(Dusty has CMT): The kids know sports are about building character

[Guest guest]

BEYOND THE HIGHLIGHTS: The kids know sports are about building

character

http://www.weeklyalmanac.com

by Stan Gumble

One of the perks of this part-time job is the opportunity to talk to

some of the best kids our local school districts have. They're

athletes, mostly, but not athletes only.

I ask them about lots of things, but the topic of this column is the

kids' take on leadership. Coaches and advisors talk about it,

exhibit it, teach it and expect their charges to exhibit leadership

on and off the field or court.

But how do the kids see it?

Surprisingly, virtually all the kids I talk to, from all the schools

I visit, view leadership in virtually the same ways. It's tough to

separate the components of leadership or rank them in order of

importance, so I won't try. But this is how the kids I've talked to

in the last two seasons see it.

They all, without exception, told me how important it is to have a

positive attitude.

Honesdale's Kaitlyn Cottell (soccer) said, when I asked her about

the physical as opposed to the mental aspects of training, " Mental

is more important. If you're negative and down on yourself, that

just shows that you going to play badly. You decrease your playing

ability with negative thoughts, so I try to stay positive as much as

I can. "

Honesdale's Dusty (basketball) puts it simply: " If you

believe you can do it, you can most likely do it. If you believe you

can overcome a problem, you can. "

Sometimes the toughest test of attitude is the attitude necessary to

fight on even through losses. Western Wayne's Trai Pope (football)

has seen an improvement in attitude on this year's team. " This year

the attitude is a big turnaround from the last few years, " he

said. " Now there's a lot of positive attitude. It's a rough, all the

losing, but all the kids keep a good attitude. We just keep working

hard. The courage and everything is there. It's definitely getting

better. I'll tell them that we can still do it, and that hard work

does pay off in the end, " he said. " Never to give up, even if we're

down by 63-0, because something crazy good can still happen. "

Wallenpaupack's Joe LoMonaco (wrestling) would understand courage

and good attitude. " During bouts I make sure I wrestle all six

minutes, " he said. " Even if I'm losing. "

After the Hornet football team lost three in a row, Brice Rickard

said, " Now the tough part of being a leader is keeping your team

together. You can't let it fall apart. You can't let the season go

down the drain any further. Lead by example and don't let your

teammates turn on each other. You can't let that happen. "

Most of these young leaders do lead by example, and practice is one

of the places to show that leadership.

Western Wayne's Bobby Killian (football) puts it this way. " I think

it's about the seniors not giving up, " he said, " and working just as

hard as we have to work. As long as the younger kids see that, it's

going to inspire them to work their hardest. "

Joe LoMonaco knows that. " During practice, I make sure I go as hard

as I can, 100 percent, " he said. " I know that some of the younger

wrestlers, the freshmen and sophomores, see me doing that, and I

know I have to set an example, so they think, `If he's doing that,

maybe I should be doing that.' "

Sometimes giving 100 percent means overcoming some very serious

obstacles.

Bobby Killian, for instance, played much of his senior football

season with a broken arm. But that didn't keep him out of the weight

room.

" I still go into the weight room and work out, " Bobby said. " There's

just some things I can't do. "

Wallenpaupack's Silsby (basketball) and Honesdale's Jordan

Thol (football) are among those who fought back from career-

threatening injuries. " I'll be back, " said, and he was. " I

love the game, " Jordan said, and he proved it by fighting through

two serious rehabilitations.

But few have had to overcome as much as Honesdale's Phil Aleva-,

a marching band member with cerebral palsy. " I've been in

wheelchairs, and crutches and casts, " he said. " I've had 10

surgeries. A person in my situation needs to be determined, or

you're just going to be a bump on a log, " he said. " Because of my

whole physical condition, I just need to try harder. "

Or Dusty , a standout Honesdale point guard who battled CMT,

a neuromuscular disease that causes the nerves that control movement

in the arms and hands, legs and feet to deteriorate.

" When I was in third grade I was diagnosed with CMT, " he said. " One

of the effects was that my heels wouldn't touch the ground when I

walked. I had to walk on my toes. I needed surgery for that. They

cut my higher Achilles tendon so I could actually walk on my heels.

The doctors said that I would probably be in a wheelchair by the

time I was in my 20s. Most people with CMT don't play sports. They

lose muscle mass and wind up not being able to use their muscles.

But I play sports and I work out and I've been able to build up my

muscles. "

So they know about determination. They've seen plenty of it.

They also know that appropriate selflessness leads to team success.

These kids know that the team is more important than any individual

on it and that sacrificing individual glory can lead to team

victory. " We have four or five people on the team who could easily

score 20 points, " Honesdale's Rickard (basketball)

said. " Whoever's hot that night, we just keep giving them the ball.

We don't care who scores as long as we win. "

Leaders know that their influence doesn't end at graduation.

Wallenpaupack's Kenthak (football) knows that the seniors

have an impact on the future of the program. " We seniors need to do

everything we can do to show the underclassmen what they need to do

to be more successful than we were, " he said.

The additional responsibility of leadership is not always glamorous.

Propst and Derrick, last year's Honesdale wrestling co-

captains, for instance, took on the additional and decidedly

unglamorous task of keeping the wrestling room, especially the

wrestling mats, clean and safe for the team. They did that during

their senior early dismissal time, before practice.

It's important to be positive teammates, too. Wallenpaupack's a

Wilkins (tennis), said, " One of the things I make sure I do is give

encouragement. There are a lot of younger girls on the team, and

they play a lot of exhibition matches. I'll go over and watch and

give encouragement. I was in that position last year and it's always

good to hear somebody cheer for you, so I do that as often as I can. "

Bobby Killian understands the need for the seniors on the team to

provide encouragement, too. " We need to provide a supportive

leadership, " he said. " Constructive criticism, not over the top. "

" As a leader, " said Jordan Thol, " I would just try to have the team

in a good mood and keep their heads straight. If they feel down or

bad, I always try to get them up and excited so they want to play.

There's days when you're tired, physically and mentally, and you

just don't want to be there. I try to help them through those days. "

I was surprised by how often these kids' remarks touched on positive

attitude, hard work, example setting, sacrifice, responsibility,

determination, consideration and respect for teammates and

opponents, preparation and the need to encourage others on their

teams, and how seldom they mentioned pure athleticism. They all

value it, but in the perspective of team success.

Wallenpaupack's Rich Palazzi (football) said that (in addition to

everything else) " Leaders ... have to step up in clutch situations.

They have to make the clutch throw, the clutch catch or the clutch

block. "

Well, that's representative of what these kids are learning when

they participate in sports. That's what their parents, coaches and

teammates are teaching them.

Want some hope for the future? Go see a high school sporting event.

It's all there.