12-year-old Xavier – A 12-year-old New Jersey boy, Xavier Taylor, remains in very critical condition after being struck in the head during pregame warmups last week at Fellowship Columbia Bank Field near Maple Shade. His father and the Maple Shade Youth Baseball Association say th
The moment the warmups ended was supposed to lead to a game.
Instead, Tuesday night at Fellowship Columbia Bank Field near Maple Shade, a 12-year-old New Jersey boy, Xavier Taylor, was hit in the head and collapsed on the field. He was hospitalized after the incident, then airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, according to police.
Now, his family is living inside the narrow, daily rhythm of a hospital fight.
Xavier’s father, Greg Taylor, told a local station in a video posted Sunday that his son is still in “very critical condition” and on a ventilator. “We’re pushing day by day to hope that the activity comes back,” he said.
In the same video, Greg Taylor described a small moment that has become its own kind of promise. He said his youngest son brought a pair of shoes the first day they arrived at the hospital. The boy. Greg Taylor recalled. told him: “These are for Xavier when he comes home. because he’s walking out of here.”.
The Maple Shade Youth Baseball Association is asking people to keep that hope going through prayer and support. In a statement shared Monday. the association said its focus is “supporting Xavier and his family.” “Our primary goal now is to ensure we are there for them in prayer and faith. helping them every way we can. ” the statement said. It added: “We deeply appreciate the support shown by the community and those around the country; please keep all prayers coming.”.
On Thursday night, the field where the incident occurred became a gathering point again—this time for grieving and belief. Teammates and members of the community held a vigil at Fellowship Columbia Bank Field. Some attendees wore Xavier’s team number, No. 6.
During the vigil, Greg Taylor told the crowd: “My son Xavier loves this game; he will play this game again.”
In the days after the incident, Maple Shade leaned into that message in visible ways. The community lit up its Main Street with blue—his team’s color. The Maple Shade Youth Baseball Facebook page also asked residents to place bats on their porches. “On Sunday evening. May 31. we ask that all baseball players place one baseball bat out on their porch as we rally together for Xavier while he battles to recover from a freak accident on the baseball field.”.
Other teams in the community followed too, posting pictures of support for Xavier on their Facebook accounts.
What remains steady through all the gestures is the same fact at the center of every update: after being struck during pregame warmups, Xavier Taylor is still in very critical condition and breathing with help at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
For a community that gathered at the field on Thursday night and dimmed nothing on Main Street, the next days are measured differently now—by what comes back, by what returns, and by the kind of collective insistence that says a 12-year-old can’t be defined only by the moment he fell.
Xavier Taylor Maple Shade Youth Baseball Association Fellowship Columbia Bank Field Cooper University Hospital Camden ventilator critical condition vigil Main Street blue baseball bats on porches