With the evolution of sports seasons, the Bayard’s Tigers
went from prowling an approximately 120 x 53 foot jungle of well-trimmed grass,
including the end zones, to an 83 x 50 foot barren wooden court. They traded
cleats and shoulder pads for tennis shoes and sports shorts, going from sole
possession of the football field to shareholders of the basketball court.
Their games goal changed from seeking the exhilaration of
subjectively tearing the head off an opponent’s ball carrier, to keep from
objectively being removed from a game if they happen to touch an opponent in a
menacing way 5 times.
This says nothing about being somewhat oblivious to a
football crowd’s reaction because of distance and voices fading into the
vastness of a Western Nebraska atmosphere. Now, the crowd sits a mere few feet
from the action and yells into an atmosphere that reverberates off the walls and
resounds into their ear canals.
Nevertheless, a group of Tiger’s and Tigresses’ show up
every game night and let their competitive feline instincts propel them. Win or
lose, as if it were the first game of the year, they respond to every round
ball challenge.
During each confrontation they leave it all on the court.
Their faces radiate the dismay of a missed assignment and the glow of a
swisher. They give each game their best level of competitiveness from the
opening tip to game’s end.
I’m sure they absorb the professional attitudes of their
coaches. Whether their team wins or loses the coaches always coach. They teach
through thick and thin and refuse to their team hang its head. Their lesson, whether
feast or famine, is you keep on plugging because that’s the route to
overcoming; that’s the route of turning a defeat into victory.
The coaches and their teams have one sure link to success;
they’re young and without much experience with each other. That’s a game plan
to travel Interstate-Future-Success with its next planned stop being Bayard,
Nebraska. Think of the fun of learning to win that lies ahead for all the teams
within BHS. Coaches and teams growing together; wow, I’m pleased I can be
around to write about it.
Tiger’s and Tigresses: Bayard wants to watch and grow with
you. It’s like the pioneers of the 1850’s; it’s too late in the season to try
and cross the Rockies, so we’ll spend the winter here in the foothills and
conquer what’s within our grasp.
In 2016 and 2017, good luck Bayard sports. You’re
appreciated.
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