My hat goes off to the young people at the Poweshiek County Schools who participate in sports and other school activities.
No matter if you are a starter or sit on the bench, your hard work and dedication is much appreciated. Everything you do makes the team better. And thanks to the parents and family members who haul kids to practice a make sure they show up on time and have clean uniforms, shoes and whatever else they need. And thanks to all the coaches, assistant coaches and volunteers who spend hours coaching and working with young people making them better. And thanks to the students for going to practice and playing your hearts out each and every game. It’s a joy for me as a journalist to be at the games and school events taking photos and supporting the teams and events. Both Montezuma teams had great seasons on the hardwood as did the Grinnell Lady Tigers. The Braves lost in the district semifinal round to a tough Baxter team, 82-69. The Bravettes lost in the regional championship round to a good North Linn Lynx team, 69-40. And the Grinnell Lady Tigers also made it to the district final round, falling to Vinton-Shellsburg, 52-43, in Class 3A action. And there were five wrestlers who advanced to state from the three area schools. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the sport you love I don’t want to leave out speech and drama, FFA, school plays, music concerts, honor choirs, honor bands and so much more. I always enjoy promoting what the area young people are doing and their many successes, no matter if it is sports, academics or extracurricular activities. Outside of a brief stint running the mile in ninth grade, I didn’t participate in sports. I do remember one race that featured three ninth graders and two seventh graders. I ran my heart out and finished third in my grade. I was ahead of the second place finisher for three laps. I had some kick at the end, but it just wasn’t enough to catch him. I got a ribbon and I couldn’t have been happier to have finished the race. I went out for football my junior year, but didn’t make the cut. In the 1970s, Oklahoma high schools held spring drills. My good friend, David, and I showed up at the spring meeting our sophomore year. Some of the big football players laughed when we walked in the room. We didn’t pay it no mind as we were there to try. David had played football in junior high. I had not played before. Neither of us made the team. I kept falling down during drills and the coach sent me home. I went out for basketball in junior high and didn’t make the team. I was big, but not coordinated enough to play the game. And I played baseball in second grade, but spent more time star gazing then looking for the ball. I think I was scared of the ball. I do remember that when we won a game, we all got a cold Pepsi in the bottle. I enjoy high school sports, but also like college sports. My favorites are football, basketball and softball. Debbie and I enjoy watching softball and are OU Sooner fans. We are looking forward to going to watch the Sooners in late March when they play at ISU in Ames. We’ve seen OU in Ames three previous times. Two years ago, we met Paige Lowary at the game and got her autograph and had our picture taken with her. Lowary, who played her prep career at Dallas Center Grimes, started her college career at the University of Missouri-Columbia (2015-16), where she played two seasons before transferring to Oklahoma and helping led the Sooners to a second national championship in as many years in 2017. We hope she will be there again this year. I also had a chance to get OU Softball Coach Patty Gasso’s autograph at a game at ISU. After the end of one of the games, I saw her by the dugout and called her name. She came over and talked with me and autographed a softball and Sooner cap. Our dream is to attend the College World Series in June in Oklahoma City down the road. And soon it will be March Madness and basketball craziness in the Parker house. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
February 2025
Categories |