TupaTalk: Why Bartlesville area is such a special place

I believe it’s interesting that in 27 years of covering Bartlesville High School basketball, I’ve worked with only three boys head coaches — Wes Brown, Tim Bart and Clent Stewart.

That says something about the qualify of hiring process in those instances and the support of the community for the Bruin basketball program.

The girls’ roster of skippers is a bit longer — Rod Berger, Gerald Thompson, Rob McKinzie, Joel Zuniga, Terry Rogers, Krista Binam, Donnie Martin and Justyn Shaw, as I remember. I know there was another coach hired, but he lasted only a couple of months in the offseason before leaving for another opportunity.

It’s hard to explain why the boys basketball program has maintained such consistent support, even love, from the community.

I believe basketball is engrained in the cultural soul of Bartlesville perhaps a bit more than other sports.

Maybe it goes back to the Phillips 66ers. Maybe it’s just the nature of the sport that makes it so easy for anyone to play. All one needs is a ball and a rim.

It’s kind of difficult for a kid to get up a big game of football or even baseball with the other guys and gals from the neighborhood, especially today when so many kids shun getting out and sweating.

Not that football and baseball also haven’t attracted sizable followings many of the years I’ve been here. But, those audiences have tended to rise and decline according to the fortunes of the teams.

Not the parents. A great majority of parents of athletes in Bartlesville are completely devoted and supportive of their children and of their teams.

It’s hard for me to get a gauge on how deep baseball is rooted in the Bartlesville soul.

I’d like to think it goes all the way to the earth’s core. But, with not enough families willing to support a 14-and-under town league and the absence of a community-wide competitive softball program, there’s come kind of disconnect there.

Not that there aren’t some extremely loyal players, parents and other baseball/softball fans in town. There are — a lot of them. And, I applaud them for their support of these teams.

But, I just don’t sense the overall community excitement for these sports as there is for football and basketball.

I’m not saying that’s wrong or right, I’m just trying to perceive the dynamics of support for the different sports.

I do know this — Bartlesville people are incredible in supporting their youth in all their sports — from the more individual-based offerings (cross country, track, golf, tennis, wrestling, swimming) to the team-based games.

And, that pertains not only to school sports, but to community teams and Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

We in the media try to keep up as best we can with what the kids are doing because people want to be informed and they want to give the kids a pat on the back.

I do wish the 14-and-under city baseball league would come back, for a couple of reasons. First, this is an age when a lot of kids are trying to set the outlook they will have as adults. Baseball is a great equalizer and socializer. Baseball doesn’t care about economic differences, family situations or what part of town kids live in. When players are in uniform, they all share the common bond as teammates trying to get better and win some games.

They create friendships and understanding also are getting some great physical conditioning and a goal-reward confidence building atmosphere.

Baseball is different, as far as bringing people together, than other sports. There are several minutes of dugout time together when players can share their personality and absorb that of others.

Sure, there are a lot of kids playing on touring squads or on out-of-town leagues. What is the cost of doing that compared to the benefits of supporting the local kids? That's a question everyone has to answer for themselves..

I know there a lot of parents out there convinced their little kid has major league potential and they see the expense as an investment in the kid’s future. But, let’s be honest here — in my 26 years in this area and of the cumulative thousands of kids that have played baseball, three that I can remember were picked in the baseball draft, while the burnout rate of kids who played too much baseball as kids and forego high school or college ball — or who can't adequately adjust playing with a different set of teammates — are too high..

When I was a long distance runner during a six-year period of my life, I wanted the most challenging daily runs I could find, not the easiest paths. I didn’t want to run with anyone else — I wanted to set a fast pace because I wanted to be good. I sprinted at the end of my five, nine and 11-mile runs because I wanted to build that endurance, despite the pain at the moment.

I think it’s the same with developing young athletes — if one makes it too easy to succeed or takes away most chances of failure, they’re not doing the kids any favors. It’s adversity — and being encouraged to face up to it and conquer it — that creates true athletic warriors and people of character in any avenue of life.

If a kid truly has special talents and gifts, the scouts will find them, no matter where they play. Carson LaRue was taken in the baseball draft out of Dewey, Mickey Dollens of Bartlesville High somehow landed a Division I football scholarship off a 1-9 team, we’ve witnessed a parade of Division I basketball coaches find their way this fall to Bartlesville to meet with Bartlesville basketball player David Castillo. Tim Pugh of Bartlesville High played several years of Major League Baseball and once threw a one-hitter, against San Diego, I believe. Bartlesville’s James Teague was drafted and played in the minors, Copan’s Drew Phillips was picked by the Cincinnati Reds and played rookie ball. Bartlesville’s Noah Hartsock helped propel BYU to four-straight appearances in the NCAA men’s basketball tourney and then played pro ball in Europe. There are many other examples, as well, of kids who played in area schools and still attracted the scouts. A.J. Parker is one of the top examples. He advanced from Bartlesville High to Kansas State to the Detroit Lions.

The Bartlesville area is a special place, both for the number of great athletes it has nurtured and for the community support of those kids who are going to translate their athletic lessons into productive and satisfying lives.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Tupa: Community support makes Bartlesville area a special place