People

In The Spotlight: Taylor Dye, Overcoming Dyslexia

March 13, 2011 By Doug Sarant 1 Comment

Often times, many of us carry on in life like we are living in la la land because we were born without any alleged disabilities. Albeit, the jury is still out on me.

I’m probably more guilty of this than anyone so once in a while I’ll go out and find someone who has to fight through adversity on a daily basis. The good news is I get to take you on these journeys.

I’m no different than any of you in that I tend to get on the excuse train when I am feeling lazy or sorry for myself. Well, one day I was in line at Subway and I got into a conversation with a man who has a son that plays football for Oak Ridge. The line was long and we had some time to kill. If you are with me during these situations and you are not a talker, you will need to be polite and tell me to shut the hell up or you’ll be telling me your life story within five minutes.

Luckily, this man was very engaging and we got into a conversation about many things, but mainly dyslexia. The connection was his son has dyslexia and my wife who teaches elementary school and has some experience in this area in dealing with some of her kids over the years. He went into detail as to his son’s trials and tribulations and it just fascinated me as to how this gentleman’s son has been able to overcome his issues. Being the nosy writer that I am, I had to ask this man if he wouldn’t mind if I did an In The Spotlight article on his son. His response was polite as he said this is a personal issue but he’d ask his son and would get back to me.

I’m pleased to say we received a positive response … Meet Oak Ridge sophomore Taylor Dye:

When did you start figuring out that you might have some type of learning disability?
I’m not sure. I do remember fourth grade was when school became frustrating and not much fun.

What were some of the symptoms you noticed?
The things that really frustrated me were the numbers were moving around on the page.They even seemed to be floating in the air at times. I would read and write numbers and letters backwards. That meant I would miss easy math problems or mis-read words that would change the meaning of what I was reading.

When and how did you start dealing with this?
By the end of my 4th grade year I was working with Mrs. Bradley. She was using a program called Basic Language Skills. It was really in depth. I had to relearn my letters and their sounds all over again. Then blend and unblend letter’s sounds to read and spell words. I remember writing a lot. At first, just spelling words, then writing sentences, and then to writing paragraphs. I even learned about the history of the English language and where the words we use came from. I also had to learn spelling rules to help me spell correctly. The whole program took about four years to complete.

If you are taking a course that requires a lot of reading in a short time, how do you accomplish all that you have to do?
Sometimes, instead of reading a book for a report or something, I will listen to it on tape or CD. My teachers will have read alongs, tapes, movies, or CD’s during class and that helps me a bunch.

You have had to work harder than most people to get through school and you can’t be commended enough for your massive efforts. However, overcoming dyslexia is a team effort. Can you tell us about your team?
First off, I have to say that without my dyslexia coaches Mrs. Bradley, Ms. Caves, and Mrs. Japp. I don’t think I would be doing as well as I am. Also, my teachers have been great. I have not had a teacher yet that has not been willing to work with me and sometimes that can be tough on them. I use to go to tutorials in the afternoons at Houser, Vogel, York and here at Oak Ridge High School.

I go to lots of tutorials in the mornings, before school, because of football. My teachers have gone so far as to give me printed notes for class so that it is easier for me to keep up. Being dyslexic doesn’t mean I can’t do all the work, it just means it will usually take me longer to finish it. I guess too, I have had to learn to communicate better so that my teachers understand my situation.

Do you think having dyslexia has made you mentally tough?
I’m not sure of my mental toughness, but I do have to deal with myself. If I was to make excuses, I wouldn’t be able to progress. Not making excuses comes natural to me so I don’t look at it as being mentally tough. I can get tough on myself and doubt my ability to be successful. That’s when my family and friends can be very helpful. They’re part of the team, too.

Do you think having dyslexia has forced you to grow up faster than most kids?
Not so much. I think a lot of kids have to grow up faster than they want to because of situations life may throw at them. To hear my mom and dad talk about it, kids today are growing up faster than they used to.

You play center in football. That requires a lot of reading diagrams and play books.

The position is underrated in that the center doesn’t just hike the football. The center has more responsibility than every player on the team except the quarterback. Offensive line coaches tend to think the center has even more responsibility. A person in your situation could have chosen a less complicated position like right guard. How did you get started at center?
Wow, tough question. I have been playing organized tackle football since I was 6 years old in Kenner, La. When I was eight, we moved here to Spring. I joined the SCFL (South County Football League), played at York, and now at Oak Ridge. I have always played center pretty much and learning plays was never a problem. Then, last year Coach Kitterman brought in a new offense with no huddle and it was hard for me to learn. Not so much learning the plays but having to think of what blocks to make against what defense in a matter of seconds. I started out last spring at center, then right tackle, then back to center, then to right guard, and then finally to left guard. After the first week of spring practice I was on the fourth string and doubting myself. Thanks to coaches Bailey and Caganaan continually working with me and pushing me I became the starting right guard on the JV-A team. Because of my moving around, I actually became familiar with all the positions on the offensive line and the different blocking assignments. In fact, during the Woodlands game I was asked to move to the center position, where I stayed for the rest of the season against Lufkin and Kingwood. I have to give a shout out to Coach Kitterman. He has worked with me since the summer and all through the season. He has been a big help not only solidifying the plays in my head but helping me with my technique at a new position.

I see that you really appreciate the people who have helped you deal with dyslexia. Do you do anything to help others that have the same issue?
Yes. My dad works with dyslexic students at Oak Ridge Elementary and I go over from time to time to work with his students. Mainly, I tell them if they work hard and follow the program that they can be successful. I talk to them about my own experiences, what they can expect, and answer any questions they have. It’s actually fun.

At the onset of your dyslexia, how did your parents help you deal with it?
When we first found out I had dyslexia, Mom and Dad found a list of famous people that had or have dyslexia, to show me it was doable. They taught me not to use it as an excuse, but to use it to build my character. My parents are always there when I start to doubt myself. Last spring they told me to hang in and that I would figure it out. Mrs. Rasco was my 4th grade teacher at Houser and she saw my frustration and got the ball rolling. My dyslexia coaches were Mrs. Bradley, Ms. Caves, and Mrs. Japp, and they made dyslexia workable. I have to mention all my teachers but I might leave one out and that would not be fair, because without all of their patience and understanding I wouldn’t have been successful. Finally, my friends. They have my back and that is important to me.

Because of your disability, are you exempt from being declared academically ineligible to play sports?
I haven’t been under the 504 umbrella since midway through my 8th grade year and I have a 3.4 GPA. Don’t get me wrong, TAKS Math still kicks my rear end and the PSAT was really hard for me.

I know it’s early, but have you thought of college and beyond?
Currently I’m in 10th grade. I definitely want to go to college somewhere. My dream is to play Division 1 football. Career, not sure. Maybe coach and teach.

What do you like doing with your free time?
I like playing football, basketball, track, hunting, fishing, and playing X-Box with my friends on the weekends.

Ladies and Gentlemen, now that’s a great kid!

Comments to Doug Sarant at doug@oakridgenow.com.

For more information on dyslexia and education, contact the folks at the Partners Resource Network.

Filed Under: People Tagged With: dyslexia, football, In the Spotlight, Oak Ridge High School, Taylor Dye

In the Spotlight: The Outspoken Laurin Engle

March 10, 2011 By Doug Sarant 1 Comment

This week’s In The Spotlight subject came to us via Coach JC Collins of the Oak Ridge girls soccer team. In talking to the Coach a few weeks ago, I informed him that we are always looking for athletes who are outspoken leaders.

That being pointed out, Collins definitely hit the nail on the head with his goalkeeper, Laurin Engle.

Meet Laurin Engle:

Your enthusiasm for anything having to do with Oak Ridge high school is unmatched. Is there anything you don’t like about Oak Ridge?
I love Oak Ridge. I’ve always been treated relatively fairly and had some pretty great teachers along the way. The one thing that bothers me about the high school is the lack of school spirit. Don’t get me wrong, there are many of us kids who have spirit but there’s just too much negativity. Overall spirit is the one thing Oak Ridge lacks. Kids all the time talk about how much we suck. I just don’t get it. I don’t get how you wouldn’t stand behind your school at all costs. Kids who have never been to an Oak Ridge soccer game before will come up to me and say, “So how bad did y’all suck last night?” I just don’t get it. We support the other teams. I just wish that in my time here more people could have been more supportive. You know, maybe we didn’t have the greatest of records but every one us really goes at it with a lot of effort and we are proud to be playing for Oak Ridge High School. After we graduate, I hope that in the future the lack of spirit aspect changes at the school. Whatever sport is being played, all students should get behind the players.

How long have you been playing soccer? What kind of training have you had?
I’ve been playing soccer since I was 4 years old. However, right before high school, I quit in order to swim. Late my freshman year Coach Collins came and found me at Battle of the Bands and asked if I would come out and play for him. (He desperately needed a keeper for the upcoming year.) I accepted, and quit swimming at the same time. Never regretted it since. I’ve never been to a soccer camp, and select soccer is much more serious, much more intense all the time.

Has goalie been the position of choice since you started?
As far as I can remember, I’ve been a goalie. Ever since I was just four and my dad was the coach of the team, I always wanted to play keeper.( Maybe just because it involved less running. :] ) But somewhere around 12 years old, I fell in love with the position. It’s definitely the best position on the field. I’ve always loved the fact that you have to be just a little bit crazy to play goalie. Plus, making a great save is the best feeling in the world … even better than scoring.

Coach JC Collins seems like a real enthusiastic dude. How is your relationship with him?
Ah, Coach Collins and I are pretty tight. We disagree on a lot of things, but there is a lot of respect between us. I think he is a great coach solely on the fact that he just cares SO much. He loves his job and every single one of these girls to no end. Even when I think he might be wrong in the strategy department, he makes up for it in effort. He’s always learning new techniques by reading new studies and making friends with other coaches trying to get information out of them. We make fun of him for being such a social butterfly, but really he is just doing recon work for us.

Is there a coach that has had a major impact on you and is responsible for you continuing to play soccer?
Definitely Coach Collins. For one, if it weren’t for him talking to me at Battle of the Bands, I would’ve never fallen back into the sport. But also, he’s always there after every game whether it’s good or bad. He’s always the one telling me and the rest of the team that we’re going to be okay, that it was just one game, and that we’ll get them back next time. He’s always positive and that definitely rubs off. He’s kept the game fun for us, and I thank him for that.

College plans?
I plan on attending Baylor University this fall (Sic’ Em Bears!) and studying Sports Management. Hopefully I’ll be a sports agent one day.

