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| Start of game at JLIT. 2/26/2019 dwm photo |
(Pause)
That's it. If you blinked you missed it, or you didn't, because my highlight didn't happen on the court, field, or track.
It happened in gym class.
Sophomore year at J.A. Craig High School we were in the basketball unit lead by the school's varsity basketball coach, Stan DuFrane. Coach DuFrane's teams routinely advanced deep into the state play-offs.
The height of my basketball career came in 7th grade when I was the first guy off the bench for St. Paul's B-team (most players were 6th graders with some 7th graders not good enough to play on A-team).
I was a little further down the A-team bench in 8th grade but did get on the floor briefly during St. Paul's annual tournament. I played on St.Paul's entry into the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) league. By this time I wanted to play more than I cared whether or not we won. As it turned out, I didn't play much and we didn't win often.
My other sport during high school was cross country senior year. I liked that every person on the team competed. I moved back and forth between junior varsity and the C-squad while our varsity runners were in the hunt to reach the State Finals.
Way before all of those teams, any highlight consisted of not being chosen last when the kids were choosing who they wanted on their team.
My highlight? That happened one day when Coach DuFrane asked why I didn't try-out for his basketball team.
I didn't know if he was serious or not, but it was generous, kind, and made my day then and now.
Thanks, Coach!
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