THANK THE SYSTEM, THANK THE COACHES

A Giant Step For This Senior, A Giant Leap For My Future

By Matt Alfrey

Matt Alfrey, who graduated from Flat Rock High in June, will attend Michigan State this fall.

I’m done.

On June 1, just a day after our graduation ceremony, I walked off the playing fields for the last time. It was a heartbreaker, our last game, a two-out, bottom-of-the-last-nning battle that nearly clinched our school’s first district baseball title in 19 years. We came up short (on the score sheet, that is) that sunny day, and my career ended in clouds of sorrow. Reality slowly set in, and I eventually realized that my days as a Flat Rock Ram were over . . . forever.

Sure, I’ll play men’s softball or participate in a 40-and-over recreational basketball league to run off those excess pounds when I get older, but I’ll never again be a high school athlete. In the early stages of my alumni status, I can honestly say that I will miss the sporting aspect the most. It was the part of high school that taught me the most, and the basis for what will likely be some of my finest lifetime memories. All the memories are great, but the lessons learned are the most important.

I’ve learned about respect. I’ve learned about responsibility. I’ve learned lessons in humiliation, lessons in trust and lessons in reality. Sports, to me, were almost like a second set of parents, always there to teach me right from wrong. There were some days that I went to school only so I could attend practice. I see that athletics keep my brother attending classes and maintaining passing grades. I feel the importance of high school athletics is sometimes overlooked, and I can only hope that sports are taken seriously for years to come. I know one thing for certain: I wouldn’t be the same without them.

Next year, I’ll be living on my own for the first time, and I believe I’m prepared. It’ll be my job to keep myself in line, without any guidance. I’ll have to force myself to attend classes in the dead of winter, and do so because I choose to. And becau se of my upbringing, I’ll succeed.

Because of the lessons I learned through athletics (and a great deal of help from parents), I’m ready to “tackle” the world. I’d like to thank the system. I’d like to thank coaches I had, who make sports what they are today. The more I think about it, t he clearer it becomes. I’m not really “done” . . .

I’m just beginning.