It's Graduation Time

Hundreds of local athletes will be graduating later this month. For many, their organized sports careers will come to a close. A select few will go on to play at the college level, while others will occasionally dabble in recreational sports as what some people like to refer to as "weekend warriors," though I've learned that recreational games are rarely on weekends. These graduating athletes will take with them plenty of memories - both good and bad - from their playing days. Some 15 years removed from high school, I still remember certain games and even specific plays. (At least I think I remember them correctly.) As I've stated before, I was always weary of becoming that guy who often referred back to his glory days as a high school athlete while choking down a double-bacon cheeseburger. But, the reality is that those days were an important part of my life and I really do still cherish some of them. Inevitably, when I meet up with guys who were teammates in high school, we seem to somehow always come around to something related to our days playing sports together. Whether it's a reminder of the interception to seal a huge upset win, a dropped pass, a missed block, or a fumble return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to improbably win the homecoming game, those were the things that bound us then, and to some degree still bind us. There's a difference between living in the past and remembering it. So, as you graduating athletes leave and look forward to bigger and better things, be sure to safely store away those memories from high school. You'll want them someday. If you have photos, video footage - maybe even copies of High School Sports the Magazine - that don't seem to mean a whole lot to you now, I'm willing to bet there will come a day when you wish you had them. Put them away somewhere that you'll be able to get to them when you want. You'll be glad you did.