Saturday, February 16, 2008
Enjoying High School Sports
Ah, high school -- the good old days.
For some of us, it was longer ago than it was for others, but nonetheless, the memories are just as sweet.
Well, maybe not all the memories. I'm usually the first one to point out that the teen years are an awkward phase of learning not only about yourself, but about interacting with others.
That's why I love high school sports so much.
It wasn't too many years ago that I was a high school baseball player, trying my best not to embarrass myself and my teammates while still thinking about how to hit a curveball. For the sake of time, I'll just say that neither endeavor went exceptionally well, and we'll move on.
But the experience wasn't so bad, now that I look back on it. Being a shy person by nature, I tended to stick to my small group of friends at school, and never really got to hang out with the "cool" kids. I think this led me to read more books, which in turn helped shape me into a coherent writer, and allowing me to land a pretty sweet job. More on that in a second, though.
While on the baseball team, I found that it was a whole lot easier to put my worries about my little eccentricities aside and focus on just having fun and playing a great game. My teammates weren't always the most supportive, but we were still a team, and we had a lot of fun times. For example, the time when we played a baseball game in a driving snowstorm... in April. Yes, that's what life is like in Western New York.
The biggest thing I learned from sports while I was growing up is that if you want to succeed at anything, you can't just show up and expect success to be handed to you.
I've always had a natural ability to play sports, and got better and better because my older brothers insisted we play for two or three hours longer than I had the patience for. But as I moved up through the various levels of competition, I found out quickly that natural ability would only get me so far; I'd have to practice more in order to play better.
Obviously, I'm not a professional athlete, so I can't say that it worked out the way I had hoped at the time. But in retrospect, the idea of getting out what you put in was so important because it has so much to do with what we call "real life."
A big part of why I love my job is that I get to see kids learning lessons like these on a regular basis. Plus, I get to watch some pretty competitive sporting events.
I'm looking forward to the fall sports season at Valley Center High School; I enjoyed watching the teams last year and I know the teams are ready to get the action started.
But I'll also look forward to watching the student athletes overcome adversity, like when Jeremy Cline got absolutely blown up by a linebacker on the football field and had to miss some games with a concussion, but came back to bat leadoff and provide a spark on the mound for the baseball team in the spring.
I also like seeing when the teams come together to play a tough game against a superior opponent, like when the varsity girls softball team was on the wrong end of a perfect game against Mission Hills, but came right back out the next game and played just as hard as they had all season.
And then there's the emotion of the players, like when Ray Crosslin broke down in tears after the football team lost to Santana in the first round of last year's playoffs. Crosslin was primarily a special teams player, but whether he was on the sidelines cheering on his teammates or sprinting down the field to take on the opponent's kick returner, his intensity never wavered.
I know I'll see all of this and more this season, and I hope you get a chance to be there as well.
It's going to be memorable.
-- -- --
If you have a favorite memory from last year's high school (or any other local) sports, I'd love to hear about it and share it with the community.
Send it my way by e-mail at sports@valleycenter.com or by going to our home page at www.valleycenter.com and clicking on the "RR Blogs" link to leave a comment. You're also more than welcome to send in a letter or drop off a note at our office on Valley Center Road as well.
Either way, we'll see you at the game.
For some of us, it was longer ago than it was for others, but nonetheless, the memories are just as sweet.
Well, maybe not all the memories. I'm usually the first one to point out that the teen years are an awkward phase of learning not only about yourself, but about interacting with others.
That's why I love high school sports so much.
It wasn't too many years ago that I was a high school baseball player, trying my best not to embarrass myself and my teammates while still thinking about how to hit a curveball. For the sake of time, I'll just say that neither endeavor went exceptionally well, and we'll move on.
But the experience wasn't so bad, now that I look back on it. Being a shy person by nature, I tended to stick to my small group of friends at school, and never really got to hang out with the "cool" kids. I think this led me to read more books, which in turn helped shape me into a coherent writer, and allowing me to land a pretty sweet job. More on that in a second, though.
While on the baseball team, I found that it was a whole lot easier to put my worries about my little eccentricities aside and focus on just having fun and playing a great game. My teammates weren't always the most supportive, but we were still a team, and we had a lot of fun times. For example, the time when we played a baseball game in a driving snowstorm... in April. Yes, that's what life is like in Western New York.
The biggest thing I learned from sports while I was growing up is that if you want to succeed at anything, you can't just show up and expect success to be handed to you.
I've always had a natural ability to play sports, and got better and better because my older brothers insisted we play for two or three hours longer than I had the patience for. But as I moved up through the various levels of competition, I found out quickly that natural ability would only get me so far; I'd have to practice more in order to play better.
Obviously, I'm not a professional athlete, so I can't say that it worked out the way I had hoped at the time. But in retrospect, the idea of getting out what you put in was so important because it has so much to do with what we call "real life."
A big part of why I love my job is that I get to see kids learning lessons like these on a regular basis. Plus, I get to watch some pretty competitive sporting events.
I'm looking forward to the fall sports season at Valley Center High School; I enjoyed watching the teams last year and I know the teams are ready to get the action started.
But I'll also look forward to watching the student athletes overcome adversity, like when Jeremy Cline got absolutely blown up by a linebacker on the football field and had to miss some games with a concussion, but came back to bat leadoff and provide a spark on the mound for the baseball team in the spring.
I also like seeing when the teams come together to play a tough game against a superior opponent, like when the varsity girls softball team was on the wrong end of a perfect game against Mission Hills, but came right back out the next game and played just as hard as they had all season.
And then there's the emotion of the players, like when Ray Crosslin broke down in tears after the football team lost to Santana in the first round of last year's playoffs. Crosslin was primarily a special teams player, but whether he was on the sidelines cheering on his teammates or sprinting down the field to take on the opponent's kick returner, his intensity never wavered.
I know I'll see all of this and more this season, and I hope you get a chance to be there as well.
It's going to be memorable.
-- -- --
If you have a favorite memory from last year's high school (or any other local) sports, I'd love to hear about it and share it with the community.
Send it my way by e-mail at sports@valleycenter.com or by going to our home page at www.valleycenter.com and clicking on the "RR Blogs" link to leave a comment. You're also more than welcome to send in a letter or drop off a note at our office on Valley Center Road as well.
Either way, we'll see you at the game.
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