The end of every sports season is especially tough for me. Tears flow while teammates hug each other at the end of the final loss. Seniors are saddened that their careers are over (for most, anyway) and there is a moment in every player's eyes when they look to the ceiling, wall or floor and try to realize what has just happened.
Like coaches, I am there every year. In fact, I am there for every season - at more than one game. I witness seasons end for both boys and girls teams, local and non-local. I see the joy of the big victory and the devastation of tough defeats.
As a former athlete, I know how these kids are feeling. I've been there. In fact, most of us have been there at one point in time or another.
When my football career ended in the playoffs my senior year at home to Monona Grove (with soon-to-be NFLer Gabe Carimi on the other side of the field), I was struck with a sense of disbelief. I didn't know whether to cry or bite my tongue. Years of laboring with my classmates in the weight room, on the field and elsewhere, growing our chemistry, and now it was all gone.
My older brother, Ryan, gave me a book on high school football called "Bleachers" by John Grisham. In it he wrote that life doesn't end with high school sports, but rather, it begins.
I know that was my older brother trying to comfort me and ease my pain. But it helped. Later as I graduated high school and then had my baseball career end in the NCAA Junior College regional tournament, I felt those pains again. But I was better suited to handle the situation.
As a prep sportswriter, I again see those faces. Tears ready to flow but being held back. Voices gasp and eyes roll when I walk near. Surely these players don't want to talk to the media with as upset as they are, but it's my job. One thing I have quickly learned is how to help these young students cope.
My first words are usually, "We've all been there. I know I have." Most players notice the tone, hear the words, and look into my eyes. They know I am serious and that I mean well. A sense of calming then comes to their face. It's refreshing.
Of course, the tears fall again when I ask questions on how they will think back on their four years.
"I never thought I'd be a leader or a captain," Monroe senior Damian Penniston said. "A lot of guys looked up to me. It was pretty amazing. I never thought it would be like this.
"Freshman year and sophomore year I wasn't the main guy, but now guys are telling me that it wouldn't have been the same without me there. It means a lot."
Players also get choked up when asked about their coaches. But it's the questions about what they have learned about themselves and about life in general that brings out a smile - and a sense of maturity.
"One thing I've learned is that if you do things right, good things will happen to you," senior Bryan Tordoff said. "We're still a family, and I'm grateful for that."
This year's Monroe boys basketball team has a bit of a soft spot on me. Head coach Pat Murphy and his staff helped groom me as a player and person in my high school years in the early 2000s.
Murphy took over the program my sophomore year and his assistant Brian Bassett was my freshman basketball coach. Bassett and I connected in a way that was very special to me in high school. Coach Ken Gratz has been around all of Monroe athletics for decades, and yes, he was there on the sidelines looking to help out in football and baseball too.
So to see these coaches, year after year, go through the stress of the season, yet keep their cool to help these young men mature and grow in hopes of reaching the ultimate goal of a state title gets me pumped for the tournament. Though I can never get too psyched, because like last Saturday, the season can unexpectedly end.
"These coaches have been amazing to me. They've supported me through thick and thin. I can't say enough about them," Tordoff said. "They molded me as a person and as a family member. I don't think they will ever know what exactly they did for us, but they did a lot - especially for me these last four years."
My first year as Times sports editor Murphy led his squad to the state championship game.
"I've also learned that if you come together as a family, anything is possible," said Tordoff, who was a sophomore that season. "My sophomore year I don't think anyone thought we'd make it to the state championship game and we did."
Tordoff went to state in each of his first two years, but had his season end in the regional final in Verona the last two years. Tordoff finished his career as a 1,000-point scorer and as one of the top 3-point shooters in MHS history.
Teammate Michael Barrett grew into his own player the last three years. My first interview with him was a buzzer-beating putback in the lane as a sophomore at Stoughton. My last interview with him was after he missed a buzzer-beating jumper that would have sent Saturday's game into overtime.
"This year was a lot different, because I will never suit up for Monroe again," Barrett said. "All the intensity and everything was just different this year. It's hard to explain, you just had to experience it."
But through all the strife, the pain and the tears, I know that these kids will turn out OK. I know that because of the people they surrounded themselves with - their coaches and teammates - and the atmosphere that Monroe brings to its athletics.
Sooner or later, as each year goes by and they are not on the court, it will hurt a little less, but they will understand and grow a little more.
I'm still growing as a person myself. This time of year reminds me of that - every day.
