BLUE EARTH — Brayden Barnett is going from sports fields to the battlefield.

In December, Barnett will report to Camp Pendleton in California to join the United States Marine Corps to begin his basic training. Camp Pendleton serves as the major west coast base for the Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States.

Barnett said he felt called to service because he has strong family influences.

“I’ve had family members in the armed forces, but I really admired my grandpa for joining the Marines,” Barnett said. “I also wanted a branch that would give me a challenge and the Marines are the ones to do so. Not to mention they’re the best of the best.”

Barnett’s attraction to challenge and being the best has served him well in his time playing sports for the Blue Earth Area High School Bucs.

Winnebago/Blue Earth American Legion baseball coach Paul Nienaber, Barnett’s final coach before he reports to Camp Pendleton, said Barnett is a coach’s dream.

“He’s the guy that’s going to work harder than everybody else at practice because he cares so much,” Nienaber said. “I think he recognizes that from a pure, natural skill set point of view, he doesn’t have that God-given talent, but he makes up for it with how hard he works. He’s always there, you saw it (Thursday) he was taking extra bases, being alert and always hustling. I’ll take that every day against a guy that’s got natural God-given ability. He’s earned it, every bit of it.”

Barnett’s work ethic and drive to succeed will be crucial in his time with the Marines. His basic training and initial time with the Marines is set for four years. He said he has an idea of what he wants to do when those four years are over.

“I know for sure I will be active for four years,” Barnett said. “I would like to go for eight years and try to get into special forces. After that, I would like to become a police officer.”

With the next four years of his life mapped out, Barnett looked back on his past three with BEA and his time before moving to the area.

Barnett has played baseball and football for Blue Earth Area since moving to Blue Earth his sophomore year of high school.

He said when he lived in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, he also played soccer and basketball. Whether running routes as a receiver, patrolling the outfield or playing second base, Barnett has been an important piece of Blue Earth Area sports the past three seasons.

“My family and I moved because my dad got a job as a pastor at the First Baptist Church of Winnebago,” Barnett said. “It was tough moving, but sports definitely helped with making friends. Before I moved to Blue Earth, I played soccer, baseball and basketball, with baseball still being my favorite sport, so I focused more on that.

“Once I moved to Blue Earth, I played football and continued playing basketball and baseball. I quit basketball my senior year to focus more on school. The only reason I regret that is because of the friendships and the memories I had playing basketball.”

Through all the sports he has played, he said he thinks the time spent working with teammates and taking direction from coaches has helped him prepare for his upcoming training.

“Physically, I do think it (playing sports) will help with the Marine Corps,” Barnett said. “Mentally, I only believe some parts will help. Having someone tell me what to do and why to do it, but I will never have had the experience that I will participating in boot camp. It is a long, tough road, but once you graduate from boot camp, you are a Marine, so it’s all worth it.”

Barnett said though basic training and life as a Marine will be hard, he believes no challenge is too much for him to handle.

“No challenge is too hard as long as you give it heart and you have God by your side,” Barnett said.