This past week, thousands of kids graduated high school. They spent four years together, forming friendships and memories that will stand the test of time. They changed and they grew and they fought through life’s challenges. They did it together. They lived.
For some, it may be easy to diminish those four years. It may be hard to see how much it meant right now. The days blended together and it’s hard to find anything special about it after a while. It’s just normal life. Like I said, thousands maybe even hundreds of thousands of kids graduated. No big deal.
Bryce Harper did not graduate. Bryce Harper was drafted with the first pick in the Major League Baseball draft by the Washington Nationals. Huge deal. Every kid dreams of playing professional sports. Few ever realize the dream. Harper is on the fast track to becoming a star.
But, he’ll also never graduate. He’ll never get back the past few years when he traded that normal life with high school and friends and graduation for a dream.
It’s hard to blame him. Experts everywhere say he’s the most advanced position player at his age – ever. He dominated junior college baseball with a wooden bat. He’s hit 500-foot home runs and he’s been successful at every level. Harper will soon sign a contract for millions of dollars to play baseball in Washington one day.
But he’ll never see his name on a high school diploma.
Growing up, I was one of those thousands or millions of kids who wanted to play professional sports. I realized I had no chance to achieve that dream. I wasn’t blessed with the talent needed to compete at that level.
So, like a lot of the others, my dream to play basketball at Madison Square Garden or shortstop at Wrigley Field would always be a dream. It would never come true.
But I also realized there were plenty of other dreams that were within reach. I never got to walk onto an NBA court or a big league diamond.
I did have the privilege to play point guard for my high school with great support from my family and friends who even made a small fan club for me. I did get to play shortstop every spring and summer for seven years. And it was a blast.
I’ll never have the experience Bryce Harper will have as a professional baseball player. I will have all the memories of those nights playing on my stage. That was the closest I got to my biggest dream. And it was satisfying.
It also allowed me to be a regular kid who hung out with friends and did homework at night. It prepared me for the next step in life and that will be with me forever.
Bryce Harper deserves to chase his dream. He’s ready to go for it. He’s talented enough and he’s proven it at every level. But baseball is tough. It’s unforgiving. Many players never get out of the minor leagues. The bus rides and crazy promotions are as good as it gets. There are no guarantees.
Baseball is the hardest sport to maintain success and improve in every day. Ken Griffey was otherworldly for ten years. Then, he was an afterthought. Baseball humbles everyone and Harper will hit some rough patches along the way.
I understand that he isn’t like every other prospect. He’s a sure thing. But I’m not ready to hop on the bandwagon just yet. He’s a hitter. Hitting is harder than anything in the game. It’s mental and it’s physical. Pitchers can rely on stuff to make a career. Hitters can’t hide. You can either hit or you can’t. And it can go away any day.
If it does disappear, Harper won’t have the other dreams to remember. This one is too big. It took away the others. All those weekends of ten games took him away from relaxing time with his friends. When he chose to leave high school early, he lost his chance at winning a state championship in baseball or walking across a stage to receive his diploma. A part of him has to be jealous of those thousands of kids who just did that this month.
Jeremy Tyler had it all figured out too. He was a sure thing. He dominated high school basketball in San Diego. So, he skipped his senior year to play professionally overseas. Tyler was chasing his dream and trying to get better. After 10 games with Maccabi Haifa, he quit. He traded the chance for a fun year in high school with all his friends. He traded the chance for a state title and graduation. He traded his last chance to be a kid all for a dream that is slipping away every day.
The super prospects and recruits in high school these days are looking for ways out of high school more and more. They have their heads so set on the future that they forget to live in the moment. High school symbolizes the end of childhood. It’s funny how quick everyone is to find a way out.
James McAdoo is considering leaving high school early to enroll at North Carolina to play basketball. Only, he’s different. McAdoo is bored with basketball and education in high school. It’s too easy. He’s ready for a new challenge.
A lot of students could claim to be bored with high school. McAdoo has a 3.9 GPA and he’s an honor roll student. So are thousands of others. High school may be easy at times in the classroom. But it’s a mistake to think it’s too easy or not worth it. The top ten in every graduating class could have said they were bored and left the year before. McAdoo gets a pass because he can play basketball.
I find it hard to believe that after experiencing college for myself, McAdoo is emotionally and physically ready to be a student-athlete at UNC. College is no walk in the park. It takes a lot of time and effort to get that 3.9 in college like you did in high school. Add the intense competition at UNC for playing time and it’s hard to see many people being ready for that challenge.
Bryce Harper may be ready for the challenge.
Few are. And there’s nothing wrong with living the dream of a normal life in high school making memories with friends and family.
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