- Adam Krebs is the sports editor of The Monroe Times and can be reached at sportseditor@
themonroetimes.com or at 328-4202 ext. 33.
Like coaches, I am there every year. In fact, I am there for every season - at more than one game. I witness seasons end for both boys and girls teams, local and non-local. I see the joy of the big victory and the devastation of tough defeats.
As a former athlete, I know how these kids are feeling. I've been there. In fact, most of us have been there at one point in time or another.
When my football career ended in the playoffs my senior year at home to Monona Grove (with soon-to-be NFLer Gabe Carimi on the other side of the field), I was struck with a sense of disbelief. I didn't know whether to cry or bite my tongue. Years of laboring with my classmates in the weight room, on the field and elsewhere, growing our chemistry, and now it was all gone.
My older brother, Ryan, gave me a book on high school football called "Bleachers" by John Grisham. In it he wrote that life doesn't end with high school sports, but rather, it begins.
I know that was my older brother trying to comfort me and ease my pain. But it helped. Later as I graduated high school and then had my baseball career end in the NCAA Junior College regional tournament, I felt those pains again. But I was better suited to handle the situation.
As a prep sportswriter, I again see those faces. Tears ready to flow but being held back. Voices gasp and eyes roll when I walk near. Surely these players don't want to talk to the media with as upset as they are, but it's my job. One thing I have quickly learned is how to help these young students cope.
My first words are usually, "We've all been there. I know I have." Most players notice the tone, hear the words, and look into my eyes. They know I am serious and that I mean well. A sense of calming then comes to their face. It's refreshing.
Of course, the tears fall again when I ask questions on how they will think back on their four years.
"I never thought I'd be a leader or a captain," Monroe senior Damian Penniston said. "A lot of guys looked up to me. It was pretty amazing. I never thought it would be like this.
"Freshman year and sophomore year I wasn't the main guy, but now guys are telling me that it wouldn't have been the same without me there. It means a lot."
Players also get choked up when asked about their coaches. But it's the questions about what they have learned about themselves and about life in general that brings out a smile - and a sense of maturity.
"One thing I've learned is that if you do things right, good things will happen to you," senior Bryan Tordoff said. "We're still a family, and I'm grateful for that."
This year's Monroe boys basketball team has a bit of a soft spot on me. Head coach Pat Murphy and his staff helped groom me as a player and person in my high school years in the early 2000s.
Murphy took over the program my sophomore year and his assistant Brian Bassett was my freshman basketball coach. Bassett and I connected in a way that was very special to me in high school. Coach Ken Gratz has been around all of Monroe athletics for decades, and yes, he was there on the sidelines looking to help out in football and baseball too.
So to see these coaches, year after year, go through the stress of the season, yet keep their cool to help these young men mature and grow in hopes of reaching the ultimate goal of a state title gets me pumped for the tournament. Though I can never get too psyched, because like last Saturday, the season can unexpectedly end.
"These coaches have been amazing to me. They've supported me through thick and thin. I can't say enough about them," Tordoff said. "They molded me as a person and as a family member. I don't think they will ever know what exactly they did for us, but they did a lot - especially for me these last four years."
My first year as Times sports editor Murphy led his squad to the state championship game.
"I've also learned that if you come together as a family, anything is possible," said Tordoff, who was a sophomore that season. "My sophomore year I don't think anyone thought we'd make it to the state championship game and we did."
Tordoff went to state in each of his first two years, but had his season end in the regional final in Verona the last two years. Tordoff finished his career as a 1,000-point scorer and as one of the top 3-point shooters in MHS history.
Teammate Michael Barrett grew into his own player the last three years. My first interview with him was a buzzer-beating putback in the lane as a sophomore at Stoughton. My last interview with him was after he missed a buzzer-beating jumper that would have sent Saturday's game into overtime.
"This year was a lot different, because I will never suit up for Monroe again," Barrett said. "All the intensity and everything was just different this year. It's hard to explain, you just had to experience it."
But through all the strife, the pain and the tears, I know that these kids will turn out OK. I know that because of the people they surrounded themselves with - their coaches and teammates - and the atmosphere that Monroe brings to its athletics.
Sooner or later, as each year goes by and they are not on the court, it will hurt a little less, but they will understand and grow a little more.
I'm still growing as a person myself. This time of year reminds me of that - every day.
- Adam Krebs is the sports editor of The Monroe Times and can be reached at sportseditor@
themonroetimes.com or at 328-4202 ext. 33.
