Now, entering the game of life...

Posted 8/21/12

There’s something about hitting the 50th anniversary of one’s high school graduation that stokes a lot of juices. Add to that the current fundraising effort to fix the basketball court at Eldred …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Now, entering the game of life...

Posted

There’s something about hitting the 50th anniversary of one’s high school graduation that stokes a lot of juices. Add to that the current fundraising effort to fix the basketball court at Eldred Central School (ECS), my alma mater, and I feel like I want to say a few things to today’s students and athletes.

I was very willing to contribute a bit and pass the word along to my classmates about the Fund the Floor effort at ECS, because I am grateful to the school for the skills I learned there. Some of them were gained through sports—an axiom continually showcased by the fine writing and photography of Richard Ross, whose output graced the pages of this newspaper until earlier this year. But plenty of whatever skills I may have were also drummed into me in other corners of ECS—such as Mildred Daub’s typing class and Dorothy Sulzbach’s library.

Robert Neseth’s French class provided a sound basis for future study when I joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to French-speaking West Africa. In one of those all-too-rare confluences of skills and experience, I used my refined French to help coach the national basketball team of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).

So, young men and women of Eldred, Narrowsburg, Callicoon, Jeffersonville, etc., take heed: your sports participation is valued and honored. But don’t think that locker-room lessons alone will whisk you through life. They’ll help, for sure. But, as I look back over the 50 years since I turned in my skimpy green and gold uniform, I have learned a few things about the link between sports participation and the rest of life.

Most important: The scoreboard in life is a whole lot less clear-cut than the one that hangs behind your bench at the basketball court or out in left field. Wins and losses are so much harder to discern once you realize that so many of your life choices will be among various shades of gray.

Next: Despite the acclaim (and income) earned by pro athletes, we are in a knowledge economy. When you winnow down the number of high school and college athletes who manage to make a living as a pro, the odds of being hit by lightning while canoeing down the Delaware are better than your chances of cashing a check earned through sports. So take that into consideration as you parcel out your energies.

As for the positives of sports participation, there’s no question that team sports can foster attitudes and connections that will last as long as those of people like your grandparents who fought in foreign wars or went to Woodstock. I have watched college basketball teammates get rich together on Wall Street. The bond forged on the court and the will to win extended readily onto trading floors.

But that same bond can happen in other venues—in the lab, the orchestra, or drama club. Which brings me to one of my favorite subjects: respect for schoolmates with other skills and interests. I long for the day when cheerleaders show up at science fairs. I search for stories of entire football teams whistling their appreciation for the winners of poetry slams. I know it happens anecdotally, and I know that the “jock culture” has gotten much more nuanced in high schools lately. And I appreciate the fact that Richard Ross in particular spotlighted the whole student/athlete.

I remember very little about the Eldred Yellowjackets’ victories in the season of 1961 to 1962. Yet I can still hear Joe Clouse’s trumpet renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” echoing off the gym walls before the games. So, please pay attention to the efforts and interests of your schoolmates. It’s likely that the girl who sits next to you in homeroom will still be spending many satisfying hours with her piano years after your body stops letting you hit that jump shot.

I will readily admit that I still have on my desk the Lucite paperweight souvenir given to us when my college team was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament in 1968. I enjoy the occasional flashback to the very few minutes of play I managed to earn back in those days before the three-point line and the shot clock. I’m happy to stay in touch with my Hall of Fame college coach who just turned 90 and who remembers Barryville fondly.

I am equally happy to have had the chance to do and see many things and to travel far from Barryville and the dusty half court next to the Amoco station where my friends and I counted down the imaginary seconds and launched wobbly shots until dark.

To all those whom Richard Ross has chronicled over the years, I wish you great success and hope you will parlay your sports experience into an ever broadening enjoyment and appreciation of the world around you.

[Christopher Frey, a 1964 Eldred Central School graduate, submitted this piece to us following our announcement of the retirement of Richard Ross for medical reasons earlier this year. He is a 1968 graduate of St. John’s University in NYC and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, and currently lives in New Baltimore, NY.]

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here