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Graduation is right around the corner for most high schools.  There were two nights that were the saddest moments in my career as a high school coach.  They were Senior Night and graduation.

Senior night meant the seniors were playing their last game at Williamston High School in the stadium.  We dismissed the juniors on the team and that gave me a few moments alone with the seniors.  Some of the seniors had given me four years of their life and never missed a game.  They and their parents had done so much for our program.  Moms washed pants and jerseys, attended wounds and fathers were at every game.  They were so proud of their son!!

I would always tell them after the juniors had left, that I loved them and how proud I was of them and if they needed anything, to always feel free to call coach and that I was only a phone call away.  I hugged everyone that was in that room and they would play the whole first quarter of that game.

Graduation was so much different, they were gone! Some would go to college, serve in the Arm Forces and some stayed at home and worked for their dad.  It was their rite of passage, I guess.  Still, I was as proud of them as any parent. Time never stands still nor do we want it to. No matter what they did, they would become positive role models for the youth they touched and be a leader in their respective community.  Those that played sports whether female or male, made the best citizens in their communities.

Seniors, thank you for competing, it will make you a better as you grow older.  You will not understand it now but you will learn to valuable lessons as you grow older.  The sacrifices you made will certainly pay off as you raise your own family. The lessons that you learned between two white lines will serve you well.

They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C.! The Original Washington!

 

Harold Jr.