There’s plenty of unsavory stuff in sports.
But the annual scholar-athlete awards presented by The Oklahoman and the Jim Thorpe Association count as some of the good stuff. There are no messy scandals. There are no seedy situations. There are only kids who have struck an amazing balance between athletics and academics.
Watch my latest video commentary or read below:
Year after year, envelope after envelope, the amazing resumes flood my mailbox every spring.
As the coordinator of the high school scholar-athlete awards presented by The Oklahoman and the Jim Thorpe Association, I have a chance to see every nomination. I marvel at the awesome performances in athletics and the amazing accomplishments in academics.
You’d think I’d get used to it.
Hasn’t happened yet.
On Sunday, we will reveal this year’s crop of scholar-athletes. These are the best and the brightest in the Oklahoma City area. And they will amaze you.
After being involved with the scholar-athlete program for several years, I am mindful not only of what these young men and women have done but also what they will do. These past few years, we have had Ivy Leaguers and Big 12 champions, even a Sooner quarterback who you might’ve heard about. But now, we’ve got college graduates, too. Four years ago was the first time we awarded scholar-athletes the way we do now, with an overall boys and girls winner. Traci Rohde from Community Christian School and Michael Gibson from Tuttle were the winners that year. Now, Traci is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin getting ready to start on her master’s and Michael is an alumni of Princeton.
By the way, you can hear more about all of our past winners on Sunday by going to NEWSOK.com and clicking on our special scholar-athlete page.
For as accomplished as Traci and Michael continue to be, their successes are likely mirrored by many of the young men and women who have been scholar-athletes over these past few years.
Who knows what might become of this year’s group? They could become doctors or teachers or leaders, coaches or stars or even Olympians.
Sometimes we wonder about the value of sports. What do they really matter? What purpose do they really serve? In these scholar-athletes, we should be reminded that sports teach valuable lessons that can apply to all areas of life. Hard work. Focus. Dedication. Those skills are just as important in chemistry lab or English class as they are on the football field or basketball court.
Great athletes can be great students, too.
So, who’s the best of the best this year? You’ll have to check out The Oklahoman or NEWSOK.com on Sunday to find out for sure, but I can promise you this — you won’t be disappointed.
They will amaze you.