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Friday,
November 22, 2002
Unique group of 'senior'
citizens aids BHS
We'll leave the Top 10 lists to David Lettermen, who has
turned them into a television staple.
Yet, if we were to list 10 essential elements of a championship team,
"perseverance" would rank high.
Obvious?
Call me John Madden.
But lost amid the headlines and highlights is that players don't
always persevere when the lights are brightest.
Some never do.
Some show their heart and will in a dingy weight room in February,
during sweltering double sessions in August, on a windswept practice
field in November.
Some do it despite the harsh reality they are seniors, with no
"next year" to sustain them through the grind and demands of
high school athletics.
Good for them.
Even better for Bloomington's 12-0 football team, which will have 33
seniors in uniform Saturday when the Purple Raiders meet Thornton
Fractional South in the Class 6A semifinals.
You've heard and read about Andre Brown, Chad Olson, Damon Mehlberg,
Andrew Kernes, Eric Esch, etc., some of BHS' many senior standouts.
But for each, there is an Andrew Niebur, Matt Allman, Dewey
Drollinger, Luke Winters, John Fleming, etc., guys who spend all or most
of game day on the sidelines.
Living large
In 10 years as head coach, and 20 years at BHS, Rigo Schmelzer has
never seen a senior class so large. He said it is double the typical
number of seniors, making the group unique in an era driven by playing
time.
"No regrets," said Fleming, a reserve lineman.
"Sometimes you think it's disappointing because you gave it all you
had in practice and you're not getting much time to show everybody what
you can do.
"But the main thing for the team is you want to make sure the
best person can get out there and go."
In other words, prepare the regulars for the next test, by pushing
them in drills or simulating opponents' plays on the scout team.
Not much glory in either.
Yet ...
"You feel like if we're helping them out that way, we're still a
big part of the team," said Winters, a backup guard and tackle.
"I try to remember that everybody helps," added Allman, who
plays only on special teams. "You may not be out there, but you're
making the guys out there better every day."
The goal is the same for Niebur, who never played organized football
prior to his freshman season. He stuck with the sport all four years, and
relishes "being on varsity and part of the winning tradition."
Oh, and ... "Everybody noticed me because I was on the
team."
'Motivation man'
Drollinger, a reserve lineman, embraces his role as "motivation
man."
"At the beginning of the year, I was fighting for a starting
spot, but then I realized I just didn't have the natural athletic
ability," he said.
"That was tough. But my mom and dad made a comment about how I
was the guardian angel of the team because two years ago, when we faced
Mount Prospect (a 41-35 triple-overtime victory), I was praying on the
sidelines for us to win. Ever since then, I've been doing it for
everybody else, just pumping everybody else up."
The reserves credit Schmelzer and his staff for getting them in
lopsided games, for making them feel a part of things every day.
And Schmelzer?
"As a coach you want to see the development of character and
lessons of life learned that are going to carry over into
adulthood," he said. "Some of these young men do the work
realizing there is no immediate gratification. These are the kids who are
going to be the future leaders. These are the ones who recognize what
hard work is and how goals are achieved.
"I'm real proud of them. The wins and losses are nice, but this
is one of the things I think gives validation to the program that we're
doing something right. I think that's good."
Me too.
Randy Kindred is a Pantagraph columnist. To leave him a voice mail,
call 829-9411, extension 402. By e-mail: rkindred@pantagraph.com.
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