I Wanna Be Like Mike

I have always been a 'building-block' kinda guy. This abstraction is predicated on what I believe is innate in the human DNA; imitation or if you will, patterning after another, IE., modeling. Let me connect these dots. When I was an adolescent, my friends and I would often engage in play and actually used the phrase, 'Let's play like...' Later, I noticed my own adolescent children engaging in those juvenile activities but the phrase had become, 'Let's pretend...' I suppose as time marches on lingo can become more sophisticated. The play-like-pretend games find children emulating others, usually those perceived as heroes. This is the 'copier's' expressed desire to do good and be of some greater virtue. As we grow older, we cease playing those 'pretend' games for the most part but we none-the-less aspire to achieve and or elevate our status and persona.

My role as an educator and high school coach for nearly forty-years positioned me to address this basic human desire and I did; I used the 'building-block' approach to accomplish this objective. One can find success stories in every field of endeavor. The story may last indefinitely but the story-maker is on borrowed time as are we all. Before the hour-glass sand runs its course, I believe that we should seize the opportunity to 'lift and salute' the achiever; the doer of good! As we honor and publicly salute the achiever, I firmly believe that we lay the foundation for others to pattern after, match or even surpass...and thus the positive building block effect improves the human condition.

I spearheaded efforts to establish a Hall-of-Fame recognition ceremony and HOF Room for the sport achievers at Jacksonville high school. Also, in joint cooperation with the Jacksonville Rotary Club, we established a Scholar-Athlete annual awards banquet recognition night to honor student-athletes, succeeding in sport and academics, from some 51- West-Central Illinois high schools.

Throughout my previous 12-years tenure as coordinator of the Decatur Boys' Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament, I have brought to the arena (court) numerous individuals for public recognition and acknowledgement for various accomplishments or community service.

This brings me to my current effort. I am attempting to motivate the powers that be to name a Decatur school district baseball field after Decatur Eisenhower graduate and former Major League Baseball player, Bill Madlock. Why? Bill Madlock won four (4) National League batting titles during his career. To put that in a prospective, Hall-of-Fame great, Stan Musial won seven (7) National League batting titles.

The fact that Bill Madlock is African-American is significant to me; perhaps some adolescent Decatur boys of every color, who are 'pretending' to be MLB players, can envision and strive for that goal more passionately when they play-ball on the 'Bill Madlock Field.'