Student athletes, parents, supporters and fans and administrators – 900-plus strong – poured into the Memphis Zoo for the 2nd Annual SCIAA Winter & Spring Athletic Banquet of Champions last Friday (May 15).
Yes, it rained. No, it did not come close to stopping the show, which was designed to salute the sports champions of the winter and spring seasons.
Bernal E. Smith II, president/publisher of The New Tri-State Defender was tapped to deliver the keynote address. Known to have more than held his own on the basketball court as an athlete at Havenview Jr. High and Whitehaven High School, Smith was right at home among the student athletes. After an introduction by Marcus Taylor, Smith told the audience of a 1986 athletic banquet and then shared these thoughts:
“After a great season and school year, I was named MVP of our basketball team … and left knowing I was one of the best point guards in the city. I left there and went to Whitehaven, both my backcourt mate and I, a guy named Brian Smith, with much anticipation and excitement. We both started our sophomore year and were named among the top 10th graders in the city that season.
“Subsequently, following that first season (and) for a number of reasons – primarily challenges and differences with my coach – things would, on the surface, go down hill from there, so much that I vaguely remember my senior athletic banquet. I remember feeling disappointed that I was held back and treated unfairly (and) that I was not provided a fair opportunity to reach my greatest potential as a high school player. In fact, I was confident that my coach would have rathered (that I) quit during my junior or senior year, but of course, that didn’t happen.
“I understood that there was a bigger picture, a bigger opportunity. I had been taught to never quit, to keep my eyes on the prize. So while my coach had no summer practices, didn’t get us – or better yet, me – in any camps, other coaches like Coach Tippett from White Station and Coach Ted Anderson at Hamilton helped me and got me in camps. My junior high coach, Coach Jerry Johnson (pray for him and his family as he battles cancer), invited me to summer games where college scouts came and watched. I played AAU and competed at the national level.
“But that’s only part of the story. While I was enduring difficulties and challenges on the court, I was maintaining a 3.8 GPA, scored a 27 on the ACT and taking AP courses, including calculus. So in the end I had multiple scholarship offers at Division 1, 2 and 3 levels and ended up accepting a full ride to Rhodes College here in Memphis, where we won the conference championship my first two season. And I’m proud to say I graduated with a degree in business, with zero student loans receiving a 100k-plus education.
“I share that story to share three things:
“One – there will be obstacles in you way, you must proceed anyway.
“(Two) – people will disappoint you, let you down and stand in your way and sometimes it’s the people that are supposed to be helping you the most. But despite them, you have to stay focused and fight on anyway.
“Thirdly, you have to take responsibility for you, for creating the path to the future you desire. No one can do that for you. The choices you make, determine your fate.
“Repeat that with me.”
Bernal E. Smith II, president/publisher of The New Tri-State Defender was tapped to deliver the keynote address. Known to have more than held his own on the basketball court as an athlete at Havenview Jr. High and Whitehaven High School, Smith was right at home among the student athletes. After an introduction by Marcus Taylor, Smith told the audience of a 1986 athletic banquet and then shared these thoughts:
“After a great season and school year, I was named MVP of our basketball team … and left knowing I was one of the best point guards in the city. I left there and went to Whitehaven, both my backcourt mate and I, a guy named Brian Smith, with much anticipation and excitement. We both started our sophomore year and were named among the top 10th graders in the city that season.
“Subsequently, following that first season (and) for a number of reasons – primarily challenges and differences with my coach – things would, on the surface, go down hill from there, so much that I vaguely remember my senior athletic banquet. I remember feeling disappointed that I was held back and treated unfairly (and) that I was not provided a fair opportunity to reach my greatest potential as a high school player. In fact, I was confident that my coach would have rathered (that I) quit during my junior or senior year, but of course, that didn’t happen.
“I understood that there was a bigger picture, a bigger opportunity. I had been taught to never quit, to keep my eyes on the prize. So while my coach had no summer practices, didn’t get us – or better yet, me – in any camps, other coaches like Coach Tippett from White Station and Coach Ted Anderson at Hamilton helped me and got me in camps. My junior high coach, Coach Jerry Johnson (pray for him and his family as he battles cancer), invited me to summer games where college scouts came and watched. I played AAU and competed at the national level.
“But that’s only part of the story. While I was enduring difficulties and challenges on the court, I was maintaining a 3.8 GPA, scored a 27 on the ACT and taking AP courses, including calculus. So in the end I had multiple scholarship offers at Division 1, 2 and 3 levels and ended up accepting a full ride to Rhodes College here in Memphis, where we won the conference championship my first two season. And I’m proud to say I graduated with a degree in business, with zero student loans receiving a 100k-plus education.
“I share that story to share three things:
“One – there will be obstacles in you way, you must proceed anyway.
“(Two) – people will disappoint you, let you down and stand in your way and sometimes it’s the people that are supposed to be helping you the most. But despite them, you have to stay focused and fight on anyway.
“Thirdly, you have to take responsibility for you, for creating the path to the future you desire. No one can do that for you. The choices you make, determine your fate.
“Repeat that with me.”
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