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| November 23, 1978 Shelton Mason County Journal |  |
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November 23, 1978 |
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Demise of the all-around jock.
Have Climber athletes
lost their heads over
the trend to excel at
any cost? The
debate goes
One
By STEVE PATCH
Bobo Bowlgame forsook
football his sophomore year. Tile
choice had nothing to do with
his cello lessons.
Yolanda Lungsafire gave up
track and cross-country. Her
gainers were suffering from a
shortage of gains.
Both of them, fictional but
hardly contrived, are exemplary
of high school athletes who've
decided to specialize - Bobo in
basketball, Yolanda in diving -
at the expense of other sports
loves.
To hear some Highclimbers
tell it, the pressure to specialize
- pressure both express and
implied -exists right here in
little Climberville. For one
reason or another, some
all-around athletes here are
choosing to beconle one-sport
performers.
And not everyone involved
thinks the choices are always
well advised.
"These kids often are
pressured into making a decision
before their bodies are ready for
dash in 4.7. "But now that it's
over I really feel I missed the
boat. if 1 had it to do over !
definitely would turn out for
basketball and baseball, too.
"I think it helps you to turn
out for a lot of different things,"
he adds. "You get used to
pressure and playing before a
crowd -- and those are things
that can help you in any sport."
Senior track and
cross-country ace Frances Nelson
says she, too, has experienced
"These kids often
are pressured into mak-
ing a decision before
their bodies are ready
for it..."
the implied pressure to
specialize.
'Tve felt it, kind of," she
admits, "because in order to
excel in any one sport it seems
you have to practice it over and
over and over. Also, once you've
become a 'star" in one sport, you
don't like the feeling of being a
decided as early as the fifth
grade that he wanted to go on to
play basketball in college. So he
dropped all other sports after
junior high and bent to his task.
Today, 6-5 and a third-year
varsity forward/center for the
Climbers, he doesn't regret his
choice.
''I'm really glad I
concentrated on basketball," he
says. "Sure, playing other sports
can help, but it can also hurt.
For instance, in football, your
muscles get hit a lot and tend to
get tight, which isn't what you
want at all for basketball."
Mike isn't one to assign
blame to coaches for decisions
made by students desirous of
specializing. "I don't think the
coaches really pressure you that
much," he says. "If you plan to
go on after high school it's
simply not easy to be good in all
three sports. Of course, it all
depends on what your goals
are."
Compatibility of various
sports seems also to be a
determinant, as senior Pat
Highclimber coaches, for
their part, roundly disclaim any
part in whatever pressure there
might be to specialize.
"My thoughts are that
students should participate in
anything where they can help
the school," says varsity football
coach Jack Stark. "And l try to
encourage even the kids who
aren't so big as freshmen or
sophomores to come out for
football anyway, because I know
they're going to grow.
"In fact," he adds, 'Tve had
more than one student come up
to me his senior year and say,
'Coach, why didn't you twist my
ann and make me play?'"
Not to completely rule out
all evidence of possible pressure
to specialize, however, Stark
observes that it indeed may
come sometimes from family or
community in general.
"Sometimes the attitude is
that a certain individual could be
'all-world' in a certain sport if he
concentrates on it," he says.
"But often the advice isn't that
realistic."
it," observes SHS assistant second-stringer in another sport, Rhodes sees it. A varsity If Stark does find himself
SO °ften t° av°id the risk °f basketball regular and a track witnessing a certain degree °f
footbalIone coachexample,RichlleStarrett.says, is the 'failure' you concentrate on just lettemlan as well, Pat admits lie gridiron exclusivity, though, it
eighth-grader who, being small one.' got some pressure last spring - really doesn't surprise him. After
Frances, too, expresses sonic
for his age, decides to devote dissatisfaction with her 'indirectly from the coaches"- all, lie points out, almost any
himself exclusively to wrestling somewhat restrictive choice. '! to lay off basketball altogether body type can be exercised into
- only to find by his junior or wish l would have exper!enced a reasonable football-playing
senior year that he suddenly has lots ,of different sports, she ". • • once you've e- machine, regardless of its original
, \\; sprung into a most promising - says. I lack coordination, and ! come a star in one sport, dimensions.
