Here's to Never Throwing in the Towel

As the sports editor of four newspapers, it seems like I've seen it all. From baseball in Hooker, to football in Lampasas, Texas, to soccer in Bixby, to wrestling in Ardmore, to basketball on the carpeted court at Fort Supply. Only it's not true. I've seen plenty. More than most. But hardly all. Every night I escape the office, I'm looking for something new, interesting, dynamic or dramatic. And for all the comfort of the collegiate press box, endless handouts and provided quotes, something like that always seems to come more readily from the preps. Sometimes, it even comes with a lesson. My favorite latest example began a few days after the New Year. Norman High was playing basketball against Edmond Memorial and though Norman spent much of the first half hammering the Bulldogs, the Bulldogs spent most of the second routing the Tigers. Memorial, seemingly having ended all the drama, up double digits as the fourth quarter passed the halfway point and NHS coach Wes Clark having chosen to fight another day, senior Tiger forward Austin Allen was having none of it. Likely, it was all he could do not to leave the court before the buzzer mercifully sounded. As it turned out, he left anyway. Too distracted or distraught or silently enraged as a timeout held forth on the court, Allen didn't budge from the bench as the Tigers stood to huddle. Eventually he got up, then sat down. For not going through the motions of being a teammate, Clark had an assistant escort Allen to the locker room. Here's the thing. I was with Allen. No, he wasn't being the best teammate when he remained seated. Instead, what he was doing was caring about the game like his life depended on it. Throwing in the towel, even amidst a lost cause, wasn't working for him. Clark had his reasons. A fine coach, they were likely good reasons. I saw them. Allen couldn't. I loved that he couldn't. I just couldn't remember the last time I saw a young athlete hate losing that much. I talked to both after the game, even on the record. Allen would have told me anything, he was in such a fog. Clark told me he wished I wouldn't write about it. I told him sorry. "It's my last year and I just want to be out there until the end," Allen said. Clark sympathized with Allen's motives. "It all stems from his frustration," said the coach. "It's not him being a bad kid." Allen added that he'd find out later if he was going to be disciplined. He could be suspended. Maybe something else. He didn't know. He wasn't suspended. Good for him and good for me. There's no rooting on press row, but I had silently become Allen's biggest fan. Growing up, that's how I took every loss. It was always personal. But the best part of the story comes next. The next week, Norman played Norman North and Norman, still looking for its second win, topped Norman North 35-33. Allen scored 10 points in the face of the North fans chanting his name like he was some out-of-favor Yankee right fielder patrolling Fenway Park. Next, at the McGuinness Tournament, Allen scored 14 points in the first game, 14 in the second and 10 in the third as the Tigers won two of three. Next, on the road at Moore, he went for 31 points, getting the Tigers back to even in the process. And a note to you college coaches out there: Looking for a 6-4 shooter who can only help your team? Maybe you should look at Austin Allen. For the moment, that's where the story ends. Senior kid gets hot, leads his team to four wins in five games. But it's not nearly so simple. Instead, it's about passion. The lesson? Good things happen to those who care - like there's no tomorrow, like not succeeding is not an option because there will be time for perspective later. That's the kind of kid I want to see play. That's the kind of kid I'll remember, long after I leave the gym.