The best compliment

After covering sports for 15 years, I have found what is the most rewarding in my profession: helping a colleague develop a routine and sharing ideas.

But for me the best compliment I receive is when one of the many student-athletes I have covered comes up to me to thank me and share what’s going on in their lives. I can’t tell you how hard it is to hold tears back when this happens. I get emotional. By now most of those kids are married with children and families of their own but they take the time to talk.

I have made many phone calls to college coaches on behalf of area students to get an opportunity to play at the next level. Fortunately for me, I have a platform to be able to highlight students and if I can help encourage and support a student, I’m going to. My motto has always been, “let kids be kids while they are kids.”

I love my job and the people I work with including the coaches, teachers and administrators. I have interviewed everyone from Barry Switzer, J.C. Watts, Dewey Selmon and Walt Garrison and legislators, but it’s the excited freshman who just made the game-winning touchdown that makes me excited. Then there are times that I get the phone call from a parent to tell me how excited their child was to see their name or picture in the paper. That, my friend, is the reward for this journalist.

1-2-3 break.