Thank you to graduating RHS athletes

BLEEDING BLUE AND GOLD

This time of the year is bittersweet isn’t it? What I mean is the Tigers and the Lady Tigers that we have been watching for the last four years are going to be leaving for what is next. We are excited for them but it’s like your favorite professional athlete retiring from your favorite team.

We are going to miss the heart and the hustle of these hardworking, amazing student athletes that thrilled us on the field, the courts, the course and the track. We owe them a big thank you for representing us, Tiger Nation.

I can’t think of many things better than wearing the Blue and Gold. I’m thankful our baby girl, Klaire, got to be a Tiger and experience being part of the Tiger family.

Some of the most influential people in my life were those that coached us on the field. I think yelling and screaming was their love language. Little did we know that shouting at us was actually an investment in our lives. That coaching was about our future as much as it was about our performance in the sport we played. I’m thankful I was coached by some of the best like Fred Johnson (led Rockdale to state championship in 1976), Charlie Spano and Dickie Summers.

The things these people teach you are life lessons that you leave high school with and use for the rest of your life. Things like teamwork, leadership, discipline, work ethic, communication and time management. While participating in school sports you learn about adversity, how to persevere, what it’s like to win and what it’s like to lose.

I can still remember how Coach Johnson taught us that integrity was part of being a Rockdale Tiger. Looking good, being well groomed and being on time mattered. Staying out of trouble mattered.

I know things have changed. Kids wear beards now that we would have been jealous of (shout out to David Penny) and slides are normal but in some ways I miss the 1980s.

When Coach Jeff Miller (led Rockdale to a state championship in 2017) was here, the outside of the field house said, “Home of Champions,” I wish we would bring that back. It reminds you of our history and how being committed to excellence created champions. Being from Rockdale meant something, it felt good to be a Tiger, a champion.

Yes, we will miss the graduating seniors but we look forward to hearing about what they do with what they learned about life while they played for Rockdale. How will the investment Rockdale sports made in these young adults serve them off the field in college, in their careers and their families.

Once a Tiger always a Tiger. Let’s go!