Turnovers … by Alan B. Gibson

Posted May 15, 2019 at 8:32 am

Congrats to the Class of ’19

This is the week that traditionally I remind everyone who has a young adult who will be accepting a diploma at this week’s graduation ceremony, to take a couple of minutes before the big day and collect some thoughts about what has been accomplished.

Since this is a sports related column, for the most part, then this message is primarily directed to our athletes and parents from the Class of 2019.

To the parents and guardians, congratulations are certainly in order to you. You went the extra mile in the child raising process.

You made sure the practices were attended on time and at times, too often to get your own list of “things to do” accomplished in a timely manner.

You made sure the uniforms were clean and ready and you made sure the homework was completed so the games could go on.

From youth league through varsity, you filled the gas tank, checked the tires, and went to the games – home and away, night after night, Saturday afternoon after Saturday afternoon. Some of you even stepped up and filled a coaching job or two

For that, thank you for making sure your young athlete had that opportunity to take in this extra curricular activity and learn what it takes to be a team member.

To you athletes – see above again and think for a moment about the extra time and extra trips your parent, grandparent, whomever you depended on, went through, especially before you were able to get behind the wheel of a car or truck and transport yourself.

Then remember to say “thanks” for their love and attention to detail.

As for your accomplishments that will reward you with a diploma this week, remember your time also as a member of that athletic team while you were a student at Clinton County High School.

Let me assure you that for the rest of your adult life, you will fall back on and benefit from the many experiences you have learned – good and bad – during your time as an athlete.

They are life lessons, and memories, that you will cherish for the rest of your life.

You can also attribute many of the successes you will achieve in your life to your time and experiences of being an athlete and a member of a team environment.

There are many out there who simply will never acknowledge the importance of athletics in a young person’s life, so think about this for a moment. While preparing to interview the top three academic students from this class, we learned that at least the top five from this Class of 2019 had been involved in athletics.

Finally, remember the times you looked out into the stands and picked your game up a notch because of the noise and encouragement you were hearing from the fans. Many of those fans were parents and family members and classmates, but many were also former athletes who were there to pay back with their support of Clinton County athletics.

This Friday night, when you move that tassel from one side to the other after receiving your diploma, your status will have forever changed from student – to alumni.

But your status as a Bulldog will never change. Come back, watch some games, and give your support to those who come behind you and have looked up to you for many years.

Remember these words . . .

Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog! – and congratulations again.

In the meantime – let’s take it outside for a few months!