As a sports writer/photographer I have the chance to meet many different and very interesting people. Whether it be the actual student-athletes, coaches, administrators or the fans and supporters of said program, I get to meet an interesting mix of folks.
Meeting and interviewing the actual athletes is probably my favorite part of the job. They are usually unencumbered by the everyday intricacies of adult life, even though they may feel grown, they really don’t have to worry about anything but school work and athletics or maybe an afterschool job. They have many faces and personalities and you really never know what you’re going to get when dealing with them for a story or a game quote, but to be honest, it is usually gold. Most are well-spoken and mature beyond their years but many of them are still little boys or girls playing a game they love. They want to be grownups and such, but they really just want to play.
So many times I do come across that hard-working, mature beyond his year’s athlete that got that way out of necessity, but was equipped by the Good Lord Himself to handle it. There are also the times I see a great athlete that could have been really special, but home life and other elements have taken them down the wrong path, ending something that could have been great. Those are the stories that break your heart. The opportunity lost to further an education and change that young person’s direction in life cannot be overstated. I’ve seen great coaches come to tears over these individuals. But more times than not, that student-athlete will never play beyond high school and that’s alright too. The memories and lessons they’ve learned while competing at a high level will forever be cherished and utilized.
Meeting and dealing with the coaches of these different individuals is probably where I feel most privileged. The sacrifices they make to try and make your kid better on the field and in life are far beyond the scope of what I could ever write in this column. I cannot stand to hear a good coach criticized for play calling or playing the wrong people or whatever the complaint may be. They gave up seeking fame and fortune to coach a sport they love, teaching many life lessons through tough practices and out-of-season workouts. I’m quite sure they could be fishing or just hanging with their own family, but they are too busy trying to make our kids better on the field and in life.
I try to befriend every coach I have to deal with on a professional level, even though I’m not very professional, so they can trust me with their words and what they tell me. There is a level of trust their too and I will never try to burn somebody down.
I’m am in this occupation to glorify the student-athletes first and to commend the jobs the coaches are working so hard to do. I’ll never write a headline with the intention of pulling a team and its players down or to criticize the effort given in that contest. I love this job, I love sports and I just love all the different kind of folks I get to deal with…weird or cool, sports are that common denominator.
Just because your team didn’t make the playoffs or isn’t going to play in a New Year’s Six Bowl game that you thought maybe they should have, there will be another season and life will indeed go on.
Cub fans are the finest example of this I can think of…108 years since a they won a championship and 71 years since they played for one. They kept coming back, year after year. Impressive if you ask me. Hopefully none of your team’s experience that type of drought, but it really is never as bad as it seems or as good as it seems in sports…life is kind of like that too you know.
Watching these young people compete from little league fields to the college level can teach us all lessons about life. The tears they shed after playing in the final game of their careers and the tears shed after losing the state championship in the final inning.
Those tears are real and that passion is real and it breaks my heart every time because I have been there and done that. To live and learn in the arena of a sporting event is much less painful than what life on the outside will do, but it will equip them better to handle it. Go tell a young athlete you appreciate his effort whether his/her team won it all or seldom won at all.