but untutored - basketball missed out on team sports, too." you don't like the feel- "But it's awfully challenging
player. But not everyone seems Ing Of being o second- to grow six inches so you can
Starrett says he knows the
uu
ing Results 6t Statistics
u
Knight 505. 3, Jack Wheeler 551; Boom 3,
LY TRIO Arctic 3, Char Murr 531; Hut
11/16/78 1, Betty LaMent 451; Wingard's
18i Game: Diana Fogo, 1, Lilly Loitz 393; Harry's 3,
Nita Tinsley 538; Clary's 4,
Ii Series: Diana Fogo, Diana Fogo 576; Billington's 0,
Val Stumpges 396; Settle 1,
Arnold 28-16, Kathy Miller 281; B&L 3,
16½, Williams Dorothy Ahrens 430; William's
7-17, Hut 26-18, 3, Diane Williams 554; M&O 1,
, Harry's 23-21, Helen Okerland 417; Fuller's 3,
lls 21-23, Hood Judi Manke 518; Arnold 1,
9-25, Fuller's Diane Offerdal 479; Byron's 1,
Iton's 18-26, Kathy LeBresh 479; Hood 3,
/2, B&L 17-27, Cindy Barnes 448; Johnson 1,
Dot Lewis 454; Mell 3, Alta
SIMPSON MEN'S 11/16/78
Men's Hi Game: Jack Wheeler,
204.
Men's Hi Series: Jack Wheeler,
551.
Standings: Shop 28-16,
Govey 28-16, Mill 26-18, RR
22-22, Chippers 20-24, Boom
20-24, Gyppos 17-27, Resources
15-29.
Mill 3, Ron Cochran 496;
Resources 1, Jeff Fredson 504;
Chippers 1, Ed Crossam 525; RR
AC-Delco is hairing its First Annual Delco Battery Salel
',Big Delco Battery Sale poster means that AC-Delco is making it
to sell you a Delco Freedom Battery at a special low price. From
now until December 31, 1978, or as long as supplies last.
on in and get a battery you can trust at a price you won't believe.
Ja, Ramsfield 472; Shop 1, Ken
O Dell 548; Gyppos 1, Ron
Alien 468: Govey 3, Dave McGee
500.
FRIDAY NIGHT GUYS
& DOLLS 11/17/78
Men's Hi Game: Ron Le Bresh,
204.
Men's Hi Series: Curt Snyder and
Jack Patraszewski, 558.
Women's Hi Game: Kathy Le
Bresh, 197.
Women's Hi Series: Kathy Le
• Bresh, 556.
Standings: 2+2 32½-11½,
Devils 29-15, Straf 25-19, Roll
25-19, Front 24-20, 4-4
23½-20k, Angels, 23-21, Kyds
22½-211&, Keiths 22-22, Hee
201b-23½, Has 20½-23½, Bowl
19½-24½, Oops 19-25, No. 12
18-26, Vacillators 17-27, No. 1
11-33.
Straf 3, Kathy Le Bresh 556;
Hee 1, Curt Snyder 558; Has 4,
Bob Burgess 454; Keith's 0, L.C.
Leman 4-92; Roll 1, Jim Brewer
446; 4-4 3, George McAulay
497: Ooos 2. Jeff Thompson
472; Angels 2, Dan Curtis 482;
Bowl 0, Wayne Hathaway 4ZtJ;
Vacillators 4, Jerry Soehnlein
417; 2+2 4, Jack Patraszewski
558; Devils 0, Bob Lanman 479;
Kyds 4, Betty Johnson 468; No.
1 0, Bob Lacy 444; Front 4, AI
Meyer 480; No. 12 0, Lynn
McQuilkin 425.
SHELTON REC 11/15/78
Women's Hi Game: Kit LeCrosse,
195.
Women's Hi Standings: Kit
LeCrosse, 505.
Standings: Les 30-14, Lucky
25-19, Waite 22-22, Argo 11-33.
