There's lots to get excited about

By John C. Cotey
Published August 28, 2007

Members of Freedom High School varsity football team cheer before the start of their practice.
	[Carrie Pratt | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT John C. Cotey

The bosses here decided at some point this summer to launch a prep column, to find someone to go beyond the everyday stories, to assign someone the task of making you laugh, cry and, occasionally, roll your eyes.

But mostly, to make you read, make you think and make you care.

Apparently, I'm that guy.

A quick snapshot of my high school experiences: I'm Milwaukee-bred, went to an all-boys prep school called Marquette, played one year of high school football before deciding it was too cold for that in October, was cut from the soccer team my sophomore year and played baseball until I discovered girls.

I also played way too much Strat-O-Matic baseball with my friends, missing out on some of the things I like most about high school sports, namely:

1. The big game

The hype. The buildup. Plant-Armwood football.

So big they could play Friday's season opener at Raymond James Stadium, but they're not. Therefore, I'm writing this from the ticket line, which started forming right about the time Plant's Aaron Murray threw his fifth touchdown pass Friday.

It's hot out here.

2. The places

From Plant's Dads Stadium, just a great spot to watch a football game; to Lakewood's little bandbox basketball gym, which when packed is a terrible place to watch a game but a great place to be; to the baseball and softball fields at Pasco, where fans back their pickup trucks to the outfield fence and watch from there.

3. Expectations

They run high until about the third week of the season, when reality sets in.

Here's a quick quiz. What area coach said: "If the kids practice hard and play up to their abilities, we can definitely compete for that district title."

Answer: All of them.

In every sport.

4. Rivalries

Playing for mall bragging rights, for the right to walk around with chests puffed out, the sweetness of that perfect MySpace smackdown:

Scoreboard.

Give me Tampa Prep-Berkeley Prep and River Ridge-Hudson volleyball; Seminole-Largo cross country; Lakewood-Boca Ciega basketball; Dunedin-Seminole baseball.

Give me anything where two schools located within 5 miles of each other are playing.

5. Crying

When kids lose that last game, they cry.

The seniors cry because it's over. The juniors cry because they feel they let the seniors down. The sophomores cry because, well, everyone else is crying.

And they're sophomores.

6. The kids

If you want to know what kids are wearing these days, what they are listening to on their iPods, how they interact, the way they speak, then spend a night at your local high school sporting event, where you can feel the pulse of the future.

What doesn't scare you will enthrall you.

7. X-country finishes

One word: carnage.

Runners collapsing under rubber legs, being helped off, diving at the line, moaning in agony.

Not sure there's a tougher, more thankless sport, but I do know this: It's the only sport where an athlete threw up on me.

Twice.

8. Watching the future

I once saw Hernando's John Capel run the 100 in 9.96 hand-timed seconds in New Port Richey. I grimaced as Zephyrhills' Ryan Pickett planted a quarterback so deep in the ground they had to excavate the poor kid.

Or what they found of him.

Did you know Alex Rodriguez once hit a home run at Zephyrhills?

Did you know that's the 100th time I've told someone that?

Can't wait for Plant's Robert Marve to become a college starter, for Land O'Lakes' Drew Weatherford to become a star at FSU, for Dunedin's Ryan Harvey to make the major leagues.

Then I'll turn to whomever is next to me and say, "I saw that dude play in high school."

9. Concession stands

A buck for a soda. Burgers for $2. On a good night, half-price hot dogs in the final three minutes of a game.

The smoky haze from the grill that hovers over the field. Kids behind the counter trying to figure out how much change they owe you. Watching a kid try to bum 50 cents off his buddy for a Snickers bar.

Watching the same kid settle for a quarter and some Airheads.

10. Everything

The players. The coaches. Their families. The accomplishments. Overcoming hardships. Thriving under pressure. Succeeding. Failing.

Writing about all of it.

John C. Cotey can be reached at 813 909-4612 or cotey@sptimes.com.

[Last modified August 28, 2007, 00:17:18]