Future soccer plans?
I will probably play intramural soccer or join an adult league, but I will not play NCAA soccer for Baylor. For a while I wanted to play college ball, but I don’t want my entire college life to be about soccer. I want to enjoy my college live and really glean all the knowledge I can from that place.

Have you lived in Oak Ridge forever? Why do you like it here?
I have lived in Oak Ridge since I was 4. We moved away for 18 months when I was 8, but came right back to the same neighborhood. I’ve always loved the area. It’s got some of that small town appeal, while having all the big town perks.

Do you have any favorite teachers?
Every single one of my teachers this year have been amazing. Between Mr. Wetzel in Economics/Government, Mrs. Cox in English, Mrs. Lee in Anatomy, and Mrs. Hollis in Calculus, they have made a profound impact on my life. They each just absolutely adore the subject they teach and it shows in their classroom. They have made senior year so much more enjoyable. I’ve gotten to the point where I look forward to class just to learn from them.

Have your parents been AWESOME?
I love my parents. They’re definitely the best parents out there. They were strict enough to make me a good person, but now that I’m older they relate to me all the time and we’re able to talk for real. My whole family is amazing. My brother is probably the greatest person ever. (He played soccer for Oak Ridge too, and now goes to UT). The best though is when we’re all together at something like Thanksgiving dinner. The whole family goes crazy. I love it. We’re all so alike, and we all find the same things funny so family gatherings are a blast.

You go 100% at all times on the field. You have a problem with players who don’t?
Oh jeez. That’s definitely hitting home with me. I never understand why people don’t give it their all. I have my days where I goof off, but I really understand that practice is just that. Practice is an opportunity to get better, why not use it? Also, in a game, I never understand it when players give up because they’re losing. Every minute of a game is a chance to give it your all, to prove yourself worthy of playing this sport regardless of the winner. I never stop. We’ve been down in games before 6-0 and that’s when I start playing my hardest. That’s when I realize that it’s time to be done making mistakes and going all out. That’s the time when there is nothing to lose, and the time to go big.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I’d also like to add that I just love my team. Even when we all argue and fight and no one listens to me, or tries to undermine my authority as captain, I love every single one of them. I’d do anything for them, and they know that. My favorite part about high school sports is that it really doesn’t matter in the long run what your record was or how far you went in the state tournament. What matters is how these kids grow into adulthood and learn discipline, honor, and respect through sports. I’ve watched plenty of players grow up on my team, and I’m sad that I won’t continue to see them grow after this year.

Wait a minute, for a few minutes there, I thought I was interviewing an adult. Come to think of it, I was. Laurin Engle is wise beyond her years and I am proud to call her a friend now. A friend is one that you can ask a question and does not tell you what you want to hear. You’ll always know where you stand with Laurin, she gives you the honest scoop. Brutally honest are two words that describe Engle in a nutshell.

Laurin is awesome and yet another example why the Oak Ridge area is the place to be. Is it any wonder why our community is the fastest growing area in Montgomery County?

Comments to Doug Sarant at doug@oakridgenow.com

Filed Under: People Tagged With: Association football, Battle of Bands, Baylor University, Head coach, high school, In the Spotlight, Laurin Engle, Oak Ridge High School, soccer, The Spotlight, United States

Oak Ridge’s Own Angel in the Outfield

March 2, 2011 By Ann Allison 1 Comment

“Who can say for certain. Maybe you’re still here.
I feel you all around me. Your memory’s so clear.”
- Josh Groban

On May 11, 2010, Shaun Finley, a former member of the Oak Ridge High School baseball team died in a tragic accident. Tonight, March 1, 2011, a pre-game ceremony was held at the ballfield to retire Shaun’s #24 jersey.

From the moment Shaun’s family was escorted to the pitcher’s mound to begin the ceremony, I held my breath. Would the words spoken to all of the family and friends gathered to honor Shaun’s memory be sufficient to convey just how much his life had impacted those who knew him…particularly those in the baseball program at Oak Ridge High School? Would this tribute add to the treasured memories in their hearts?

Barbara Finley, Shaun’s mother, who rarely if ever missed a game, told me afterwards, “I don’t know who planned all of this, but it was perfect. I never could have imagined the tribute could be as awesome as it was. Every word brought back memories and happy tears.” I let her know that it was all Coach Scheiner, who, from almost the moment of hearing about Shaun’s tragic accident, had decided to retire Shaun’s #24 jersey at the first varsity home game of the 2011 season.

The ceremony began with Shaun’s mother, Barbara, his father, Dwayne, his sister Kristina, and his Uncle Bob Brown who had driven in from Austin with his wife, Cindy, for the ceremony, taking the field. This was followed by one of the most touching moments of the night. The entire 23-man Oak Ridge High School varsity baseball team walked together out to the mound to present Barbara with a dozen peach roses and 23 hugs. The coach had learned that Shaun had always given his mom peach roses for her birthday. It was only fitting to do so tonight.

My son gave one of those hugs. He initially met Barbara and Shaun when Shaun’s 2001 Little League All-Star team won the District 28 title. My two sons and I followed the team to Waco for the State Tournament and then to Florida for the Regional Tournament. We were so welcomed by the team and the team families. They made my two little boys, 6 and 8 years old, feel pretty special. At the end of their All-Star run, one game short of the Little League World Series, they gave my sons 2 baseballs signed by the team.

Here, tonight, my son was presenting roses to, and hugging the team mom, Shaun’s mom, who had so warmly welcomed him years ago. Here, tonight, my son with his team, had signed a baseball given to Shaun’s father as a tribute to his son.

I was watching more than just hugs on the field. I was watching 23 young men help comfort a family and pay tribute to the life of a special son, brother, nephew and friend.

After the ceremony, Barbara expressed her heartfelt thanks and said “my best part of the evening was my peach roses and the boys. I so miss Shaun’s hugs and kisses. Every time one of the boys hugged me I felt a part of Shaun.”

The theme of Shaun’s tribute, written by head varsity baseball coach Stacy Scheiner and announced by Doug Sarant, was remembering how much fun Shaun had playing the game of baseball.

“Shaun was the type of player that was as serious about baseball as anyone, but at the same time just being around him made all of his teammates and coaches enjoy the game so much more.

“When you talk about the traits of a team player, you think of the words passion, character and unselfishness. Shaun wore those words at all times. You can add heart as well. One thing that only those real close to Shaun knew is he had to fight through adversity as well. At one point in his high school career, he was suffering from headaches and nosebleeds, but kept playing and blowing it off thinking it was normal. He just couldn’t believe anything could keep him from playing baseball. Finally, it became too much to take and he went to the doctor. What the doctor found was a tumor. Shaun loved the game so much he had been playing with a tumor in his head! Shaun wasn’t going to let this deter him, so he did what the doctors instructed him to do, but worked on his game whenever possible so that when it was time to play again, he was going to be ready.

“When it was time for the District post-season awards, it won’t surprise you then that Shaun Finley was picked to be a co-recipient of the HEART Award.

“It wasn’t just baseball he was good at either. He was good at life. Teachers loved him. Administration loved him. He was nice to his fellow students. Shaun reached us all in various ways and we are all better for having been in contact with him. We just knew that when we all heard he passed away, we were all crushed but because of the kind of person Shaun was, we started thinking of all the good he stood for and how he made our lives more fun. We mourned, but we smiled because we knew we were blessed to have been associated with Shaun. We were touched by an awesome human being and we just knew Shaun was on that stairway to heaven.”

Doug paused while a huge baseball on the outfield wall was unveiled. It reads, “Shaun Finley 24”. Doug continued, “ We know Shaun is looking down now bragging to his new friends about how the left field wall looks a lot better now… we think so too.

“As for the Finleys-this should go without saying, but for as long as you come here, you will be welcomed with open arms and open hearts.”

Shaun’s mom, Barbara, shared with friends, “ I think ORHS now has an angel in the outfield.”

“As my heart holds you, just one beat away, I cherish all you gave me everyday.” - Josh Groban

Filed Under: People Tagged With: Barbara Finley, baseball, coaching, Florida, high school, Josh Groban, Little League Baseball, Little League World Series, Oak Ridge High School, Ridge High School, Shaun Finley Night, vShaun Finley

In The Spotlight: ORHS Cheerleader Serena Bufton-VonArb

February 23, 2011 By Doug Sarant 1 Comment

So, you want to know what the life of a dedicated cheerleader is like?

Back in the day, high school cheerleaders cheered at high school events and were not involved with outside competitions. You cheered for your high school and although you had to be talented to be involved in Cheer, it is nothing compared to the acrobatic, contortionist-like athletic maneuvers they are performing now even at the youth levels.

There are national competitions, select teams and so much more. High school Cheer doesn’t scratch the surface when you look at the whole picture. Yet, it appears that cheerleaders utilize their school Cheer squads as their foundation.

In speaking with our In The Spotlight subject, Oak Ridge high school senior, Serena Bufton-VonArb, you can tell she cherishes her high school cheer squad as do all of her fellow teammates. However, as you will see, these athletes have so much more going on outside of Oak Ridge high school’s walls.

Ladies and gentlemen, ORHS Cheerleader Serena Bufton-VonArb:

How long have you been cheerleading?

I’ve been cheering for 8 years including this season. My mom had me dancing at 18 months and I continued that for 9 years before starting competitive cheer.

What got you into it? Was anyone instrumental in inspiring you to get into Cheer?

When I moved to the Oak Ridge area in 5th grade, my mom was looking for dance studios to get me back into dance. Then we heard about Woodlands Elite Cheer Co. through our neighbors so we went to check it out. I fell in love with the gym, had a tryout, and was on a team the next week. I didn’t have any prior cheer skills before trying out but I started tumbling classes and it came sort of natural to me.

Of course, I didn’t start at the level I’m at now. I started on a level 3 team, then the next season I moved up to level 4. By my 7th grade year I was on a level 5 squad and in my 8th grade year I was on both Woodlands Elite’s junior level 5 team and senior level 5 team.

You are on ORHS cheer and select cheer. Describe positives of both.

Being an all-star cheerleader has really helped me gain the talent I need for high school cheerleading. I’ve also met a lot of people from cheerleading. I get to have many friends that all love the same thing as me.

A positive of being an all-star cheerleader is all of the competitions I have competed in. Just the competitions have made me work so hard for the sport I love in order to try to be the best of the best at nationals or worlds.
Since I am on two different teams, practices take up a lot of my time. This has definitely kept me out of trouble and kept my focus on academics and cheer.

You have been a lot of places because of Cheer. Describe how it has helped you grow as a person.