Waite 3, Kit LeCrosse 505;
Les 1, Diane Johnson 438; Argo
0, Kathy Brazeau 366; Lucky 4,
Sharon Bender 458.
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Climber athletes whose choice to
specialize was based on nothing
less than an aspiration to
perform eventually on the
college or even professional level
- an aspiration that experience
would seem to indicate might
better be served by continued
diversity t.hroughout the high
school years.
Witness the likes of former
Climber greats Doug Long, Mark
Tuson, Chris McGee and Sam
Martin, to name just a few. All
excelled in at least two sports
throughout their prep years here.
The lack of specialization
apparently didn't hurt them: All
played or are playing college
ball. And three-sport letterman
Long is now a member of the
pro football Seahawks.
But what of today's
Highclimbers? Are they really
experiencing a pressure to
specialize?
"1 think you do get some
pressure - though indirectly -
from some of the coaches," says
senior Willy Nutt, starting
quarterback for the Climber
varsity this past fall. "They don't
exactly tell you not to turn out
for something else, but they do
want you to push hard in their
sport in the off season."
In junior high, Willy turned
out for and generally excelled in
basketball and baseball as well as
football. But, when he began to
enjoy some gridiron starting time
in his junior year, he decided to
hand up his sneakers and
baseball cleats altogether.
"I decided to devote more
time to football," says the
senior, who runs the 40-yard
displeased with his or her choice
- whether it was to specialize or
diversify. Consider the
contrasting experiences of seniors
Gary err and Mike Ashley.
Gary, 6-1 and 185 as a mere
eighth-grader but admittedly
rather less than coordinated
then, got some pressure from his
junior-high mentors to
concentrate on wrestling. He says
he ignored it and played
basketball, football and baseball,
as well.
"1 wasn't all that coordinated
then," says the now 6-4,
230-pounder. "But all that
experience really helped me this
year and last, especially, when
my coordination finally came
around. And that game
experience helps in any sport."
Mike, on the other hand;
stringer in another..."
for the sake of his track and
field career.
"It's true that basketball
tends to tighten up your leg
muscles," he observes. "And in
track you definitely want to be
lOOSe."
Another possible deterrent to
sports diversity, real or imagined,
is early discouragement - along
about the junior high years. Gary
err shares his interpretation.
"A lot of guys get cut or
don't get to play much in the
seventh or eighth grade and
therefore get down on sports in
general," he says. "And then,
when they finally are big and
coordinated enough in high
school, they don't feel like
turning out anyway."
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become a basketball player," he
says.
Highclimber varsity
basketball coach Terry Gregg, on
the other hand, sees his sport as
a logical choice for specialization
- although he hardly endorses it
- because perhaps more than
many other sports basketball is
fun in its practice mode, too.
"In other sports the kids
often really don't like practicing
all that much," lie says. "But in
basketball they not only have to
practice a lot but they have fun
doing it. And even the guy who
doesn't make the team has
gained something, because
basketball is the type of sport he
can enjoy actively in later life as
well."
Gregg, again, says basketball
specialization is not encouraged
by him or anyone else at the
high school, as far as he knows.
"But I can see how there might
be that pressure," he says.
"After all, it seems to be a trend
these days in all sports to have
specialists.
"Is it good? I don't know."
Another Climber coach who
admits he's not entirely sure how
prevalent sports-specializing
pressures may be is head track
mentor Bill Brickert, who
doubles as assistant football
coach.
"But I personally don't
believe in specializing in high
school," he says. "I don't think
people at this stage in life should
put all their eggs in one basket.
"Besides, the more turnouts
a kid gets the bigger and stronger
he is going to be, so as far as
physical conditioning goes each
sport complements the others."
Brickert has another major
endorsement for sports diversity,
and it's a hard one to overlook if
you're even pretending to
combine academics with
athletics.
"It's well known that most
athletes' studies show a marked
improvement during turnout
time," he observes. "After all,
when you're turning out, you're
generally healthier and more
disciplined, and it just naturally
follows that your schoolwork is
apt to benefit as well."
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Thursday, November 23, 1978 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 25
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PHONE 426-4602