Just what does it take to be a Tiger? and “What makes Commerce so special?”
To be a Tiger takes a commitment from young men and women who come together in a common cause, united, determined, able to persevere, withstand pressure and ridicule. They are willing to sacrifice, willing to stay after school when everyone else is going home, willing to give up weekends for extra practices, not settling for mediocrity, lifting weights until their muscles ache, conditioning to near exhaustion, repeating every move, every situation to near perfection. Being a Tiger takes giving up self and putting the good of the team ahead of personal glory. Each one willing to…Be the one.
It takes the dedication of coaches who spend countless hours preparing, studying every play, every player, every pitch, every race, every shot, believing that somehow, someway, that what they do, and what they believe in, will be communicated to the young men and women, who take the field of battle, and better prepare them for the next challenge, and then exit victorious.
It takes teachers who demand excellence, teachers who devote their lives to preparing and building tomorrow’s future with today’s youth. It takes teachers who believe in the students, even the ones that have no faith in themselves. It takes support personnel who are underpaid and overworked but refuse to change jobs because of their allegiance to their school. It takes central office staff, board of education, and council members who are supportive to the cause and responsible to the people, yet recognize the importance of a quality education.
It takes parents who make sure their children are in school. Parents who are willing to let their “babies” grow up, but parents who are still the authority figure at home. Parents who study with their children, parents who know and support the teachers, parents who are involved in their children’s daily lives, parents who volunteer time and resources, parents who are just as proud of their children, whether they are stars or second reserves, just because they are a part of something special. It takes parents who may have forgotten what it is like to be teenagers, but still believe in them; parents who celebrate the successes and parents who comfort the losses.
Most of all, it takes a community that is interested, one that withstands the test of time, one that basks in the shades of glory, but one that doesn’t lose faith in times of trial, a community that is proud but not haughty, supportive but not invasive. They are willing to set aside differences, willing to face unparalleled challenges, a community that is eager to hear and slow to speak. Commerce is a community that represents years of academic and athletic excellence. Commerce is a community where forefathers began with a dream, a dream that is still alive today. Want to be a Tiger? It doesn’t just happen!
Colleges and universities recognize the importance of extracurricular activities. Harvard ranks first in the nation with 41 intercollegiate athletic programs, 72 junior varsity, recreation, and club programs [Eighty-five percent of all Harvard undergraduates are engaged in some athletic activity]. Princeton is number two with 38, followed by Brown, Ohio State, Cornell, Stanford, Boston College, Dartmouth, Sacred Heart, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale [U.S. News and World Report, 2002]. These facts put a new meaning on the term student-athlete!
School is more than academics. It’s learning to get along with people who are different from you, people with different backgrounds, and different beliefs. It’s being punctual, dependable, meeting deadlines, organizing ones time and priorities; it’s learning to communicate through and in spite of differences. It’s maturing as a young adult and learning to live outside and without the parental safety net. It’s long bus rides and cramped quarters; it’s beaming with success and dealing with failure. It’s abiding by rules and regulations and setting standards of excellence and achievement. It’s giving of one’s own time to those in need. It’s seeing one’s picture in the yearbook and reading one’s name in print. It’s awards and honors and other accolades and receiving words of affirmation from strangers, it’s learning from failures and constructive criticism. It’s being the best and being sought after and being second best and seeking out.
It’s parades and dress-up days and singing the alma mater. It’s cheering one’s team to victory and supporting them in defeat. It’s school lunches and fire drills, overcoming adversity and appreciating luxuries. It’s having differences but bonding for a common cause. It’s individuals within a team with one heartbeat. It’s seemingly short winter, spring, and summer breaks, and long five-day weeks, early classes and late practices. It’s about...life.
It’s having dreams, developing a plan, and reaching goals. It’s reunions, dances, assemblies, and field trips. It’s coordinating schedules, methodical developments, and prioritizing the tyranny of the urgent. It’s high profile announcements and quiet recognitions. It’s getting to know a stranger and making lifelong friends. It’s programs and procedures, records and events, trophies, and banners.
So, what has become of our educational priorities? The answer lies among those who value education as the cornerstone of our society. It lies among those who recognize the importance of developing one’s worth as a model citizen and as a patriot for what our nation was founded on…dreams. Dreams that become reality with every point scored, every race entered, every fear faced, and every challenge accepted. Dreams that require a vision, a vision that requires a plan, a plan that transforms a dream into a goal, goals that are reached by the very young men and women who represent the future and hold these opportunities dear to their hearts.
What has become of a society that sends hundreds and thousands of supporters to witness an event? It has sent a message that we care about the participants, we support their efforts, we are proud of their accomplishments, we recognize the importance of TEAM,…..that we believe in them. During these times we share a common bond. One that overshadows and transcends our differences, our shortcomings, our disagreements, our past mistakes, and our anxieties. It is there that we all stand proud in the belief that, at that moment, if only for a short while, WE were the best!
In the words of Teddy Roosevelt, “It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man tumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better, the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
What more of an education could one want? At Commerce I would like to think that academics are the primary focus but that well educated young adults are the ultimate goal.
Brad Brown is a graduate of Commerce High School where he played football under coach Ray Lamb. He lives in Lula and is principal of North Hall Middle School.