I went to London during Winter Break of my junior year because I was a UCA All-American. I was in the London New Year’s Day Parade. The experience was amazing getting to see all of the historic stuff in London.
I’ve also competed with the Generals in Florida, Oklahoma, and Georgia. Getting to go to all of these different places for cheerleading is incredible. When I get to compete in a different state, I feel like all of my hard work is paying off.

Describe the camaraderie the ORHS Cheer team has. Is it similar to the Select cheer togetherness or different altogether?

It’s similar because we all love what we do and we work hard to be the best in the different competitions we are involved in. I have great friends in both.

Where have you lived? Introduce us to your family.

I grew up in Alvin, Texas. My parents got divorced when I was young, but my stepdad, Kerry, has been a father figure to me for 11 years now. He adopted me a couple of years ago. My family is very supportive of my cheerleading. They attend every football game and competition. It helps that my sister and I are on Oak Ridge and Generals together and my older brother lives just down the road from us. We are a really close family.

Talk about what you like about Massachusetts and I believe Minnesota. Isn’t your Dad from Minnesota?

My real dad lives in Clinton, Massachusetts along with the rest of his side of the family. I haven’t been able to visit very often since cheer consumes most of my time. I love going there and just seeing my family though.
My step dad is from Lake Wilson, Minnesota. I’ve only been there twice in my life, and it is a small town that you could walk around in just a couple of hours. I love going to Minnesota because its so quiet in the summer and everything is absolutely beautiful.

What are your plans for the future? College? Cheer? Business aspirations?

My plan as of right now is to go to University of Texas- Austin and try out for the cheer team there. I haven’t received my acceptance letter yet but I am hoping to get good news soon. I plan to major in either Elementary Education or Secondary Education. I want to be a teacher so I can coach all-star cheerleading or high school cheerleading.

Through Cheer, you have friends from The Woodlands and Oak Ridge. Talk about how people from both towns are great. I hear kids all the time badmouth people from The Woodlands and vice-versa. Talk about why you think that may be unnecessary. Why are people from both places cool?

The majority of the Generals go to The Woodlands High School. There are only 3 girls on the team that attend Oak Ridge. I’ve cheered with these girls for almost 8 years now and they are like my sisters. Everyone thinks that there is a huge rivalry there and that we could never be able to work together on the same cheer team but it hasn’t ever been a problem for us. At football games, I can’t wait to go to the other side to see my General sisters. We’ve never been competitive over each other. No matter what side of the freeway we are from, we share the same talent and have the same passion for cheerleading. I know these girls will be lifelong friends to me.

There is so much substance involved with Cheer. As you can see, Cheer is a bonified sport. For those who look at Cheer like it’s just a bunch of girls cheering on the side of a football field, think again.

Serena Bufton-VonArb… just another awesome person in our Oak Ridge community.

Comments to Doug Sarant at doug@oakridgenow.com.

Filed Under: People Tagged With: cheer, cheerleader, Cheerleading, high school, In the Spotlight, Oak Ridge High School, Serena Bufton-VonArb, Sport

In The Spotlight: Young Life’s Ryan Anthony

February 10, 2011 By Doug Sarant 1 Comment

Many of our kids in Montgomery County attend Young Life. I’ll be honest with you though, although I am aware that YL is a positive activity, I have absolutely no clue what actually goes on there. So, I decided to do something about this by going straight to the Young Life leader, Ryan Anthony for this In The Spotlight gem:

What is your your background?

I was born and raised in Spring, TX. My parents moved into Imperial Oaks in 1981 and I was born two years later. Still, to this day my parents live in the same home. I attended all the Oak Ridge community schools: Ford Elementary, Houser Intermediate, York Junior High, and I graduated from Oak Ridge in 2002.

After graduating from high school I attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. In August of 2006, I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology and continued on to graduate school and received my Masters of Education in Kinesiology in May of 2008. During my time as an undergrad and graduate student I spent four years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the SFA athletic program. During that time I spent one season with the Cincinnati Reds Rookie League in Sarasota, FL as a strength and conditioning coach.

On May 24, 2008, I married my wife, Dana, who graduated from Oak Ridge in 2004 and who also receieved her bachelors and masters from Stephen F. Austin as well. We now live in the area and are expecting our first child on May 29! Since August of 2008 I have been teaching and coaching at Rosehill Christian School in Tomball where I am the elementary physical education teacher, strength and conditioning coach, head middle school football coach, and assistant high school football coach.

When I was a student at Oak Ridge, Young Life played a huge role in my life and in my faith in God. During my time at SFA I was a volunteer Young Life leader at Lufkin High School, and ever since moving back to the Spring area I have been a volunteer leader for Oak Ridge High School.

Describe Young Life. What is its purpose?

Young Life is a world wide minisitry that loves to share the good news of God’s love with high school students. Without being a part of a certain church, Young Life’s mission is to put high school kids into the church. It is a place that students can come to, to be able to get away from whatever is going on in their life and to be able to kick back and have fun as they learn about the Lord. Young Life breaks down the walls between high school students and God so that they can begin their life with Christ. It is an atmosphere full of fun, love, and life.

Does a student need to be of a certain religious affiliation to be in Young Life?

No. Young Life is not affiliated with a certain church. We don’t care where you come from or what your background is. If you are there, we are excited!

Describe some of the weekly activities in Young Life.

Every Monday night we meet at the Robinson Road Community Center at the corner of Robinson and Hanna Rd. We like to call it “The Shack by the Tracks”! This is a night that we just let loose! During this time we sing some high energy secular songs that you might currently be playing on the radio or some good ole classics, and play some games that can be really messy or really fun. For example, last night we played a game where three contestants had to to listen to the song Roxanne by The Police. Every time they heard “Roxanne” they had to eat a marshmallow and every time they heard ”Put on a red light” they had to take a drink of Big Red. Well if you know the song Roxanne I am sure you can see where this game will lead to. It’s good, clean/messy fun. It’s hard to describe the fun that goes on on a Monday night. It’s definitely something you will have to come and experience. We conclude the night with a few worship songs and then a leader will speak about God.

If we aren’t meeting at “The Shack by the Tracks” we will do a fun event such as black light dodgeball, which we have coming up on February 28, or Eat the Whole Menu Challenge which is on February 21 at Chik-Fil-A or a scavenger hunt of some sort.

Crooked Creek… I noticed a change in some kids when they arrived back from Crooked Creek. This was indeed a valuable life experience. Can you go into what this retreat is all about?

Crooked Creek! Crooked Creek! If Crooked Creek Ranch isn’t the best week of a student’s life, they can hit us in the face with a brick and get their money back!

Crooked Creek is in Fraser, Colorado near Winter Park. The students take a 24 hour bus drive up to Colorado and spend the week there. This isn’t your typical camp. It’s basically a resort. Campers stay in beautiful log cabins and eat like kings and queens. The week is full of Young Life events. The activities that we do on a typical Monday go on all week but are super sized! This also includes mountain biking, horse back riding, ropes course challenge, etc. Even without all the activities it is the best week of a students life. Its a great opportunity to get away from all the things that go on at home and spend the week in the beautiful mountains of Colorado and really see how much God truly loves us.

How do kids get involved with Young Life?

All you have to do is show up! There isn’t a “membership” type deal. Come one, and come all!

Are you involved with the schools or have some kind of arrangement with the schools?

We aren’t really involved with the high school itself. Young Life is supported by the community and the parents that are involved with the Young Life committee. Oak Ridge High School is very supportive of Young Life and allow us to be at many of the school events.

You have some spin-offs of YL such as Campaigners. Describe Campaigners.

Campaigners is Young Life’s version of a bible study. We meet every Wednesday night at a students house. At Campaigners we dig into the word of God. We take the type to read scripture, discuss life, and pray. It’s the low key version of Young Life.

What else? Am I missing anything?

I believe that’s it. If anyone has any other questions or need some better understanding of my answers please feel free to email me at rpanthony53@gmail.com or call me at 281-658-0689.

I don’t know about you but I’m impressed. It’s just reassuring and refreshing to know that our kids are into an activity this beneficial that is being led by not only a real good person, but someone who was born and raised in the Oak Ridge area, and now chooses to make this community their home.

Comments to Doug Sarant at doug@oakridgenow.com.

Filed Under: People Tagged With: In the Spotlight, Oak Ridge High School, Organizations, Religion and Spirituality, Ryan Anthony, Young Life, youth

In The Spotlight: ORHS Soccer Player Chris Steinley

February 9, 2011 By Doug Sarant 1 Comment

In The Spotlight this week is Oak Ridge high school junior, Chris Steinley.

Chris has lived in Oak Ridge for the better part of his life and is the kind of kid we like to profile here at Oak Ridge Now. What kind of kid is that you ask? Focused… Goal oriented (in more ways than one)… Outgoing… unselfish… and above all responsible. See for yourself:

I see you are on the varsity soccer team. When did you start playing the game?
I started playing soccer in 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio. The following year we moved to Spring, Texas where I have played for YMCA, Xtreme, and The Texas Rush.

How did you get into soccer?
My dad plays soccer so my parents put me in it when I was four and I have played ever since.

Along with high school soccer, do you still play select soccer?
I play for the Texas Rush U17 Swoosh Blue Team. In December we won the Div 2 STYSA State Championship.

What is the difference between playing select and playing high school?
One difference between the two is that with select I have been playing with the kids on the team for so long that I know what they are going to do and we work really well together. In High school sports, the team changes a lot due to things like seniors graduating and I also miss a lot of the off season because in the fall I run cross country. Another difference is that High School soccer is a lot more fitness oriented than club soccer. Coach Fanning has us do a fitness workout twice a week which is very beneficial. Also, Oak Ridge plays a more offensive game while my club team has spent a lot of time organizing the defensive end of the field. The mix is good because it has helped me learn the whole game.

Why do you like living in the great town of Oak Ridge?
I’ve made some great friends here in the 13 years I’ve been here and I just like the area.

Why do you like Oak Ridge High School?
I like Oak Ridge for its coaches and teachers. I know I’ll be ready for college when the time comes.

Do you have a favorite class?
My favorite class is AP Chemistry.

Favorite teacher?
Mrs. McNutt.

What are your college aspirations?
Well, I want to be an engineer so I’ll be studying engineering wherever I go. I’m looking at a lot of colleges right now. I don’t want to be the guy who waits until the last second and gets shut out.

Let’s see if Chris’ soccer coach, Jason Fanning thinks as highly of Chris as we do:

“Chris’ work ethic and positive approach makes him a valuable member of the varsity team. His reliability and flexibility gives the coaching staff a lot of options and confidence in his ability to step into a variety of places on the field. He attacks, he serves a pretty nice diagonal ball, and his 1 on 1 defense is solid. He has started for the War Eagles at right back and center back, two very different positions. He showed the acumen to be successful at both.

