Give Me An N

The jacket still fits...
But there's no letter on it.

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

I am not now, nor was I ever an athlete.  I played one failed season of little league more than 30 years ago and a few seasons of soccer, both indoor and outdoor.  Beyond that, the only other athletic competition I was ever involved in was cross country and track in high school

The JV letter

I wasn't great at either, but it was something I did to be social and to kinda stay in shape.  I also knew doing it would be my only way of earning a varsity letter in high school.  This was important to me, why I don't know.  For Christmas during my sophomore year, my parents bought me a Letterman's jacket.  I remember how cool I felt wearing it, with my last name embroidered across the front.  I had already earned my JV "letter" the 91 that went on the sleeve to correspond with the year I was set to graduate.

Letterless with the Dr. Boyle
Pic from an article about my Eagle Scout project at the school

Despite not being very good at running, I was told if I stayed with it, I would eventually earn that big white N to proudly display on my scrawny chest. So I continued to lace up and finish at the back of the pack meet after meet, year after year. But I knew that persistence would eventually pay off.

Somewhere along the way I took my eye off that prize.  My senior year I joined three new clubs: Key Club, the yearbook staff, and the drama club.  Because the fall production was going on at the same time as cross country, I would sometimes skip practice to attend rehearsals. I was also working at the time, which didn't help with my time management skills.  I even missed a couple of cross country meets.

But on Fall Sports Awards night I sat there eagerly waiting for my name to be called and handed that varsity letter.  After all, I was a senior and I had earned it, right?  Wrong.  My name didn't get called.  I was disappointed and it took me a long time to accept the fact that it was MY fault I didn't get that letter.  I tried playing the blame game, but I'm the one who made the choice to go to different activities and skip cross country.  I got too confident I'd get the letter.

The letter I earned for Key Club

Right before graduation, at the spring awards night, I did receive a letter.  It was for the work I'd done in Key Club, a group devoted to community service.  I felt somewhat satisfied with that big blue N, but the athletic letters were white.  The blue ones were also awarded to female athletes.  It's for that reason I never had it attached to my jacket.  It sits in a box of mementos, now nearly a quarter of a century old.  My jacket still hangs in my closet, tucked behind other coats and sweatshirts.  When I see it, I think back to how I slacked off and didn't get the reward at the end.

That's what motivated me to write this.  It's another reminder to finish what you start.  I regret not seeing my senior season all the way through.  Now it's more about just not getting the letter.  It's about letting myself and others down along the way.  I don't regret joining the other activities though.  I just wish I would have been wiser about the timing of everything, but at 17 we think we know everything.  Hopefully my actions will be a lesson for my kids in the near future.

The Thrill of Defeat

Who wears short-shorts?
Cross country my Senior year

By Kevin Hunsperger 
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

When I was in high school I ran cross country, however run is the operative word here.  I more accurately jogged and walked cross country.  While I wasn't the worst on the team, I was definitely at the bottom of the pack.  It's weird to me more than 20 years later I run nearly every day and actually run the whole time.

Probably my biggest moment of glory came my sophomore year.  Each September we traveled two-and-a-half hours south to Sikeston High School in southeast Missouri for their invitational race.  This race was a unique one in that there were four races, one for each grade level.  It wasn't the usual Freshmen, JV, and Varsity races.  Instead, freshmen raced freshmen, sophomores raced sophomores, and so on.  The other cool part of this race was instead of medals or ribbons, the top five runners on the school's team won a trophy.

That year the sophomore class was overflowing with runners.  I think there was probably ten or more on the squad.  So if our team won, the top five would get a trophy.  The junior team that year only had four runners.  Before the meet started and while we were all doing our warmups, I remember Coach Nelson calling me over to him.  He said "Hunsperger, you're running with the juniors today."  At first I thought it was a joke, then Coach explained to me that I was guaranteed a trophy.  It made sense to run one of the weaker sophomores, because the four juniors would place at the top.  Our cumulative five runner score would still be better than any other team.

Part of the sophomore team (1988)

When some of the other guys on my team and their parents heard the news, I remember them asking in disbelief, "Why him?"  I had to explain, it's not because Coach thought I was good.  It was to solely a move to round out the team and quite honestly give a guy who was never going to win a medal or a trophy one shot at it.  I think some were still upset by the decision, but I couldn't worry about that.  I had a race to run.

I was always nervous before meets anyway, but this event made me even more so.  I felt like I had something to prove, fhat I deserved to be with the older group.  I told myself I would not finish last.  I remember running the course (around 3 miles) and ending up neck and neck with a guy who talked to me for what seemed like an eternity. He told me he hated running and was only doing it because his basketball coach thought it would help with his conditioning.  I finally realized that he and I were the last two runners in this race and broke off into a sprint.  Sadly though, he caught me and crossed the finish line seconds before me.  I was last.  It's the one and only time I finished dead last.

It's not much, but it's mine

But just like Coach Nelson predicted, Sean, Clint, Doug, and Tim finished first through fourth, and even with Hunsperger bringing up the rear, we all got our trophy that day.  I still have it.  It's a reminder of that one shot at glory I had during high school athletics.  It also reminds me of the kindness Coach had to give me that opportunity.  It was 25 years ago, and I still remember it like it was yesterday.  Coach, if you happen to read this, thank you.  It meant the world to me then and still does today.

If you're reading this blog other than on the My 1-2-3 Cents page, click here for a look at other blogs by Kevin.