Full Contact Player

Randy Roberts: Senior, Southern High School GPA: 3.3 Stats: 5'7", 145 lbs Sports: quarterback in football; point guard in basketball; 2nd baseman/pitcher in baseball. Ask Randy which sport he prefers and you'll get a nod and a wink along with, "I love'em all." Ask his coaches what he means to their teams and it starts to sound like Groundhog Day. David Burns, currently Southern's Athletic Director and Randy's former baseball coach, says Randy is, "A natural born leader; wish I had a team full of Randys." Assistant baseball coach John Hodges says, "He's such a great leader. A fierce competitor, too." Ditto for head baseball coach David Hines, "He's a terrific kid and a natural leader." Ask him about his stats and you'll find a humble kid who struggles for an answer. "I have no idea what my batting average is and I couldn't tell you my scoring average for basketball or my yards per carry in football. I just play." It's pretty evident that Randy Roberts is a leader on and off the field. "I've been playing these sports since I was old enough to take the field or the court. I started baseball at 4 years old, basketball at 6 and football at 6. I was the smallest guy on the field and yes, it was full contact. I loved the contact." There is something else he loves about these three team sports at which he excels. "It's like another family to go to," he says. He carries that notion with him whether he's playing for Southern or playing in one of the regular pickup games of football (on Saturdays) or basketball (on Sundays) that he plays with his friends. Coaches love hearing a kid talk like that--at any level, in any sport. Randy is an active kid with a seemingly endless amount of energy. He played every snap on offense for the past two years at quarterback; no small feat for a kid his size. He relished the hitting and the contact, "I like to hit and get hit. And when I'd take a good lick I'd pop up and tell the guy to hit harder next time. Guess that's where my mouth would get ahead of my brain," he chuckled. On the basketball court he loved to make the big play, the fancy pass to set up a teammate. And on the baseball field just call him "dirt" for all the diving and sliding he does. "I just can't let anything get by me. I'll leap, run, dive to catch a ball; it doesn't matter." These three sports are at the heart of this young man. Just ask him, listen to his answers and how excited he gets. You'll quickly start to remember those days when you'd play three different sports in an afternoon just for the joy of it--for the joy of being with your friends on a field or a court and playing for the love of the game. Just call it a lesson from Randy that we can all use. BIO>Paul Najjar is a freelance writer and sports commentator. See his work on www.paulonsports.com.