High school experience brings rewards that last a lifetime

I have nothing against the University of Illinois. I had a great time there for four years.

I am very proud of my diploma and have it framed and hanging on the wall in the family room at home.

I'll always be loyal to you, Illinois, even though I didn't think you belonged in the NCAA tournament despite your Cinderella run.

However, it was my high school experience that had the greatest impact -- by far -- on my life. It ended for me in 1954 at Arlington High School, but I still have great memories of those four years.

Considered chronologically, coming of age in the 1950s meant being too old for the advent of Little League baseball and too young to fight in Korea.

Every other generation in this century seems to have had its Great Event, but we just marched to a very different drummer in the '50s and had no major event around which we might center our lives.

Maybe that's why the high school experience was so important and left such a strong impression. I try to get that point across when I speak at our football and basketball recognition banquets.

I'm convinced walking those hallowed halls of ivy as teenagers had a powerful impact on most people.

I also think that, no matter how successful they might become in college or at the professional level, most athletes love to reminisce about their high school days. That's when they really started to get the attention and publicity as the big man or woman on campus.

It was great to see NBA superstar Dwyane Wade, a product of Richards High School, arrive in Peoria in time last Saturday night to watch his alma mater win the state basketball championship. He looked very excited on the sidelines hugging the players, and I am positive he had some positive flashbacks to his high school days at Richards.

Cal Ripken Jr., who had a remarkable 21-year career in Major League Baseball, had a chance to talk about those high school days in an interview with David Hoch, a member of the High School Today Publications Committee.

When somebody of Ripken's stature and class talks, you should listen. You might learn something.

Ripken credits his high school experience for learning how to make adjustments and persevere.

"I was an undersized kid my first two years," he said, "and I didn't think I would ever make it. As a freshman, I was so undersized and overmatched physically. I had a growth spurt just before my junior year."

Ripken, who was the winning pitcher in the state championship baseball game, also played soccer and feels very strong about playing multiple sports.

"It definitely helps with your athleticism," he said. "Soccer helped me with my stamina and my balance, among other things."

Ripken was known as a leader in professional baseball, but he admits it developed over time, starting in high school.

"There are so many versions of what people consider to be leadership," he said. "I was never very vocal on the field and I never wanted to show up my teammates. I believe that real leadership comes in the quiet times when you speak to a teammate one on one and he knows you are helping him for the right reasons -- not for the media and others to see -- but because you really care."

Ripken has played for many coaches and feels he knows what makes a good high school coach.

"Teaching is the key element to coaching," he said, "and a win-at-all costs mentality isn't good at any of the younger levels. Use practice to teach, and then when the game arrives, let the kids play.

"Find a good time after the fact to break down what went right or wrong during the game."

How would Ripken describe the ideal parent of a high school athlete?

"Someone who encourages and supports their child while, at the same time, not pushing them too much and standing over them to make them practice or play.

"If you do that to your child, they will be playing for the wrong reasons, and the first chance they have to stop playing when you aren't standing over them, they will take.

"The passion for the sport has to come from within."

Ripken has the right idea.

If you bring passion to this unique arena called high school, the experience will be something you never forget.

That's a guarantee from The Class of 1954.