His commitment towards improvement makes for a much more competitive atmosphere in practice which makes everyone on the team better. I am very excited about his future in the program and his continued contribution to creating a winning mentality.”

Coach Fanning is definitely on board! We like to make sure our subject’s are legit. We’re safe with Steinley.

Comments to Doug Sarant at doug@oakridgenow.com.

Filed Under: People Tagged With: Chris Steinley, In the Spotlight, Oak Ridge High School, soccer, War Eagles

In The Spotlight: Shelby Cage

January 9, 2011 By Doug Sarant Leave a Comment

Once in a while you’ll run into an athlete that displays all of the qualities of a team player. I met one this year and she goes to Oak Ridge high school.

Everyone has their definition of what a team player might be but you’ll just get my version today. By the end of this piece, I think you’ll agree that the subject exhibits what I feel defines a team player.

My team player has to possess the following qualities:

1) This athlete must be reliable. In other words show up all the time going 100%.

2) Communicates with teammates positively.

3) Pitches in to help beyond what is expected.

4) Is flexible in that she will excel anywhere the coach puts her.

5) Exhibits total commitment to the team…totally unselfish.

6) Is a problem solver…not a part of the problem.

7) Always shows respect to teammates.

Encouraging.

My player was injured in the early days of girls basketball practice and is lost for most of the season. If she comes back, it may be for just one game. Yet, you can find her at every practice working and doing what she can to help the team. Here she has very little hope of contributing on the floor making her basketball playing career virtually over and she remains a glass is half full person.

Meet ORHS basketball player, senior Shelby Cage:

When did you start playing basketball?
I started playing basketball in 7th grade. Recently, I’ve played in Legends leagues and last summer I played with Alodia. Before that, just the leagues Oak Ridge has put together.

What motivated you to play basketball?
When I was in 4th grade, I saw the movie “Double Teamed” on the Disney Channel. I thought it was the greatest movie ever and it inspired me to play basketball my 7th grade year!

Do you have a coach in your past that has been real inspirational?
I don’t really know a coach that has stood out as inspiring to my life..I mean… my junior high coach, Coach Vanderlind was our coach and I thought she was the most amazing lady ever! If I had to choose one coach, I would say Coach Hurt who was my coach my sophomore year. She’s head coach at Klein Forest now and she was for sure the most strict coach I’ve ever met, yet she was the most HILARIOUS! She was very sarcastic, but I only had her for one year so there wasn’t much of an impact as I would have wished. To this day though, we (the seniors) always talk about how we miss her teachings and her yelling and stuff. She was a great coach and Klein Forest is very lucky to have her. She likes to run, run, run but that next year we all learned it made us such better players.

What are your plans for college?
I’m going to Texas State in San Marcos. I have guaranteed admission based on my SAT and ACT scores so that was pretty exciting and super stress-relieving. I just had to have everything turned in by December 15! I got it done, luckily! I don’t know what I’m studying just yet, but mass communication is what I’m planning on taking. A sports analyst is a job I’m interested in and something I’d love being. I would love to keep up with sports and especially have a job in that field! That’d be even better. I’ve always been into sports, so why not keep it going for life?

Why do you like living in the Oak Ridge area?
The thing I enjoy most about Oak Ridge is my friends for sure! I always have something going on all the time, every day and weekend with them. The basketball team is another favorite thing too. They’re my family at Oak Ridge who I can tell anything to and hang out with any time of any day and do anything with no matter what. All of my friends are like my “2nd family”. With the basketball team, I have them to go to at the end of every day. This is my last year with them and it’s the saddest thing ever to think about! I don’t ever want to think about when the day comes that our last game comes, or our basketball banquet..IT’S GOING TO BE TERRIBLE!

Are there any special teachers you’d like to mention?
Coach Foltermann….I’ve only known her this year but she’s by far my favorite teacher ever! She’s very chill and down to earth. She tells it like it is… she’s sarcastic and so funny. I wish she could come with me to college. I would love for her to be a friend with me.

You tore your ACL before the season started. How are you dealing with all that comes with an injury?
This knee injury has been the hardest thing I’ve EVER had to deal with. I tore my ACL and partially tore my meniscus. When it happened, the ER told me it was just a sprained knee. I was so excited I’d be back and playing and that I wasn’t out for season or anything. But, they wanted me to follow up with Dr. Kevin Coupe just to make sure. So, I went and he did a bunch of things to my knee and he told me he wanted me to get an MRI just to make sure everything was okay. I was nervous, but went ahead and did it. Sure enough, I found out I tore it and needed surgery and I was a nervous wreck. To this day, I’ve come so far from where I was from the day I had my surgery. I was depressed for a while. I cried and cried so much! Especially the day before our first game! I didn’t go to sleep until like 3 ‘clock in the morning. When we were on the bus, I was dead silent. I couldn’t even talk because I was so upset that I couldn’t play. I just told myself I could either take the hard way out or the easy way out. Six months of healing time is a long process, but I knew I could handle it. It’s only been a couple months but I’ve turned the entire thing around. I figured I’d have to do it for my team, and be there for them as much as possible since I couldn’t play with them on the court.

What are your responsibilities on the team now that you can not play?
I pretty much do everything that the team does besides get on the court and play. My name gets sent for tournament rosters. I dress out and stay for practice and shoot around. I do whatever the coaches want me to do and I am very encouraging and supportive at all times. It does suck not being able to go out there and play with them but I just want to help my teammates however I can and let them know I am there for them.

You are involved with Young Life. Can you describe what Young Life is about?
Young Life is a young people church deal and we meet every Monday at 7:47. Campaigners (bible study) is also a part of Young Life and we meet on Wednesdays at 7:30 and its a really fun experience. I have met a lot of new friends through it and have become close with some of our leaders. I would encourage everyone to come to Young Life!

You have about five months to go and your days at Oak Ridge high school are over. In getting to know you, I’ve noticed that you are comfortable with laying it all on the line unafraid to allow people into your world. How about giving us a Shelby send off?
You know, with my ACL surgery it’s really helped me focus on school and art. This is my second year doing art and I’m in Art 2-painting and it’s really helped take my mind off of things and take away the pain from the surgery and the mental pain as well. I’m very thankful to have it!

I just want to say though, it isn’t easy…at all. In being an 18 year old girl in her senior year, very outgoing, athletic and not having my sport to back me up when things get tough. I always had basketball as my escape and my way out when I was stressed out or upset, especially when anything was on my mind. However, this year I’ve faced depression more than I ever have. Well, not to the point where I want to off myself or anything, but to the point where I almost use excuses to get out of things. It’s hard to get your mind mentally tough and prepared for the next 6 months ahead of you. No one can do it for you… you’re by yourself.

My physical therapist, Andy Cox has been very helpful though. He’s a very nice guy and he works me when I get in there. He’s not only good with my injury but he helps me mentally as well. I have physical therapy twice a week and recently just began doing way harder things than I was doing before. I feel like I’ve never been this sore. I’m about to get my knee brace this week and begin running probably next week! I CAN’T WAIT! That’s got to be one of the hardest things…. not being able to run. When injured like this, I can’t work out like I want to and I am out of shape. Thankfully, I’m about to start going back to the gym but I’m just limited in what I’m allowed to do.

I hope I meet more kids who have to have this surgery. I’m not wishing it on them but I want to be able to help and be there for them. Seeing as I didn’t really have anyone who experienced every emotion I did and still am experiencing, I feel like I’ll have a way to connect with them, especially if they’re in the same boat as I am with senior year and all.

It has been disappointing knowing that I never actually got the varsity experience. I was JV captain last year and that was nice, but varsity is the one thing any athlete looks forward to. I may be able to play in the last game and maybe even the second to last one too, but there’s a chance I won’t and I’m aware of that.

I think about playing every day and how I haven’t been able to have that experience with my team. They’re telling me constantly, “Shelby, I wish you were playing so bad!” and it breaks my heart because I really wish I could play. I miss always having basketball there with me. I can play intramurals in college so I’m for sure going to be playing basketball but never a legit high school or college game.

Like I said, I’m excited to talk to people about my story and help anyone through it because I personally know, it’s not easy! We all have our obstacles in life and I guess this injury has been a test to my character. I’m not through it yet but I like the challenge and I’m kickin’ its ass. I can put this experience to good use by helping others.

Thank you for letting me tell my story.

So, do you agree that Shelby is a team player?

Thought so…

Comments to Doug Sarant at Doug at oakridgenow.com.

Filed Under: People Tagged With: Anterior cruciate ligament, Basketball, Oak Ridge High School, Shelby Cage, Young Life

16 and Pregnant: Chelsea’s Story

December 13, 2010 By Doug Sarant Leave a Comment

The subject of teenage pregnancy is one that is rarely discussed publicly. Suffice it to say, however, this discussion goes on quite a bit with the young people who walk the halls of our high schools. One of the reasons we rarely hear about it is because many people choose the abortion route.

When I was in high school in New England in the 70′s, the laws were such that you could get an abortion without telling your parents for 186.00. Sadly, most of the people I knew who were faced with this option took advantage of it.

Here are some national levels and trends on this subject.

• In 2006, 750,000 women younger than 20 became pregnant. The pregnancy rate was 71.5 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15–19.

• The 2006 teenage abortion rate was 19.3 abortions per 1,000 women. This figure was 56% lower than its peak in 1988, but 1% higher than the 2005 rate.

These figures tell us many things, not the least of which would be that we do not talk about this subject enough. We aren’t telling our kids about the consequences because we are too busy blocking it out in hopes they are not faced with this dilemma. Facing it would make parenting that much tougher so let’s just hope our kids are exempt.

The MTV show “16 and Pregnant” helps us see how disastrous the results of young pregnancy can be. This show can be viewed as irresponsible. Even though MTV is not glamorizing teenage pregnancy, it is showing kids another way they can be in the spotlight. The application box must be filled at the MTV offices with young people who want to be chosen for the show. No telling how many kids are having sex so they can get pregnant so that just maybe they can be TV stars.

In writing about this subject, I received quite a bit of negative feedback for the same reason people think “16 and Pregnant” is irresponsible as they think I’d be glamorizing teenage pregnancy. I side with the people who want this subject out in the open so we can talk about it.

Here in Oak Ridge, we are not exempt from this issue. My feelings on this subject are unimportant but it’s my column and you’re hearing from me. Do I want these kids having irresponsible sex while acting oblivious to what the consequences are if you are not careful? Definitely not! If I had freakish powers, I would make it so humans aren’t fertile until they are 20.

