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By cernig, Section Site related
My high school baseball coach once told me that I should always have five or six different plays in my head at any given time. He was talking about baseball situations of course, but I've taken the advice to the next level and used it in my every day life. If a person can adjust in life to the many different situations presented, that person most likely will have a pretty enjoyable life. To counter that, one of my high school teachers told me that a person never changes unless they are forced to. More often than not, the reason they finally decide to force themselves to change, is because of the aftermath of a tragic event. Wednesday's college football recruiting scandal has put a deep burn on a day previously over hyped to begin with, while the start of a new wave of recruitments set out to prove their case to coaches across the country over the next year.
While I agree with Wilbon on that particular point, I don't at all feel bad for Hart, a 6'5, 290 pound offensive lineman for Fernley High School in northern Nevada. When the initial report was released it stated that Hart, whose father paid off a friend to help with the recruiting process, had been duped into thinking he was being recruited by Pac-10 schools Cal and Oregon. His high school held a press conference and Hart chose Cal as his school of choice. Little did anyone know was that neither Cal nor Oregon had even ever heard of Hart. Never. I initially did feel bad for Hart. On PTI the day prior, Wilbon had reported Hart's father was seen crying because of what had happened to his son. I felt at the time I would have felt the same way if Hart was my kid. However, my feelings quickly changed when I learned that Hart had lied and made the entire story up, even the part where he said he was duped into believing he was being recruited to play football for Pac-10 schools. I've thought a lot about what Wilbon said today on PTI, what he said about the pressure put on kids to be recruited, the desire to be "in" as he put it, and be part of a glamorous program. But when push came to shove, I found myself is disagreement with Wilbon. Sure, every kid dreams of one day playing football for USC, or basketball for Duke, or baseball for Miami, but more often than not that same kid has to deal with the reality that what they dream of just isn't going to happen. They accept it and move on to the next stage in their lives. Hart was and is now different. He chose, in an effort to make himself feel better I'm sure, to ultimately hurt the family and friends closest to him, and shock a world with a scheme never thought possible. Going back to the words passed on by my high school teacher, this is now the point in Hart's life where he must change. Again, this unfortunately has to happen because of something unacceptable he did on his part. Had he known the advice given to me by my high school baseball coach, maybe this situation could have been avoided. Some of the most important figures in my life come from role models. My family, my friends, and athletes I watch on television; if I become inspired then a person has done their job. It's unfortunate we live in a world where role models are overvalued, but underappreciated. Everyone can pick out the role models who sing phenomenally, play the game flawlessly, or get the "Mom of the Year" award for ten years running. It's the people who have to work harder than anyone out there that should be praised. But they aren't. Had Hart had a role model, one like David Eckstein of the Toronto Blue Jays, maybe he could be in a more desirable spot right now For those who don't know, David Eckstein received zero scholarship offers out of high school. Zero. Guess what he did? He did not make up a fake recruitment story to the University of Florida I can tell you that, instead he worked harder than anyone at the school and won a spot on the baseball roster as a walk-on. After being highly successful there, Eckstein, who is listed as 5'6, wasn't drafted until the 19th round of the 1997 amateur draft. From there he continued to work harder than anyone else on the field and enjoyed very successful seasons at every stop in the minors. Eckstein made his major league debut on April 3, 2001 for the then Anaheim Angels, and would finish fourth in voting for the Rookie of the Year in the American League. A year later he won his first World Series championship. After signing with the Cardinals before the 2005 season, he would go on to appear in his first All-Star game and a year later he was the starting shortstop for the National League. Oh yeah, he also won his second World Series title that same season. After Eckstein won the World Series with the Angels in 2002, there was an article printed in The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) the following winter. Eckstein, who only made $280,000 in 2002, made just about that, maybe more, for winning the World Series. But the "extra" money Eckstein received didn't change his work habits one bit. Throughout the article I was continually impressed with Eckstein and his work ethic. When the interviewer arrived at his apartment, he was shocked to find clothes in a pile outside the door. Eckstein didn't own a closet. Because he could not afford to pay for a haircut, he sported a 1990's little boy haircut his brother did for free. With that bonus money he earned in 2002, Eckstein bought his brother a new camera so he could dissect his swing for him everyday that off season. Eckstein ate Trix for breakfast and at this point in the article was ready to begin his day. After driving in his car with no cd player (he owns no cd's), Eckstein was ready to begin his first day of the off season. The first half of his day goes a little something like this: two hours of lifting/condition/agility, and two hours of baseball work. Eckstein did everything from tee work to fielding ground balls in what was described as a below freezing day with rain pouring down on a little local college baseball diamond. High school prospects from the tunnel watched in awe through the pouring rain as Eckstein worked. He repeatedly would say, "It's just a little rain, it's just a little rain." Now that's a role model. What's even more impressive is after being crowned World Champion, he was invited, along with a few other big name baseball players, Curt Schilling being one of them, to a dinner with President George W. Bush. While the players all brought along their wives or girlfriends, Eckstein brought his mother. David Eckstein was at one point in his life in the same situation as is Kevin Hart. David Eckstein took the opportunities given to him and made the best of them, even when people told him he couldn't do it. David Eckstein is now playing the game he loves the most, while also even receiving a salary that allows him to be a little more flexible with his money. David Eckstein is the true definition of heart and hard-work, and has an ever understanding of how to take full advantage of opportunities presented to an individual. If David Eckstein did it, almost a foot shorter and 100 pounds lighter than Kevin Hart, any high school athlete can make their dream happen. I am a firm believer that everything accomplished in life is from hard work. David Eckstein proves that to be 100% true. Now Kevin Hart is faced with a decision. He will have supporters, Michael Wilbon being one of them, and he will have non-supports such as me. Sure he is in a tough place right now, but he can change. It is possible for him to still accomplish everything he made up in his little white lie. The pressure kids face to be recruited is at an all-time high, I realize this, but come on folks, it's no reason to act in the way Kevin Hart did. This situation should raise a red flag now to parents of all high school athletes. They should take the time to talk to their kids about the seriousness of recruiting and also remind them, many times if needed, that more often than not, they are not going to be recruited by a big time school. Parents should take the time to teach their kids how to deal with that reality because it's obviously not easy to come to terms with. If parents take the time to be a little more attentive with their kids, hopefully we won't ever have to see a situation like Kevin Hart's ever come about again. --- Information related to this topic courtesy of ESPN.com, The Post-Standard (winter 2003), baseball-reference.com and the ESPN Original Entertainment program, Pardon The Interruption (PTI).
Copyright ©2008 Colin Cerniglia. All Rights Reserved.
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