Triumph over tragedy ....

Ever since a terrible little lady named Katrina made landfall last summer, hardly a day went by without a front-page story about it in practically every newspaper in America.

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And so when we picked up the November 22, 2005 issue of USA Today, we were prepared for a headline such as: "Storm Wipes Out High School Dynasty."

We didn't immediately recognize that it was a lead into a sports article! How Hurricane Katrina had shattered all the homes of the heralded Class 5A state high school basketball team at New Orleans' Brother Martin H.S.

Four of the five starters had disappeared in the flooded area of the Crescent City, and the Brother Martin gym had been destroyed. The fifth starter was a 6-foot-8, 240-pound kid named Courtney Wallace.

Broken-hearted by the loss of his home, gym, and all his medals, he refused to give up the search. He went hunting for his "brothers," the players who had been bonded by their discipline, deep faith in one another, and passion for the game.

Though their story didn't have a fairy-tale ending, it was nice to learn that Courtney accomplished his mission. He found his four missing teammates, and the five of them are now living in different areas and going to different schools.

Courtney was living in Baton Rouge and attending Woodlawn High. He had been stunned by the loss of his basketball treasures and teammates, but he hasn't surrendered.

"I'm going to keep up with my old teammates," he said. "They'll always be in my heart, just as there will always be a place for New Orleans. I believe that survival has made me stronger. I've learned that when push comes to shove, I really will step up."

A pretty impressive philosophy coming from a teenager.

LETTERING ...

Back in the days when boys were men and played three or four sports to prove it, they rarely got encouragement from the school administration.

It was fairly simple: "Boys, you are here for an education. If you're good at a sport, play it. If you are good at two sports, play them. But watch out! Most of you cannot afford the time to play more than a couple of sports."

The faculty members were expected to keep an eye on the athletic programs and make sure all the educational facets were being heeded.

All of this was simply articulated and made sense to everyone. But we don't honestly know whether the multi-sport concept is increasing or decreasing.

But we do know that it has become a problem to some of our philosophers. They used to discourage multi-lettering because it added to the educational load. Now, suddenly, the wind is shifting toward a single-letter concept.

The situation is weird. They say it is wrong for coaches to encourage their athletes to concentrate on one sport because they do it for a poor reason: to enhance their reputation and put them in better position to win a scholarship to a big-time school.

This is bad? Look how it has destroyed Tiger Woods, Shaq O'Neal, Barry Bonds, and a billion other one-sport specialists.

So what is the advantage of having the kids become multi-letterman? To quote a protagonist: "Because such participation will mature the kid's skills, foster friendships, provide life-time lessons, and create indelible memories."

Question: None of this can happen to single-sport lettermen?

A "TY" SCORE ...

One of our favorite slices of wintry reading is the lovely little 24-page memorial that the National Federation prepares for its annual edition of the National High School Hall of Fame.

It is guaranteed merchandise--an annual listing of 13 legends of high school administration, officiating, coaching, athletics, and fine arts.

We have been reprinting something from it every year since 1991, the year that the National Federation chose a fine artsman named Herman L. Masin, to go along with its normal complement of everyday giants like John Wooden, Tom Landry, Glenn Davis, Milt Campbell, and Nolan Cromwell.

Ty Detmer fits in perfectly as the star athlete for the year 2005. Born in 1967 in San Marco, TX, he lettered in five sports at Southwest H.S. (San Antonio), but it was football that put him in the headlines. Playing QB for his father, Sonny, he completed 506 of 910 passes, including 71 career TDs.

Even 18 years out of high school, Ty appears in the record books for most passes attempted and completed in a season and career.

Detmer's college football career was even more phenomenal. As a QB at QB U. (Brigham Young), Ty won the Heisman Trophy in 1990, set 59 NCAA records, and compiled 14,653 yards of total offense.

At the professional level, Detmer has played for six teams in his 13-year career.

While doing all these marvelous things in football, Detmer was also playing basketball, baseball, golf, and track.

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GOING ON STRIKE ...

Before the 2005 World Series becomes an artifact, allow us to present an instant replay on the second game of the American League Championship Series between the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The score is tied; the White Sox are batting, nobody on base, two out, and 3-2 on the hitter. The pitcher delivers the money pitch--and it's about an inch off the ground and three feet outside. And the batter swings at it!

Of course he misses by a kilometer, but the catcher has to reach far out for the ball. He makes a gorgeous pick-up of it, and then rolls it back to the mound, as catchers will do on a third out.

The batter pauses for a moment and then starts running to first. Everyone is either cheering (for the runner) or booing (the umpire). The White Sox then bring the runner around and win the game.

The morning dew arrives with the ruling: A batter with two strikes on him can run on the third strike if the ball touches the ground. In short, he realized that the ball had touched the ground when the catcher made his great pick-up of it.

Don Hood, an umpire who has been calling balls and strikes for 40 years, in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York, explained it as follows:

"The problem was not caused by the umpire's judgment on the catcher's inexperience. It was caused by a rule that:

1. Fails to respect the skills of the catchers.

2. Makes it difficult for the umpire to see or judge.

3. Puts players in an ambiguous situation: to run or not, or to tag or not.

4. Confuses everyone.

"Wouldn't it make sense to change this rule and call the batter out on a third strike that ends up firmly and securely (umpire jargon) in the catcher's mitt? Whether it hits the dirt or not should be irrelevant.

"In short, put the play on a par with a force-out at first base. The rules should, as much as possible, simplify the game for umpires to call, for players to play, and for fans to watch.

"The third strike call rule, as it now stands, does none of these things."

Isn't it time for baseball to call another strike?

RELATED ARTICLE: LOOK WHO'S READING COACH

We like to start them young here at Scholastic Coach & Athletic Director. Witness Andre "Dray" Dollar, who is riffling through our January 2006 issue, no doubt trying to learn the intricacies of the 4-3 as a High School Defense or Boots, Shovels, and Reverses: Complements of the Counter Trey.

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The photo was submitted by Andre's dad, Sam Dollar, defensive coordinator & strength coach, Naples (FL) H.S.