Indulge me for a bit. I really have no good intro for this other than to just come out with it.
Tom Petty died and I’ve never felt so crushed about someone, whom I personally didn’t know, dying. He is the first of my true musical heroes, alive during my lifetime, to die.
I don’t remember a time I didn’t listen to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Their Greatest Hits was one of the first CDs I ever bought myself. I recently made my 7-year-old son, Jack, a Tom Petty CD so he can begin to develop good tastes in music.
Since I heard the news yesterday (which, at the time, was wrong, but ended up just being premature), I’ve done nothing but listen to his catalog and remember moments in my life reflected in his songs.
As a reporter, I’ve prided myself on my ability to tell people’s stories. That’s what I do, I’m a storyteller. I think that’s why Tom Petty’s music spoke to me, because he told stories too.
It seems there is no aspect of life which cannot be found in the songs of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. So, I thought why not pay tribute the man by finding the songs and lyrics to pair with each of the Fremont Ross fall sports programs that I’ve come to know over these past weeks.
Girls golf
Moonlight on the interstate
She was ‘cross the Georgia line
Looked out the window feeling great
Yeah, it had to come in time
And she said ‘I’m never goin’ back’
She said ‘at last I’m free
‘I wish ma could see me now, she’d be so proud of me’
And she went down swinging
–“Swinging”
The girls golf team is on a long road and one the Lady Giants are just starting. They’re learning the game of golf and surviving its frustrations and infuriating nature. The sectional tournament is tomorrow morning, and the season will come a close. Golf is hard and it’s certainly not easy to go to the course everyday knowing you’re most likely going to have the highest score and taking solace in subtle improvement. But persevering through that adversity will not just make Ross’ four sophomores better golfers, it’ll make them better, stronger people in the future.
Volleyball
I know so well the look on your face
And there’s somethin’ lucky about this place
There’s somethin’ good comin’
Just over the hill
Somethin’ good comin’
I know it will
–“Something Good Coming”
Saturday night I spoke to coach Kari Shull following the Lady Giants’ loss to Southview. And this is part of what she said:
“We’re trying to get over that hump, over that hill or break through that wall, whatever you want to call it. We feel like we’re sitting right on top of it and just need to go down and start enjoying the ride. We talk about that today, how long are we going to sit at the top of this hill before we go down? We’re starting to run out of time but we still have a couple of weeks, you still have handful of matches. We just want everybody to keep pushing and keep going.”
Shull and her girls are in the process of building a program. This is a hill that takes time to climb, but with Shull’s knowledge of the game and her players’ willingness to listen and put in the work, something good is indeed coming.
Football
Well I won’t back down, no I won’t back down
You could stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won’t back down
–“Won’t Back Down”
Having left the newspaper industry in March of 2016, I didn’t cover last season’s team. There is a stark difference between this group and that last one I covered in 2015. I think missing last year helps me see the contrast more easily, like seeing how much your nephew has grown since you last saw him. This Little Giants team battles hard for every minute of every game it plays. Many teams would have quit when trailing by 21 points to Findlay, with heads down and fingers pointing. Last week at Lima, faced with moving the ball the length of the field in under a minute, previous teams most likely would have lacked the belief they could come back. The Little Giants will need that level of fight and grit as they get set for their toughest two tests of the season this week, against Central Catholic, and next week, at Whitmer. Ross may not win these games, but it won’t be for a lack of effort.
Boys golf
Well some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I’ve started out for God knows where
I guess I’ll know when I get there
–“Learning to Fly”
The boys golf team, like that of the girls, was a team whose goals were both internal and modest. Winning championships and duel matches weren’t going to be in the cards. But the Little Giants established goals for themselves; breaking 400 on 18 holes, breaking 200 on nine. With that done, the goal became 190. Then doing it consistently. It took all season, but the team finally carded four scores in the 40s in a duel match, something it came close to doing for a couple weeks but something always went wrong. Doing so showed themselves what can happen with time, patience and a willingness to push through. In the grand scheme of things, it might seem like a modest accomplishment, but sometimes those are the ones that are the most important.
Cross country
It’s time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It’s time to move on, it’s time to get going
–“Time to move on”
Maybe this is a little on the nose for cross country, but doesn’t make it untrue. Every aspect of the boys and girls cross country teams is about getting up and getting going, from the top runners trying to push themselves to again reach the state meet, to freshmen are learning to fight through cramps and shin splints. It’s a sport that punishes. Those who are mentally weak simply do not last. You can’t be lazy and run cross country and the running Giants are going places.
Girls tennis
Wherever that wind might blow
Wherever that river rolls
You know I will go with you
Just you and me
And the road ahead
–“You and Me”
One of the pleasant surprises I’ve encountered since launching the Ross Sports Report has been the girls tennis team. Not just because the Lady Giants have been, arguably, the most successful fall sport thus far, but because of the atmosphere that hangs over the tennis court. These girls show up, ready to work, ready to compete with one another for position, but never forget they’re still a team. I’ve seen nothing but support for one another and a closeness that few teams enjoy. A group of girls does not take it upon itself to camp out overnight on the tennis courts unless they’re genuinely a team. They’ve been fun to cover.
Boys soccer
You need rhino skin
Or you’re gonna give in
To the needles and pins
The arrows of sin
The evils of men
You need rhino skin
–“Rhino Skin”
Like many Ross teams, the boys soccer team is trying to make the jump the TRAC basement to the status of contender. They’ve had a couple hiccups along the way — losses to Whitmer and Clyde come to mind — and if the Little Giants are going to prove they’re growing as a program, they need to leave the rough spots behind and charge ahead. Ross has several big games coming up, vs. Findlay, St. John’s and St. Francis and the Little Giants have the chance to leave the past in the past and begin to write a new era in Ross boys soccer.
Girls soccer
We gotta get to a higher place
And I hope we all arrive together
We gotta get to a higher place
If we want to survive the weather
–“A Higher Place”
Saturday afternoon, I heard one of the more impressive stories I’ve been told in a long time. After a tough stretch of games that saw the Lady Giants soccer go scoreless over a four-game stretch against very good competition, the team’s senior captains approached their coaches about making practices more intense and that no one was giving up on the season. That is leadership. That is what takes a program from the bottom of a conference to, eventually, a championship. These seniors won’t be around when that happens. But if this year’s juniors and underclassmen follow the lead set for them and continue to uphold those values then, when the Ross girls soccer team reaches the top of the mountain, the class of 2018 will know they got the program trending upward.