Last night was the in town rival match up of both Rocklin High Schools. Yes that is right I said High Schools. There was an electric vibe in the gym. Standing room only. Fans dressed like ESPN announcers. Faculty dressed like super fans. It was awesome.
Not a single scholarship was being awarded last night (Thanks Kevin Estes) however it was "Senior Night" and a few players were acknowledged for their achievements and plans to play college sports. I was thinking about what my next blog would be about and it hit me last night as I watched coach Chris Collins, a local famed AAU coach come out with a few families of boys he has coached since a young age who were seniors and moving onto various colleges. I knew most of these kids as my son has played for Coach Collins. It got me thinking how cool it was that he and so many others were out to watch a game between the 3rd place and 6th place basketball teams play their final game of the league season. More or less a "Meaningless" game.
When I say packed house I mean packed. I don't mean like a sold out Warriors game, I mean like everyone used to meet in Tracy early 2000's with your most obnoxious winged civic and step dads camaro for street racing in what used to be vacant warehouse allies. This place was standing room only and probably the nightmare of local Fire Department Marshalls. If you were lucky enough to have a seat you still had to stand because for all 4 quarters the students were standing and so were you if you wanted to see the court.
As I thought of what Coach Collins has taught my son and countless other boys in their AAU leagues and tournaments, it was all being displayed here in this "meaningless" High School Game. I am guilty. I raise my hand. I have used these words. "High School sports doesn't matter" "Travel ball is where it's at." I was wrong. I am wrong. I mean that to say that this game had no trophies being handed out. There were no names on the back of anyone's jersey. We did not pay for parking and we had not been at the gym all day like most AAU events. Meaningless? Tell the players that. Tell the student sections that. Tell the administration from both schools that this game was meaningless. Tell the parents who were on the edge of their seats for 4 quarters that this game didn't mean anything.
This game absolutely meant something. For a lot of kids (and this is where I fail as an adult mostly) this will be their last home game in front of their friends and crowd. For a lot of kids this will be the last time they are rooting for their home team at a school they attend. It has become second nature for me in my mind that my kids will go to college and that they will play a sport in college. I have conditioned my brain and my bank account for it. I am BLESSED. I am LUCKY. I am able to provide something for my children if they wish to pursue it that not every child or even majority of children get.
AAU and travel ball for all sports has its place and they are incredibly awesome. They have helped both of my children reach goals and accolades I never did, but High School Sports is where my kids have grown as humans. It is where they have not played with the best teammates in the area. Where errors are made more frequently and losses come at a quicker rate. Guess what? That is life. Life is all about dealing with losses. When we get to the real world, life is not fair. Yeah you might be good but your boss might suck. You can't quit. You see in travel ball if you don't play or don't win we have this toxic trait of leaving the team for a better team. I am guilty. I raise my hand. I have done this and I regret it. If I could do it over I would see things through and show my children that tough losses and picking up teammates that are not as good as you are part of the bigger picture. This is where High School Sports has saved my butt. Don't like the coach? Too Bad. Don't like your teammate? Too bad. Deal with it. Work with them. We have become this society of replace instead of repair. Everything has become disposable from our razors to our cars. Think I am being dramatic for the blog. Look up what you do with your Tesla when the batteries stop charging efficiently.
In this stressful life I totally get why we choose the path of least resistance and move on from problems and sometimes onto better opportunities. Last night showed me this. Have some pride in your school and in your community. Show up for the guy or girl next to you. Yes you should play on elite teams and travel programs to shine in front of coaches and scouts but don't miss the opportunity to play in front of your friends and family. Don't miss the opportunity to make the guy next to you successful for what might be his last time lacing them up. Yes, high School Sports still matter. It's more about WE than ME in high school. Have a great weekend!
Opmerkingen