LYNNFIELD — Born and raised in Lynnfield, Jonathan Luders has never forgotten where his journey began.
This year, the Lynnfield Middle School alum returned home with an inspiring story to tell, one that spans hometown roots, professional baseball, and the power of core values.
Now a second baseman with the Texas Tailgaters, Luders is helping christen the newest team in the Banana Ball League, made wildly popular by the Savannah Bananas. But before taking the field with Banana Ball’s fourth team, Luders stepped back into the halls of LMS to speak directly to students about kindness, effort, and citizenship.
“I was really lucky to have the opportunity,” Luders said of returning to his middle school. “I hadn’t been back in the building for over a decade, so just walking in again and seeing my teachers was phenomenal.”
Luders surprised students and staff by taking over the school’s Core Values Assembly, delivering two engaging presentations that tied his personal journey to LMS’s guiding principles. When Principal Steve Ralston invited him to speak, Luders immediately saw an opportunity to connect his experiences with meaningful lessons.
“I said, ‘Why don’t I tell my journey in line with each of your core values and tell a different story for each one?’” Luders explained. “That way it could evolve from my middle school years all the way through college baseball and what I’m doing now.”
One of the most powerful moments came during his story about kindness, a lesson rooted in a simple interaction during his college summer baseball days.
“When it comes to kindness, it can mean absolutely nothing or very little to you,” Luders told students, “but it can mean everything to someone else.”
He described how a quick fist bump with a young fan named Molly led to a lasting relationship with her family.
“None of that relationship happens if it’s not for a simple fist bump,” he said. “Small actions like that might take no effort from you, but they can have a huge impact on someone else.”
The students’ reaction made the experience even more special.
“I think they were really engaged,” Luders said. “One of my former teachers mentioned how impressed they were that the students were so quiet and listening. That tells me they were locked in.”
After the assemblies, Luders spent the rest of the day with students, joining every grade-level lunch and answering questions at the tables.
“At lunch, they could ask anything they wanted,” he said. “That was a really cool way to connect with them.”
Luders also emphasized why talking about values at the middle school level matters so much.
“I remember being in middle school and not even really knowing what my core values were,” he reflected. “But having values is super important. They guide the decisions you make — not just now, but 10 years down the line.”
He hopes students left the assembly thinking differently about their everyday choices.
“Whether it’s right now or later in life, those values can help steer you in the right direction,” he said .
For students, staff, and Luders himself, the visit was a memorable one.
“It was really neat to interact with my teachers again, but on an adult level,” he said. “That was super cool.”
