mostly clear of that."

"We've never had a conversation about him not being of normal height," Moser says. "It's always been about baseball."

Those conversations have convinced Moser that Leach will one day make an excellent coach. His attitude, demeanor, intelligence and refusal to be intimidated are staggering -- and that has nothing to do with height. An opposing coach once told Moser that, if he could, he'd trade his All-League player for Brody, just based on the attitude Leach brings to the table. He wasn't kidding.

But Moser responded that he'd never take the deal.

So many athletes focus on what they don't have, what they lack. They could take a lesson from Leach, who won't even entertain a conversation about his height.

"He looks at life as a set of challenges, not as a set of problems," Moser says. "He looks at how he can succeed, not why he can't."