SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: Mondays with Escarcega: Monday, May 27, 2024
A commencement address to the SGV/Whittier area high school student-athletes for the Class of 2024.
To the Student-Athletes of the SGV and Whittier Area who are graduating from high school this week (or have already graduated), let me be the 1,000,000th person to say one word…
Congratulations!
YOU DID IT!
After 12 years of public or private schooling (or a mixture of both), you will receive a piece of paper that is your ticket to the real world. You are a high school graduate, and the world is your oyster… well, sort of.
All those early wake-up calls, going to school at 8:30 in the morning (or sooner if you had any type of strength training), having lunch at noon, and finishing school at 3:00 only to have a game or practice. Get home, have dinner at 6 (or later if you have an evening game), study, and do your homework before going to bed.
Oh, let’s not forget the endless text messages, the Twitter alerts, posting videos on Instagram and Tic-Tok. And finally, the endless number of emails with schedule changes, alerts from your coach, etc.
Come to think about it, it’s a major accomplishment that you are graduating. Back in the day when your parents and coaches (and yours truly) went to high school, we had no Twitter or Facebook. We didn’t have the Internet (which gave us Google). If you wanted to do some research for a school assignment – you had to go to the (heavy pause here) … library. The encyclopedia was your Google.
Yeah, I know. Those days are over. But it’s a reminder of how good you have it these days.
And playing sports in high school back in the day? Let’s just say that we need to move on. After all, the word huddle was exclusively for use in football. Today, HUDL is a website to watch game films. If you had told me back in 2000 that the Internet would be used to watch game films, I would have laughed at you out of the door.
But you are to be commended. You are the last class to endure the nightmares that were the COVID protocols during your freshman year. You remember those days, right? Six Feet apart, masks, COVID tests… and we could go on and on and on.
But you survived it and made the most of it. And for those precious few who were on the Glendora and Pasadena Poly basketball teams, you got a taste of what winning a CIF-SS championship was all about. It was an early message that you can accomplish anything through hard work.
Then came your sophomore year and there was this pitcher at Temple City High School that was the talk of the area. Her name was Kassandra Gewecke, and she led her team to a sectional championship. The video of her racing over to hug her father (the legendary baseball coach Steve Gewecke), is a memory that will be attached to this class.
Ohio State, you have no idea what you are getting.
I remember attending St. Francis football games and having Dean Herrington tell me to watch out for these two sophomore players, that they were special. Their names were Philip Ocon and Preston Jernegan. Next year, one will play at Colorado State (Ocon), and the other will be at Stanford (Jernegan).
In baseball, all I heard about from scouts was how good the class at San Dimas was and how to watch out for one player, Kasen Khansarinia.
In softball, I was told to keep an eye out for this outfielder who was the fastest player in the area, Ashley Hernandez at California HS.
I mentioned these two because, in 2024, they displayed what toughness and resiliency were all about. They didn’t have the greatest of years as they were having issues with their offensive game. But they didn’t complain, they kept working. They showed everyone that it doesn’t matter if you are going to UCLA or Boise State, adversity will arrive – and how you handle it will show everyone what kind of player you are.
Some members of this class handled change with courage. A perfect example is St. Paul’s Orlando Zepeda. His dream was to play football for his dad, Rick Zepeda. And for three years, that wasn’t a dream, it was a reality – only for the school administration to strip away that dream when they decided to let go of his father as the head coach.
Did he transfer to another school or feel sorry for himself? Not at all. He only worked harder and became one of the team’s unanimous leaders for new coach Mike Moschetti. He also became a CIF-SS champion in track and field. He was a great reminder that you don’t have to hit the transfer portal to become a man.
There was Northview’s Dylan Ochoa. He was given a gentle nudge to try track and field from the “Godfather of Northview,” Dave Ochoa. Not only did he become a productive wide receiver in football, but he became a CIF Track champion in the 400.
Speaking of track, there are a few members of this class who are going to UCLA, South Pasadena’s Mia Holden is one of them. She not only is a CIF-SS champion, but you can call her a state medalist as well. The other person going to UCLA is Whittier Christian softball player Aleena Garcia. All she does is hit home runs – just ask those attached to the Cal High softball program.
Let’s not forget that one athlete never felt the sting of a loss for her entire high school career. She went 120-0 in girls wrestling and is a three-time state champion. Anaya Falcon (of Walnut HS) you are someone very special. Life University just got better because of your commitment.
Speaking of being undefeated, there was another female wrestler who had an undefeated season, Northview’s Faith Bartoszek. She displayed the courage to leave her home state of Wisconsin to be part of a successful wrestling program in the area with very little folkstyle wrestling experience and attempt to win the hardest state wrestling tournament in the country. She did it with flair and an unwavering amount of mental toughness.
Getting back to commitments, two student-athletes are going into the military, La Mirada baseball player Walker Calvo (Baseball) and Marcus Tolentino of Northview (Merchant Marine Academy). Congratulations and we thank you for your service.
The talent of this class is off the charts – just look at the South Hills softball. They have players going to Stanford (Joie Economides) and Syracuse (Kayla Sigala). The baseball team was too far behind with players going to Oregon State (Paul Vasquez), Loyola Marymount (Matt Moreno and Noah Malone), and Cal Poly Pomona (Christian Gomez).
And I also have a feeling that Malone is going to be just as good at picking stocks as he is hitting home runs. (BTW Noah, check our $EA… just saying).