What are my views on abortion? My views would fill up this bandwidth. In short, if the mother can safely carry a child and a healthy child is in waiting why would you have an abortion?

Once young people make this mistake, their lives as they know them are over but in my opinion it would be selfish to kill a person. The second a person is pregnant, both people and those close to them need to step up and do the right thing. A beautiful person will be entering the world and it’s time to prepare.

There’s no way I can make this column about my soap box. Therefore, I asked a brave young mother if she wanted to take us on her journey starting with when she became pregnant at the age of 15. While you read this, try to remind yourself how brave Chelsea is and how much heart she possesses.

Meet 17 year old Chelsea Key Appleby:

Hi, my name is Chelsea and I am married to David Royce Appleby, who is 20 years old. We have a beautiful child named Carter, who is 16 months old. At the moment, we live with my mom and step-dad who are very supportive and along with my real dad and several siblings we are very blessed with even more support. On top of all of them, our many friends add to the support.

I was fifteen and a sophomore in high school when I found out I was pregnant but was sixteen when I actually had Carter.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I was totally in shock and I thought I was going to die. I was so scared and had no idea what was going to happen and how on earth I was supposed to take care of a child when I was still a child myself.

David’s reaction was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. He told me no matter what decision I made he would be there for me… meaning if I was going to have an abortion or keep the baby. He wanted me to have an abortion at first though. He said there was no way that we would be able to afford a baby and we were way too young and he didn’t want me to drop out of school because I still had two more years of school left and he didn’t know how that would turn out.

My mother was the first person I told and she just looked at me and went in her room and didn’t talk to me for about three hours and then drank a whole bottle of wine. This worried me because my mom doesn’t drink at all so you can tell she was pretty upset. After Davy came over and we talked to her more about it she started calming down and told my step-dad and they all agreed that I should have an abortion. Well, I was pretty upset after this because I felt like they were making my decision for me and I didn’t want an abortion at all.

The next day I went to the (PACN – Pregnancy Assistance Center North) on the freeway and talked to a lady. I don’t know if she still works there but if it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I would have my son today. She talked to me in a room by myself for a long time about having a child at a young age and how this is a blessing no matter what age you are. She also told me the risks and things that can happen to me when I have an abortion. After I walked out of that room, I knew that I was going to have my baby no matter what anyone else said. Their thoughts and concerns didn’t matter to me any more. After I had talked to her, I asked if she would talk to my mom so she did and I think that is one of the reasons my mom was okay with me having a baby. The things they say there (PACN) make you really understand the true meaning of having a child in that it shouldn’t matter what age you are. If God gives you a child you shouldn’t kill it. I mean at least give the baby up for adoption and find a family that can’t have children.

The other reason I didn’t want to have an abortion is because my aunt and uncle are unable to have kids and they are around 38 years old now and have been going through the process of adoption for about two years. They have been up and down with the adoption agencies and they are perfectly good Christian people and thankfully they will be adopting a two year old boy named Pedro sometime in December. I just feel that all those teenagers who get pregnant and have abortions are so selfish because there are people out there just like my aunt and uncle who would give anything to have a baby and there they are just throwing them away like trash, you know?

After I made the decision to have my baby, my husband was there through the whole thing and he got a job with his dad in College Station, which meant that he was not going to be around every day. We worked it out so he would come stay with me at my parents house two days out of the week and on the weekends. Also, he made it to as many doctors appointments as he could get off work for. At about four months into my pregnancy he thought it would be a good idea to join the Air Force because of all of the benefits and it would help us out with the money situation too. He signed up and talked to the recruiters and everything, Everyone agreed that it would be a good idea except we found out that you had to be married to join if you have children so that led to us deciding to get married, which we did on April 16, 2009. There were a lot of people who thought we were crazy getting married at the age of 16 and 19 years but we didn’t care because we knew that we’d be together forever. We got married in the courthouse and had both of our families there and some of our friends attended too. I think that was probably the biggest courthouse wedding that judge Edie Connelly had ever seen. I mean yeah, I wish I could have had a big wedding like every girl dreams about and a nice white dress and definitely not being preganant on your wedding day but there is no reason we can’t renew our vows and do a real wedding in the future. Anyway, Davy was probably the most supportive 19 year old soon-to-be-dad that I bet anyone had ever seen. Towards the end of the pregnancy, Davy was so excited to be a dad and didn’t even care about anything else.

My mom helped me so much through the whole thing. She is like my best friend and as every day passes I see how I am just like her. I honestly don’t know what I would do without her because she helped me when I got upset or started regretting the decisions I made or when people would say rude things about me. My sister and my grandma were also the main people who were there for me as well. They were all so excited that I was bringing a new baby into the family.

My friends’ reactions were all pretty much different but I have a main group of friends. People call us “The 6″…. Brittni Duensing, Serena Bufton, Kassidy Colvin, Kaylon Watson, and Brittany Eberly. All of them were very supportive of me having a baby and they came over as soon as they found out. All of them cried for a little bit but then they got happy and knew that I could do it. It was kind of funny because they had always called me the mom of the group because I was always the one cleaning up after them and never really wanted to do any of the fun, goofy stuff they did.

My cheer coach, Mrs Eberly, who was also like my second mom because her daughter was one of my best friends, was upset about the whole thing but was very supportive too. The next day after I had told all my friends, I went back to school and had to tell the whole cheer team so I let Mrs. Eberly start it off but that didn’t work out so well because she started crying in the middle of it. I took over and started telling the team that I was pregnant and tried to explain to them that I was having a baby at sixteen and if any of those girls in that room had sex before they should be thinking this could have been them sitting there saying those same words. I tried to tell them that they need to wait to have sex until they know they can support a baby because this could happen to them just as well as it did to me.

My life has changed drastically. I can’t tell you how difficult it has been having to do a 180. I’m still a minor and I’ve had to learn how to be 30. I do miss what I had before. One major thing that I do miss doing is cheerleading and being a cheerleader for Oak Ridge. Going to football games every weekend it was really hard the first few times after I had Carter. It was my junior year and I saw the cheerleaders at the pep rallies and saw all my friends cheering and I was sitting there by myself. Watching them it was really tough not to cry. Even though I still do wonder if I didn’t have a baby if I would still be down there cheering and what would things be like now.

You know, in looking back I honestly would not have changed a thing. Although I realize I have to think this way, I am so happy the way my life is and I don’t regret one thing. I am so proud to be a teenage mother but it is so much harder than just being a teenager. Do I wish I would have waited to have sex until I was married? Yes… but it’s too late to go back. We are making the best of everything and are being the best parents we can be to our beautiful child, Carter. This all being said, would I recommend my path to other teenagers? Of course not.

The actual child birth was a C-Section because Carter was breech which meant he was turned the opposite way… his feet were at the bottom and his head was at the top. I did have a lot of complications with my pregnancy as I was always dehydrated because I had very bad morning sickness throughout my whole nine months. I also had very bad pains in my lower stomach because Carter would always kick my pelvic bone which hurt very bad. At the end of my pregnancy, I went in for a doctor visit and she said I had extremely high blood pressure so I had to be scheduled for an early C-Section. I had to stay overnight in the hospital so I could have Carter that next morning. Of course, I was so happy and scared but I was at the point where I was ready for him to be out. I had gained over 50 lbs and I was just miserable.

After Carter was born it was the most amazing experience I had ever been involved with. One minute I’m in a surgery room not feeling anything because I had a spinal shot done. The next minute I hear Carter crying. He was the most perfect baby I had ever seen and I was so happy. After that, I had all my friends and family waiting to see the little guy but it was really hard to be happy because I had lost too much blood during my surgery so I had a blood transfusion and had to be in the hospital for five days. My husband and my family were there the entire time helping me through everything.

Davy decided not to go into the Air Force after all because he didn’t want to leave Carter for that long which worked out for the best. He is still working in College Station but is bringing home good money and he comes home at least four times a week. I am going to school as well as working at a children’s gym called My Gym making the other part of our income. We are living with my mom right now but we are supposed to be moving into our new home soon for just the three of us that we are renting to buy. My husband and I are only 17 and 20 years old now and have a 16 month old son and I think if anything we are doing the best we can do and providing for our family the right way and our hard work has paid off. I don’t know of many other people who are about to buy a house at seventeen and pay 600$ a month in childcare so I think we are doing just fine.

I’m painting a picture like everything is just fine. However, if I knew another teenage girl who is pregnant at this age I would help them and give them advice and everything but I would also look at them like they were not smart. If they knew what I went through, I would wonder why they weren’t abstaining from sex and why they weren’t being careful. However, I would be there for a friend and support her 100% just like my friends supported me. My advice would be to just think everything through and that a baby is a miracle in someone’s life and there will be huge speed bumps in the road but you have to work hard to get over them.

One thing I could not stand while being pregnant is feeling like Hester Prynne (Scarlet Letter) sometimes because everyone knew I was pregnant but all they wanted to do was keep talking about it and make up stories. I would get those “looks” all the time from teachers, classmates, coaches, and pretty much anyone. It’s like they acted like they had never seen a pregnant person before like I was just some horrible kid walking around with a baby inside of me. I honestly wanted to go up to some of those people and slap them but I always just kept it in and kept going. I didn’t care what other people thought because I knew all I needed was my family and friends to support me. Now that I look back, I realize that many of the people I felt were giving me bad looks maybe just felt uncomfortable and didn’t know how to act so I probably just took them wrong.

My view on abortion is that I am definitely 100% against it. I can’t believe the kind of people who have that much selfishness inside of them to kill a tiny child. It really makes no sense to me. I look at it like you get in trouble for killing someone but then you can go kill a baby that already has a heartbeat and it’s ok. I think it should be illegal because if you think you are old enough to have sex then you should be old enough to take care of the consequences like having a child. Like I mentioned before, you can at least have the child and give the child up for adoption but don’t kill an innocent human being just because you made the mistake of having sex. In my situation, I chose to have my baby because I knew that I had sex and I was going to face the responsibility no matter how much work it was going to take. I had to grow up so much faster but I am so extremely glad I did because I now have the most beautiful child and he has made me the person I am today.

Davy and I weren’t smart. We were together for six months before we even touched each other at all and when I became pregnant it was only like the third time we had sex. We didn’t practice safe sex at all because we just thought it wouldn’t happen to us. I think that’s what a lot of teenagers think. It seems like to me that everyday there are more and more teenagers getting pregnant around the world that have to face all of these hard consequences. I just wish I could stand up in front of the school and have all the girls with kids already come up there and tell people what they went through just to see if maybe that would put some sense into people…. but sometimes I feel like they still wouldn’t listen and would just do it anyways.

