Last week's column

A reprint of last weeks Woodford Sun SlapShots column.

The first part of this week’s SlapShots column is an open message to Woodford County High School quarterback Steven Duckworth.

Feel free to listen in. I think there’s a little something here for all of us.

Steven-

A few weeks ago you got to experience the thrill of being the hero. You led your team to a big win and tied a state record in the process.

I was most impressed with the way you handled yourself. You showed maturity and true leadership, sharing the credit with your teammates.

Last week you saw the other side of the coin.

Breakdowns.

Mistakes.

A loss snatched from the clutches of victory.

I could see it in your eyes. You blamed yourself. You threw the burden of an entire team on your young shoulders, and I could see you straining under the pressure.

But your coach said it best.

“As we won as a team, we lose as a team.”

It’s a lot easier to share credit than blame, isn’t it?

But the coach was right. The loss wasn’t all your fault, any more than your record setting performance against Franklin County was all your glory. The loss belongs to the Woodford County Yellow Jackets, not Steven Duckworth.

I guess I felt your pain a little more personally than some. You see - I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve stood in my crease with horns blowing and fans cheering as the referee fished a last minute game-winning goal out of the net behind me.

I’ve felt the weight of a loss on my shoulders. I’ve fought back the tears as I watched the opponent celebrate, and I’ve struggled to look my teammates in the eyes in the locker room.

But as you know, this is not the end of the story. Next week you take the field and the real measure of your character will be shown in your response.

I want to share a little something that I hope will help.

When I was about 10-years-old, my mom gave me this marble plaque. It leaves a little to be desired as a decorator item. It’s kind of ugly and it’s all off balance, so it has this annoying tendency to tip over with a loud smack at inopportune times. But I’ve held on to that piece of marble for 31 years, not because of its aesthetic value, but because of the wisdom of the words printed on it.

“Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times … keep swinging.”

Did you catch that? One of the greatest baseball players of all time struck out 1,330 times. That’s 1,330 failures. 1,330 letdowns. 1,330 miscues.

More often than not, success has more to do with persistence than anything else.

When you fall down, you gotta get back up.

When strike out, you gotta swing again.

When you throw three interceptions, you drop back and throw one more time.

Don’t let those mistakes haunt you.

Just keep swinging.

Quick Shots

One of the things I enjoy about being a reporter is that I don’t have to make big decisions. I just get to sit back and criticize other people’s decisions with my 20-20 hindsight.

Some may question Yellow Jacket coach Chris Tracy’s decision to put the ball in the air on third-and-five holding a three point lead with time running down. But I think Tracy made a pretty good defense of his decision during a radio interview after the game.

“We’re a passing team, that’s what we do. It (the interception) is no different from a power running team putting the ball on the ground.”

I can’t believe it, but I actually overestimated the University of Kentucky. I picked them to win, but their offense is even worse than I thought. The defense played well, but any defense will run out of gas when the offense can’t stay on the field. Four straight three-and-outs doomed the Cats.

Quote of the week

“I’m proud we didn’t let the fans get in our heads. They were saying some nasty things out there.”

-Woodford County lineman J.R. Leach after the Ashland game

Puck to the head

This week’s puck to the head flies at all of the dog owners out there who think their dogs don’t need to be on a leash in public parks, represented by the owner of the border collie and Irish setter running all over Heartland Park in Lexington. I especially enjoyed the part where the collie nearly tripped me as I was running.