I also know that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Cal State Fullerton is getting a heck of a pitcher in Athen Malone. Arizona State is getting a terrific player in Landon White, Jude Favela is going to USC – Fight On, and UCLA is getting a stud in La Salle’s David Mysza.
And others of you are going to Utah, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, University of San Diego, and to all of you, congratulations.
And behind a great player is a great mother and father. If you are a student-athlete who is reading this column, stop right here, go to your mom and dad, give them a big hug, and tell them thanks. (If you did it this once, do it again. You can never do this enough times).
A big congratulations goes out to those who played high school athletics for the last four years and will be attending college as a student. You’ll have a big advantage compared to your competition in the classroom when college begins. You’ll know how to get things done regardless of the obstacles that are in front of you.
After this week, the celebrations are over, and the rest of your life is about to begin. And it can be overwhelming. I remember the night before my high school graduation, I was with a group of friends at the beach when I decided to climb a set of rocks and look at the sea. One of my closest friends saw me, came up and said, “You, OK?”
I said, “Yup, but you know we’ll never be with each other again and I have no idea what the future will look like.” I’ll admit, I was a bit scared. My friend said, “We’ll be around, and I have a feeling we’ll be just fine.”
Three years ago, this friend passed away from cancer. It was a reminder to all of us that life is fleeting, and you better live it to the fullest. And she was right, my life couldn’t be any better.
Here is some free advice for all the area student-athletes who are playing collegiate sports from someone who sees it regularly. Your life is about to change. The clock is about to become your adversary. Remember when you arrived in high school in your freshman year, and you had to go prove yourself?
It’s about to happen again.
The programs that you will be attending will have players that are bigger, faster, and stronger. They’ve been coached up and probably are very competitive. These players can handle any pass rush move you throw at them, can turn on that 91 MPH fastball, and have a rise ball that you probably didn’t see a lot of when you were in high school.
Throw in the hours of classroom time, mandatory study sessions, off-season strength and conditioning practices, and hours of practice time and you begin to understand that being a collegiate student-athlete is demanding.
However, there is not a better time to be a student-athlete in college. The game that is collegiate sports is changing rapidly and you will benefit from it. Four years ago, the thought of collegiate student-athletes getting paid was comical. Today, it is a reality.
For many of you, you will be fed three times a day, how great is that? The platforms that you will be exposed to when you are on the field are expanding rapidly. Thanks to the growth of technology, games can be watched on such apps as ESPN+, BTN+, Peacock, HBOMAX, FloSports, Prime Video, Apple TV, and much more.
The question for many of you as you enter college is, what type of person will you be? Are you just going to go through the motions, or will you be that leader that leads from the front of the line?
What does it take to be a leader? I decided to find the answers from two people who know a little about leadership - former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton thanks to their Master Class video sessions.
President Bush puts it in the most basic of terms, “A leader leads. Taking on new challenges in life is a joyful experience. Sure, there’s going to be moments of failure. The fundamental question facing people is, what’s your spirit like after failure? Does it cause you to become determined or does it cause you to say, ‘I’ve had it.’”
President Clinton also had a short and succinct sentence, “Be the Best You. You have to be tough as nails but with a tender heart.”
It’s not easy being a leader, and President Bush challenges everyone when he says, “The challenge in life is to improve as you live and to love better. Everyone can do that. It is not to attain wealth status and power.”
President Clinton points out that “Success is not guaranteed, but it is foreclosed if you are pessimistic.”
My challenge for all of you is to be that leader. Don’t spend your morning watching First Take or other debate shows, make it a habit to read books and newspapers from trusted media organizations. There is no need to go on Twitter Spaces (especially on Friday nights in the fall). As former Super Bowl coach Tony Dungy says, “Be Uncommon.”
As Admiral William H. McRaven said in a commencement address to the University of Texas in 2014, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.
“If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made – that you made – and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”
Several weeks ago, I lost a good friend in a person named Tim Kight. He was one of the premier sports performance coaches in the country. When we came into contact with each other, we said to each other “No BCD!” BCD is an acronym for Blame, Complain, Defend. Think about it for a second. What happens when something goes wrong, people love to blame someone, complain about something, or defend a mistake.
If you live your life with no BCD, you will be amazed at how much less stressful your life is.
There is one other thing that you must keep in mind. It’s one of my favorite sayings. It comes from former Alabama football coach Nick Saban and it's on my desk in my home office. “You don’t always get what you want, but you always get what you deserve.”
“As a person and a professional, you have the same responsibility to yourself,” Saban says. “To give maximum effort in all of your endeavors to set yourself up for success, even though it is not guaranteed. Put time into a relationship, get into the office a bit earlier, always do the best work possible – and you’ll be surprised at the results.’
There is no better way to conclude this message than to read the final words that President Clinton said in his Master Class video. These were his thoughts after attending his most recent high school reunion.
“All I know is that the most disappointed ones are not those who have failed - the most disappointed ones are those who did not try what they had always wished to try. So, the first thing is, if you want to be a leader, you have to lead yourself. You know the old deal about leading a horse to water, you can’t make him/her drink.
“You’ve got to be the drinking horse here.
“First, be the drinking horse. Decide what it is you want to do, and then get after it. So that’s what I hope will happen. I hope somebody will say, ‘Whoa, what am I going to do to be a better leader?
“What are you going to do?”
I hope you’ll accept this challenge and do it, as former Michigan football coach and current Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh loves to say, “With an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”
Good luck and god speed the Class of 2024.