I’ve had to grow up so much faster than a lot of my friends. I look at that as a positive but I also believe that if I wouldn’t have had a child already I could possibly be going to major colleges and possibly cheering for a university. I miss out on the opportunities that a college degree offers but either way those are just minor things in your life when you are married with a beautiful child already. The opportunities for a young family are numerous and we will have our own set of challenges.

Chelsea Key Appleby is a brave young woman. The way she is handling her life can only be met with respect and admiration. Were she and David irresponsible? Absolutely! Did they upend their lives as well as everyone else’s lives who are close to them? Yep. But they are making the best of their situation. If you look at other people in similar situations, things don’t always go so well. As a matter of fact, it would be safe to say this is a rare example of how a 15 year old got pregnant and the outcome wasn’t a train wreck.

Would I want my kid to be involved in a similar situation? Heck no! I’d freak like most of us would. However, I would hope that I would eventually be able to handle things like Chelsea, David and those close to them did.

Chelsea ended things this way, “You know, I can’t be thinking of what might have been. Things are different now and we have responsibilities that force us to move forward and we are doing the best we can. We have a beautiful child and we are proud and loving parents. How could I ever think that Carter is part of anything negative? Thank you for allowing me to tell my story and I hope people can take something positive from my experiences. Have a great holiday season everyone.”

What a great person!

Comments to Doug Sarant at doug@oakridgenow.com

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Filed Under: People Tagged With: 16 and Pregnant, Abortion, Chelsea Appleby, MTV, Oak Ridge High School, PACN, pregnancy, teen pregnancy

In the Spotlight: Pirates Pitching Coach Mike Steele

December 11, 2010 By Doug Sarant Leave a Comment

Pittsburgh Pirates high school draft picks Stetson Allie and Jameson Taillon, who spent time with Coach Steele and the State College Spikes this past summer.

This week’s IN THE SPOTLIGHT subject is Pittsburgh Pirates Pitching Coach, Mike Steele. What is even more special about Steele is he lives within the Oak Ridge high school feeder zone and is a fan of all things Oak Ridge.

Coach Steele is in his fourth season in the Pirates organization and spent last season as the pitching coach at State College in Short Season A and also as the Major League Rehab Pitching Coach. Under Steele’s watch in 2009, the Spikes’ pitching staff finished fifth in the 14-team NYPL (New York-Penn League) with an outstanding 3.27 ERA. State College hurlers also issued a league-low 198 walks in 655 1/3 innings during the ’09 campaign.

Steele made his professional coaching debut with Class-A Lynchburg in 2008 taking over as a mid-season replacement for Bob Milacki. Prior to joining the Pirates, he spent two years as director of baseball for Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports in Chicago, IL and as a Head Coach for the select travel organization, Illinois Sparks. Coach worked with 34 players in two years with the Sparks who went on to Division I or professional baseball. Previous to that, he spent two years as pitching coach at Michigan State University where eight of the pitchers went on to play professionally.

His playing career consisted of being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2000 out of Central Michigan University and went on to pitch from 2000-2005 in the Detroit and Seattle organizations. He started his professional playing career at Oneonta in the New York-Penn League where he earned his first all-star recognition. In 2001, with West Michigan of the Class A Midwest League, Steele was a First-Team All-Class A relief pitcher after going 4-3 with a 1.16 ERA and 19 saves.

Being drafted did not take away from his studies as he graduated from CMU in 2000 with a degree in sports management and a minor in business administration.

Originally from Mount Pleasant, MI., Steele resides in Spring with his wife Lydia and their three children, Margaret Grace (5), Caleb (3), and new baby boy, Merritt.

Meet Mike Steele:

Mike Steele and his family

How did you come to live in the Oak Ridge HS feeder zone?
Well, being in professional baseball I get the opportunity to choose where I live and my wife (who is a Texan) has always talked about moving back to Texas whenever we wanted to settle down. After moving five times in six years through four states and looking at where we would want to raise our kids, we chose Texas. The people are awesome! There is a belief in the republic of Texas and a solid morality of the people here. So, I wasn’t born here but I got here as fast as I could.

Your philosophy in coaching different levels. Go through how you would coach a youth player, a high school player and a pro athlete. What are the differences in coaching these different levels?
Regardless of age, you have to realize that every kid is an individual, so it doesn’t matter how much you know, it matters if you can get that kid to learn it and apply it. Too many times we teach kids what we think they need to hear instead of learning the kid and teaching him what he needs to know. We need to focus on what is the best laid plan for each individual kid, rather than just teaching a philosophy or a bunch of coaching rhetoric.

The difference in ages matter because of maturity… both physical and mental and the amount of coaching they have had. Many times its easy to deal with a raw high school kid with talent than it is to deal with a pro kid that has had a ton of bad coaching. This is because there has to be a “disinfecting” period to get them back to a natural movement rather than repeat an order of mechanics.

The breakdown would look like this:

Youth: Major muscle movement priority with focus on doing things easy and not forcing strong movements. Keep it very simple and fun, yet lay a foundation of athleticism and competing. Most of the teaching here is for the dads because if we can inform dads how to better coach their sons, they can spend more quality time together rather than dropping a kid off for a lesson.

High School: Routine, structure, and accountability for work ethic should be the priority. They have to be taught what strong movements are because most of their flaws come from throwing like they are 12 instead of a 17 yr old. This is not done by teaching one set of mechanics, yet by teaching what a particular kid’s body is telling you it wants to do athletically. That is why pitching is an art, not a science.

Professional: The parameters change because now you are playing for money and the game is exceptionally hard. So, all factors must be taken in such as why this kid does what he does. There is no room for cookie cutting here and you must look at these kids with a mindset of what they need to do to win games at the Major League level, not do well in the minor leagues.

You have been living in Spring for a while so Oak Ridge HS is the school your kids will attend. Are you involved with the HS program and what is it that you are doing?
Yes, I am involved in supporting Coach Scheiner in any way possible. Coach Scheiner and Coach Alumbaugh and I sat down for a while to discuss baseball and what I could do to best help them. I came in and taped about nine of the varsity pitchers and then typed out evaluations for Coach just to give a fresh set of eyes for him to see his guys. When the guys come to me, I keep Coach informed about what we are doing so that the development can continue. I make sure that I spend time with the high school coaches and give them my support because of the time commitment it takes on their end but it also is one of the ways I can support my community.

Also, there is a new facility that was constructed, Competitive Edge in Spring with the focus being on servicing the Oak Ridge community. I was very excited to be involved with this and being able to have something to call our own in the Oak Ridge community. It is a state of the art and readily available to all Oak Ridge players and when Coach Scheiner needs it during the season because of rain or other weather. Also, we made available one of the best strength and conditioning programs out there, Velocity. James and Malcolm, who run our velocity program have coached the highest elite level athlete from NFL players to Olympic Gold medalists.

Also, all of the Oak Ridge players and athletes have been given discounts because we do not want money to be the deciding factor in their development.

What are your impressions of the ORHS baseball coaching staff?
Coach Scheiner and Coach Alumbaugh are the only two I have spent time with. That being said I have heard great things about Coach Einhaus. In dealing with both Coach Scheiner and Coach Alumbaugh, I see that these men are passionate about teaching these guys about what it takes to not only be good baseball players, but what it takes to be a man. I was very pleased with the organization and structure of what they set up for the guys in the offseason and during the season. It is very advanced for high school and these kids are lucky to have coaches that prepare the way these guys do. The tough thing about high school baseball is that the coaches do not have the abundance of time to really attack individual problems or flaws. There are restrictions in time and a good coach has to put together structure and routines for the team to get better. That is why in order to have a good team you have to have kids that are self motivated to work extra. I love being the support that gets to dive into the pitchers and attack problems that are very tough to address inside of high school practices. That is why I email and call Coach Scheiner and keep him involved in the progress his players make with me. I don’t work with Travel teams or showcase stuff as I am part of the Oak Ridge community so I help the Oak Ridge coaches.

In the past, I have been huge on writing articles describing how Oak Ridge has developed a losing culture since entering 5-A six years ago. A culture that has been one big excuse factory. The ol’ “Oh, well we aren’t supposed to win but we kept it close and that’s more than anyone expects of us.” Of late, with many of the boys and girls programs flourishing, the excuse makers are becoming the minority. However, just having one non-believer is enough to have a negative impact on a community. What can we do to change this weak minded philosophy and make sure everyone is on board?
Well, an epidemic is spreading with our young people throughout this country and that is a belief of entitlement and a seeking of comfort over pain. This makes kids believe that accomplishing great things is an easy thing as if they just keep doing what they have been doing, it is going to get handed to them. It’s the participation trophy mindset. The culture that needs to be changed is the one where they feel that they are the “have-nots” and are expecting the “haves” to beat them. Instead, they must embrace competition no matter who they face and realize that it is about them becoming the best they can be, not about what other people or schools do. To change this culture, we need to attack it by not letting anything be an excuse because in the end, they don’t have one. In regards to baseball at Oak Ridge, they have a community that supports them. They have a facility to go to. They have a high school coach and staff that is extremely competent and passionate about making them better and they have access to professional coaches and Olympic level conditioning. They need to realize that in order to accomplish goals, such as playing in college or professional baseball, it is going to cost them through pain and sweat. They must embrace adversity and challenges and seek opportunity to get better.

Whether its 5A or 2A or in the back yard or on the Xbox, it doesn’t matter. We play to compete and win, until that mindset gets ingrained, it is going to be a struggle.

Are you available for pitching lessons?
I am but I do not do an enormous amount of them. I like to get very deep with “some” rather than have a bunch of guys running through. Also, I have a wife and three kids so I really enjoy being a husband and daddy as I miss a lot of time with them during my season.

Talk about pitching mechanics that are huge when young. Also, elaborate on when to start throwing a curve ball. Little League and select coaches like to justify throwing curve balls by saying if their player’s elbow is above his shoulder, it’s ok because the kid is not hurting his arm.

The whole pitching mechanic discussion is so archaic, it can get boring. It is not about what I know or what I think is the “best” way to teach mechanics. It is about taking everything I know, building a relationship with the kid I am going to teach, having a long term focus on him and applying what he needs to know to get him better as an individual. We coaches spend way too much time thinking that if we teach really good mechanics, we are going to make really good players. That is just about 30% of development. We need to mentally develop them more than physically teach them. It is just better to do that through coaching, but we have to realize that we are coaching young men to be great men through baseball, just not teaching them mechanics.

