Coast Guard dad's surprise homecoming stuns son at Community High baseball game

The moment a yearlong deployment ended turned into a surprise reunion at a North Texas baseball field Thursday night.

Still in uniform and embracing friends in the parking lot, Jeremy Conner was back home from a yearlong overseas deployment with the Coast Guard. Conner, a construction teacher at Community High School in the Collin County town of Nevada, headed to the school's final baseball game of the season to watch his son, Cal, who didn't know he was home.

Conner said he reached out to the coaching staff to plan the surprise.

"It was really more just reaching out to the coach, saying, 'Is there something I can do where I surprise Cal?'" he said.

A carefully planned moment

Conner was ushered inside with his family just before the game started, hoping the moment would be memorable — even magical.

"One of my fondest memories is that I got through a long school day that we were in about eight months, when he was a little boy, came running, just jumped in my arms, and I just cherish that moment," Conner said. "I just wanted to add one of those to that."

Reunion during national anthem

During the national anthem, Conner stood directly behind Cal, who soon locked eyes with his dad for the first time in nearly a year. With the crowd cheering, father and son embraced before Conner threw the ceremonial first pitch to his son behind the plate.

Cal said the moment meant everything.

"I'm just so happy that he's back. I missed him like crazy, and I'm proud. I'm so proud of you," he said. "He's the best dad ever ever. I think I got taller than him while I was gone."

Bond strengthened by baseball

Baseball has long been the connection between the two.

"I played baseball for years, and so this is something that we have just always gone to the Rangers games, we spend a lot of time playing, hitting, and catching," Conner said.

Now that he's home, Conner plans to be where he says he belongs -- in the stands. And he was there to see Cal notch a base hit after their welcome‑home reunion.