Avoiding Senioritis - Dave’s Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

Avoiding Senioritis

Ok, Fish Report readers, this blog is aimed at you seniors in high school out there rather than the old time seniors that typically read my blog. The subject is senioritis; the ailment that has afflicted many high school seniors for generations.

Check out this link for an entertaining music video about senioritis. There’s a hilarious movie about several students with senioritis called Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It’s a classic and definitely one of my favorites.

Senioritis happened to me way back when, so perhaps if I share my story you won’t repeat my mistakes.

As the lone senior starter on Ft. Loramie’s basketball team back in the mid ’60’s, we began the season with two quick losses against Botkins and Anna, but quickly recovered and won all of our games up until the Christmas break, including a win over league-leading Jackson Center and overtime wins against Minster and Holy Angels. We participated in a Holiday tournament, winning the first game and losing to Triad in the finals by 2. Had I not traveled on a breakaway dunk as documented in this previous blog, we might have won. The underclassmen starters were really coming around, especially junior point guard Mike Ernst, #34 below, who could dribble, drive, dish off, shoot and play defense like Stephen Curry.

 

So all was going great, until the Christmas break that is. Back in those days, an annual Christmas dance was held at Lindhaus Park near Newport. Plus, there was a New Years Eve dance at the Loramie Legion. Senioritis kicked in big time starting with those two events. At both dances, my fellow seniors, who as you recall, weren’t basketball players, snuck in some sloe gin that when mixed with a cola tasted just like a Cherry Coke, a favorite of mine that I always ordered at Frisch’s.

 

Needless to say, I broke training and once we started practicing again after the first of the year, I was out of shape and had lost a step or two. As a senior leader on the team, I blew it big time. We ended up losing 4 games out of 5 in January, including the first game to Anna 68-112! You read that right, a gigantic blowout. I fouled out in the 3rd quarter with two points. I totally lost my focus, which subsequently lead to injuries like a sprained ankle, stowed thumb, elbow to the eye requiring stitches and a busted front tooth from accidentally butting heads with a fellow teammate during practice. And the same was occurring in the classroom. Because I had enough credits to graduate, I ended up taking classes like typing and mechanical drawing with a bunch of freshmen students. I was cruising to graduation without a care in the world!

For all you Senior scholar athletes out there, tread carefully this holiday season. Get off your high horse and buckle down. Make a new years resolution to not lose focus and break training like I did, causing one of the few regrets in my life.

Happy New Year to all Fish Report readers!