With the whole curveball thing, I will use an example in professional baseball. We have a breakdown of percentages of pitches at each level from Rookie ball to AA. We do this with the focus being that in order to pitch in the major leagues you have to be able to pitch with your FASTBALL. That is first and foremost. The development of the fastball early on is the priority. For instance, in Short Season A ball, our pitch breakdowns are 70% fastball, 20% Change up, 10% Breaking ball. Now remember, that is with 19-24 year olds that have physical strength and strong arms. We do not let them go out and spin breaking balls to get easy outs because the hitters at the level are not very good. We care about developing them to pitch in the Major Leagues.

Now, to throw breaking pitches in little league is probably the most irresponsible thing a coach or parent can let the kid do. He is not strong enough, he can not get over the ball, he sacrifices his delivery in order to throw it, and it is bad for his arm. What you are saying is, “Lets sacrifice this 10 yr olds development as a high school player so that he can win games in Little League.” Does that make sense? The results are in the 500% increase in Tommy John surgeries in high school kids in the last four years. The elbow above the shoulder thing doesn’t matter when you have an 11 yr old kid because he is not getting over the ball and using the big muscles in his back and legs to throw it. He is sacrificing his arm to create spin.

If you want your kid to throw hard, teach him to throw and pitch with his fastball and then teach him a simple change up and don’t let him throw breaking balls until he is 16. That is why we teach fastball and change-up at the low levels of the minor leagues because it promotes arm health and arm health promotes velocity. It is a simple concept that people are forgetting because they want Johnny to be the best pitcher on his 12U team because kids can’t hit bad curveballs. That is my soap box speech on that. The bottom line is it is not what is best for the kid which is all I care about. In the end, we as coaches teach leadership and how to be a true, genuine man through facing adversity and working hard to accomplish a goal. We get to do that through the greatest game God invented, baseball!

You work with local talent Jameson Taillon. What can you tell us about his prospects for the future?
Jameson is doing very well and has integrated well into the pro game. He just needs to get to spring training and work his way out of rookie ball. It’s a tough thing to try to figure out where he will go or when he will move as there really isn’t a time table. If there is, I don’t know about it. You move in baseball based on strength, maturity and then performance. He does have the strength but we don’t know about the maturity because he hasn’t pitched in a game that counted yet so there is a learning process but we all have to remember that this is an 18 year old kid and if we mess up the foundation-building early on in his career by moving him too fast, we cannot go back and fix that. That is the delicate balance but he is a special kid and not just because he is talented. His maturity and ability to take instruction is tremendous. He doesn’t over-do stuff as he is quick to listen and his work ethic is second to none. Also, he is an easy kid to coach and has a drive that is as strong as anyone I have seen. He is going to take his licks and has to get his cleats dirty and that is when you will see growth in him. How is he going to respond to getting hit around or going through a bad month? Based on his ability to handle adversity and bad outings will determine how quick he moves up through the organization.

Describe the Pirates philosophy in regards to drafting players. Taillon has great character and is the total package. However, just say he had a 10 cent head and was in and out of trouble being disrespectful in school. Would someone like that be drafted as high?
The Pirates base a lot of priority on drafting the right kids based on character. That was a big factor in them selecting a high school pitcher with the second pick and investing that kind of money in him. Because of the fact that he has good character means that you can trust him to be professional, be disciplined and take care of his business. An athlete’s make-up matters and when you get to pro ball it is the only thing separating Big Leaguers from minor leaguers because 91 mph is average. Everybody can hit, throw and run so the character and the makeup is what separates everyone. Who wants it worse than the other guy is usually the one that makes it to the big leagues. Don’t forget, he does throw 96 mph with a hammer so that helps him too. But if he were a bad kid that was getting in all kinds of trouble, I seriously doubt that a team would have invested that amount of money in him. Character matters!

Coach Steele leaves for Spring Training in February. He can be found at The Competitive Edge off Rayford. If you are feeling down one day, venture on over to see him for some positive reinforcement. Steele is the kind of person you want to be around if you are interested in having a good attitude all the time.

Comments to Doug Sarant at doug@oakridgenow.com

Filed Under: People Tagged With: Jameson Taillon, Mike Steele, pitching, pitching coach, Pittsburgh Pirates, State College Spikes

Proud to Be from Oak Ridge and Always a War Eagle

November 30, 2010 By Doug Sarant Leave a Comment

In the Spotlight today is former Oak Ridge high school student and football team kicker, Kevin Sharples. Oh wait, one minor omission…He’s the kicker for the NCAA D-1, 3rd ranked TCU Horned Frogs. It’s not a regular occurrence for Oak Ridge to have a major college athlete to brag about.

You might be saying it’s not like he’s the QB but a D-1 athlete is a D-1 athlete. There are TONS of kickers coming out of high schools and unlike other positions on a football team, there’s only room for one kicker. There are up to 4 linebackers on a field at any one time. 3-4 safeties, multiple wide-outs, running backs, etc… If you’re the kicker, you’re the only one. The fact that Kevin is able to be the only kicker on the field on a team that is challenging for a National Championship makes him all the more ridiculous.

At times, a kicker can have the weight of his team on his shoulders and that my friends, is pressure. What separates Kevin from thousands of would-be kickers is a D-1 mentality. These big time kickers are able to kick a pressure packed field goal with 100,000 people in attendance screaming their heads off. Seeing as so few people are successful at this art, we felt it would be beneficial for us to learn how a top of the line athlete operates. It won’t surprise you that he is as equally impressive off the field, as on.

Meet 2006 ORHS graduate, Kevin Sharples:

Growing up in this area, did you play in the SCFL or just start in 7th grade when schools first offer it?
I first started playing football in 7th grade. I always had a passion for the sport growing up, but I grew up playing competitive soccer and that consumed the majority of my time.

What positions did you play? Were you always a kicker?
This is a pretty funny story. When I was in 6th grade I knew the next year I wanted to play football. You could say that I still had a lot of “baby fat” on me. At the time, I didn’t know what position I would play but I just wanted to be ready to compete with my other teammates. In order to prepare for the 7th grade I would go to the local YMCA before school every day to start lifting weights and get into shape. My dad would be there right by my side to work out with me. Every morning he would wake me up and ask if I wanted to go. If there were days that I did not feel up to working out, I would say that I wanted to rest and he would say “no problem.” He always wanted me to be in control of my work ethic. He would always be there for support but would never try to push or overwork me with something I didn’t want to do.

The first day of football the coached had us go through various stations such as throwing balls, catching, running and other things to see where we fit in. A few days later they told me that I would be playing quarterback and linebacker for the B team. I was excited at the opportunity given to me and wanted to compete everyday to show that our team could line up against our A team on any given day. I didn’t have the best arm so my dad and I went out and bought a Wilson TDY Jr High Football and threw to each other every day when I got home from practice. I also handled the kicking on the team. At that age, it’s usually who has the strongest leg that goes out and kicks and punts and that happened to be me and that’s how my career as a kicker began.

Do you remember any coaches early on who made a big impression on you whom you can say were partly responsible for you continuing to play the game?
Chris Garrison had the biggest impact on me as a coach. He was my JV coach at ORHS when I was a sophomore, and I believe the Offensive Coordinator when I got moved to varsity my junior year. He was the first coach who really instilled in me that I might have an opportunity to kick in college. He really helped to get my recruiting started as well as gave me many opportunities to display by abilities as a sophomore on JV, to kick. I can remember having two 48 yard field goals that year.

To have a coach believe in my abilities and not once ask “are you sure you can make that?” is something that really helped me to succeed. He not only was a great coach on the field, but also a great role model for me. He was always willing to talk about anything whether it was football or just things that were going on in my life. I can remember him bringing a passion to our locker room that I, as well as many of my teammates thrived off of. I will still call coach to see how things are going and he is always there to wish me good luck.

Did you have any teammates at ORHS that had a positive influence on you?
There are way too many and I’ll get in trouble for just naming some but The Fitzgerald Twins, The Miller brothers, Alex Reed, Matt Campos, Jarrod Bachelor, and Ezzy Ezernack to name a few. I could not have asked for a better group of friends to have played with. My two years on varsity we went 2-8, and 1-9. In most programs, players would have been pointing fingers at each other or blaming someone else for their problems. As a team, we always supported each other through the hard losses and found many positives through the transition from going from 4A to 5A. To this day I still receive calls or texts wishing me good luck before my games which means a lot to me.

Your Dad is a sports guy and a school administrator. Describe his influence on you.
I could write for days on the impact both my parents, as well as my brother John have had on my athletic career. I could not have asked for a better father growing up. Before I was old enough to start playing sports, I would sit and watch my dad coach my brother John’s teams. When I started playing sports, there was a group of us that played soccer, basketball, and baseball at the YMCA. My dad coached all three sports and each year we just went from season to season playing with each other and having fun. I can remember driving to the games and going over the starting line-ups.

As a child, I never wanted to come off the field and hated to lose. I can remember the majority of the time my dad would start me off on the bench. This was not a punishment by any means as he was teaching me the importance of earning my spot. I would not be entitled to anything because my dad was our coach. Any playing time I was to get, I had to get it on my own.

As I stated earlier, my dad and I worked out before school at the local YMCA when I was in 6th grade. That same year I went to him and said that I wanted to ride in the MS150 bike ride from Houston to Austin. Growing up, I had always seen him training and riding his bike and that year I wanted to give it a shot. He informed me that there was a great amount of training that goes along with riding a bike 184 miles. I said that I could do it and he said ok let’s give it a shot. I can remember going to buy my first bike with him. It was a used bike that we were going to buy from a family friend. When we got there, I saw what I believed to be the bike I was going to get. A slightly used Trek Carbon fiber frame bike that had all the accessories for a completive rider. I was quickly informed that that was not the bike. When I finally saw my bike it was about 15 years older and 1/10th the price. I pleaded with my dad to buy the more expensive bike and he said that if I completed this ride and still wanted to do it the next year then we could come back and get the bike. I completed the race on that rusty bike and for the next six years until I went to TCU, I rode that new trek every year completing the MS150 seven times, all with my dad.

Each summer in high school, my dad and I would travel throughout the country to various kicking camps. The summer before my senior year we loaded into my car and set out on a three week road trip to attend kicking camps and colleges across the country. We drove from Houston to the University of Kansas-to The University of Colorado-to The University of Pittsburgh-to Northwestern University with stops in New York City and New Jersey. This gave me the opportunity to get noticed by colleges. After my senior year, my dad and I put together a tape of my highlights and sent it to every Division 1 college in the country. I told him that it was my dream to play for a Division 1 program and he said that we had nothing to lose by trying.

Throughout Jr High, High School, and in the five seasons I have been at TCU my dad has not missed a game. He drove to Fort Worth during Hurricane Ike to watch us play Stanford. When I was a back up, he drove to Las Vegas and watched our game for three hours and then got back in the car and drove back home. These are just a few examples of what he has done for me to try and help me succeed.

Like I have previously stated, he has always been careful not to try and push me. He has instilled in me a work ethic that helps me succeed on and off the field, but has also watched from a distance. He has always been there for me, but has never smothered me. I have read many things about parents trying to live vicariously through their children. My dad is not trying to be a college football player, he just loves being a fan and watching me play.

You had three varsity coaches at ORHS during the transition period for the school moving from 4A to 5A. Was that tough for you?
It was a difficult time to be a player during that time. I wish I had the same coach for 4 years, but I did get to meet and play for some great coaches during my four years. My freshman year, Coach Holtkamp was our coach. I was on the freshman team with Coach Stewart, so I did not have much interaction with Coach Holtkamp. He did however give me the opportunity to dress out on the sideline for the amazing playoff run we had to the semi finals which I believe was in 2002. Being able to stand on the sideline and watch those games and that team still is one of my best memories from high school.

Coach McClean, also a TCU graduate was my coach for my sophomore and Jr years. He was a great coach and gave me many opportunities to succeed on the field. He was a pleasure to be around in the locker room and really motivated me to try and be my best.

I only got to be around Coach Barrett for my last season. It was difficult time because he brought his coaching staff with him. I was grateful for the opportunity to have met and played for Coach Barrett. I could tell that he had something special going that was going to take time to succeed. My regret is that I was only able to play one year for him. He is a great coach and it is great to get scores on a Saturday before our games and read that the War Eagles won. I am thankful for getting to play under three different head coaches and having had the opportunity to get to know them.

What can you take away from your high school experience that has helped you excel at TCU?
The biggest thing I took away from high school is that not everything is going to go the way you want it. I would have loved to win X amount of games, or made X amount of kicks, but sometimes that’s just not how it goes. Instead of sitting around and blaming everyone else for my misfortunes, I learned that it is up to me to change it.

When I got to TCU, I was quickly made aware that I was not the strongest, fastest or even the best kicker. In order to give myself a chance, I would have to set myself apart by how hard I was willing to work on and off the field. Our coach shows a video each week at our pre game meal. The one that stuck out to me was a clip from one of the Rocky movies where he says that “It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” I have really taken that line to heart and try and apply it to my life.

What are your two most memorable high school moments playing at ORHS? I put 2 because one is obvious……by the way, that kick would have been good from 60 but I’m biased.
I touched on it a little bit earlier, but one of my best high school football memories was oddly enough when I wasn’t even playing. To just be a part of that 2002 (I think that was the year) team was amazing. This was my first year at Oak Ridge and to see how the community embraced the team and the excitement that was going on was something I will never forget. I can remember each game as everyone expected Oak Ridge to lose but those seniors willed the team to win every week. With the pep rallies, parades, and overall electricity in the air, I knew after being a part of that and seeing how much everyone got behind the team that I had made the right decision in attending Oak Ridge.

My second memory would have to be just hanging around all my teammates. The bus rides to and from the games are always a great time. Also, I can remember eating pizzas back at the locker room after the games. To just be around such a great group of guys really made football what it was for me. My 52 yard field goal was very special to me. What I remember most about it was that on 4th down, Coach Barrett looked at me and asked whether I wanted to attempt the field goal or punt it. I said I wanted to kick it and with no hesitation, Coach sent out the field goal unit. It was not only a great kick for me, but to have my snapper, Chad Miller and holder, Blake Cyr to be able to share that with me was great. We always looked at it like we were a unit… I was just 1/3 of the field goal. If everyone didn’t do their part, then we would not be successful.

How was your transition to TCU from ORHS?
I headed to TCU four days after I walked the stage and was handed my diploma. We had summer workouts five days a week. Heading to TCU I did not know one person. I met my summer roommate when we showed up at the dorms. We had about 30 incoming freshmen staying in the dorms. Everyone was pretty much coming from a similar situation in not knowing anyone. One thing that was great was being around a group of guys that were competitive at everything they do. It did not matter what we were doing, we were always trying to compete and beat the other guy. It really didn’t hit me until about a week after I had been at TCU that I was gone from my home for good. I was not home sick, but I did miss my friends and family. There is a serious transition period involved from living at home to not having someone making your meals or watching over you. I was growing up and it was all my responsibility to make sure that I was getting my school work done while still working hard for the upcoming season.

What is your major? What do you plan on doing after college in the business arena?
This past May, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Marketing with a minor in Communication. Currently, I am working towards my Masters degree in Education Administration. I think that after our upcoming bowl game I will go into the marketing field. I have a passion for marketing and love the idea of interacting with people face to face. At some point I might finish my Masters, but right now I want to go into the business world.

People don’t get into TCU because they are good athletes alone. You had academic focus from the get go. To what do you attribute that focus?
In order to play sports in high school or college, you must pass your classes. I have always wanted to do well in school. My grades are a direct reflection of who I am as a person. I realized that on the field I might be limited by factors that I cannot control such as my height, or speed. Let’s face it, I won’t be running a 4.3 40yd dash anytime soon, but in the classroom everyone is on an even playing field. It is up to me to want to learn and better my education. Being a competitor, I wanted to be the best at everything I do and that includes the classroom.

At Oak Ridge, I had two teachers that really made a significant impact on who I am as a person as well as my success on the field. Ms. Lewis (Jr) and Mrs. Hayden (Sr) were my English teachers Junior and Senior year. I wanted to make the best possible grades I could because I never wanted to let them down. They both believed in me like they were my own parents. They taught me how to study which was the single most important thing I took with me to TCU.

In high school, you can get by, by briefly looking over your notes before a test. At TCU, if you start studying the night before a test, you’re already too far behind. Both of these teachers stressed the importance of preparation for tests. They wanted me to succeed and armed me with the necessary tools in order to excel in the classroom.

How do you like attending school and playing football for TCU and what is it like to play for a big time college program?
I could not have picked a better school to earn a degree. TCU does not only have great athletic programs, but it is a smaller school that has a lot of student teacher interaction. The class sizes are around 30 people so my professors not only know everyone’s name, but they know about everyone as well.

As a student athlete, it is a shock how much the time commitment that playing football demands. From meetings, working out, and practices, we are around each other all the time. As a true freshman on top of all your time commitments, our coaches require us to get eight hours of study hall a week. Also, there are tutors offered for every class to help ensure that we understand the material at hand.

What has made football the most enjoyable is the kind of guys that are on the team. I know its cliché, but we really are like a family. We do everything together whether it’s eating dinner or just hanging out. Being a close team directly impacted our success on the field. My senior class has won a school record 43 games in four years. We are the first non AQ (automatic qualifier) team to make back to back BCS bowl games. We have also won our conference championship the past two years.

I was a backup my first three years at TCU, which was hard. Everyone comes here having had success at their high schools, and there was a transition period in realizing that if I ever wanted to see the field, I would have to work harder than I have ever done. At this level, working my hardest only gave me a chance. At TCU, I was guaranteed nothing…the best players play.

I was beat out for the field goal job when I was a redshirt sophomore by a true freshman. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I focused and dedicated myself to kickoffs which is something that I was never great at. For the past two years I have been the starter at kickoffs and had to opportunity to kick in the Fiesta Bowl last year, which is a BCS game. This year, it is possible that I could be kicking in a national championship game. This journey has had its ups and downs, but it has made my dream that much sweeter.

You will be gone but what is your opinion of TCU entering the Big East conference?
I think it is a great move for our program and every athletic program at TCU. This allows our football program to play on a bigger stage each week. The Big East offers great competition for football and I am excited to see the new rivalries that will come out of making the move. The way our conference is now, our conference champ does not get an AQ (Automatic Qualifier to a BCS game).

Describe the make-up of your team and why you think you guys are national championship material.
This is the closest team I have ever been on. Each player is a hard worker and loves putting in the time and work it takes to win a conference championship. We have great senior leadership on both sides of the ball. We have a four year starting quarterback in Andy Dalton who is not only a leader in his actions, but also vocal and has seen it all and has been in every situation. Our team consists of players who have played in a lot of games over the past three years. Everyone plays for each other and holds the person next to them accountable for what their assignment is. Our coaches instill in us that we need to go out and win by one point. Our team has embraced that and the success speaks for itself.

You have been a sports fanatic your whole life. What contributed to that?
The reasons I started playing sports is because I always watched my brother John play. I can remember always wanting to be able to play with him. He is four years older than me so in my mind as a little kid I wanted to try and become that much better so maybe I could be good enough to play with him one day.

How important have your parents been in your development as a person?
Both of my parents have been unbelievably supportive. I talked earlier about how my dad has always been there with me. I was not overlooking my mom at all. She has learned the game of football. It’s funny to me how much she knows now. She probably knows more about kicking a football than most people do. She has been my biggest fan along with my dad. If it wasn’t for my mom, I definitely would not be where I am today. She has been there when I have been down to pick me up and get me back on track.

You have had a magnificent ride. Do you ever stop and look around and think about how fortunate you have been?
I don’t think that it has really hit me what I have been able to be a part of yet. I can remember watching college football on TV growing up and dreaming that I could do that one day. For me, it was never that I wanted to play in the NFL. My dream was always to play in college. I can remember my favorite players were Eric Crouch, the Nebraska quarterback and well as Ricky Williams when he was at Texas. I still can’t believe that in a month from now I will have the opportunity to play at the Rose Bowl, or if certain things happen possibly the national championship.

Kevin sums it all up this way, “The thing that I think everyone should know is that there have been so many people along the way that have contributed to my success. Each person is significant to me in their own way and I don’t think I would be here without each and every one of them. Also, if a kid off a team that went 3-17 in two years can make it to the Rose Bowl, then there is nothing that someone from ORHS can’t achieve if they are willing to work hard for it. Nothing! You should never think you are an underdog and never doubt your abilities. Believe! Believe! Believe! It’s when we think we are underdogs that we start making excuses. I am proud to be from Oak Ridge and I will always be a WAR EAGLE!”

Well put Kevin! Good luck in the future!

GO HORNED FROGS!!!

Comments to Doug Sarant at doug@oakrigenow.com

Filed Under: People Tagged With: football, Horned Frogs, Kevin Sharples, kicker, Oak Ridge High School, TCU, War Eagles

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