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An athletic loss of a different kind ... A tribute to Eric Wade
Retired Nevada High School Athletic Director
Athletics are often the front porch to a school district. They are the most visible, most attended school events in small town communities like Nevada. With these contests come the thrills of winning and the lows that are attached to defeat. Losing, as much as winning, can provide great educational lessons. The Nevada-Vernon County athletic community will experience an athletic loss of a different kind on Thursday, July 3, when Sports Editor Eric Wade gathers the items from his desk at the Nevada Daily Mail and moves on to new challenges and his resignation takes place.
Eric joined the Daily Mail on a full-time basis in June of 2008, left a brief time for illness and then rejoined the Daily Mail in August of 2012. He has been the "story teller," through picture and word, of some of the greatest athletes and teams in the long history of Nevada High School. Among the stories he has covered during his tenure:
* The 2010 NHS Lady Tiger Softball State Softball Champions
* The resurgence of Nevada Tiger Football
* The extremely successful run of Nevada Tiger Baseball
* The long struggle of Nevada High School to seek conference affiliation and its subsequent success and entry into the West Central Conference
* The inductions of 12 athletes and three historic teams into the Nevada High School Athletic Wall of Fame
In addition he has covered the Cottey Comets basketball and softball teams plus the athletic fortunes of the various county schools (NEVC, Bronaugh, Sheldon and Hume), not to mention weekly coverage of junior high through junior varsity squads throughout the Nevada R-5 School District. And when school is out in the summer, he covers the Nevada Griffons Baseball Club. Now, I want everybody to stop and think about that ... five high schools, a college, and multiple middle school sporting events. When my nights were done at NHS as a coach or athletic supervisor, I locked up the gym and went home to bed .... Eric's work had just begun.
Eric had the ability to cover high school athletics with class and an extension of dignity to the coaches and young athletes he covered. Always sporting a ball cap and a smile, he earned respect and admiration of the athletes and coaches he covered. If you are a Nevada area athlete, Eric told your story for the last six years. His efforts and labor will not only be chronicled in the Daily Mails annals, but in the scrapbook of many of an athlete reading this column. I asked two former athletes, and one departing athlete, to reflect on Mr. Wade when I learned of his impending departure:
* Sam Ellifrits, All State Lineman, Nevada Tiger Football and on scholarship at Missouri State University:
Yes, I kept every single article .... It means a lot looking back at the articles Eric wrote, it's like a timeline of my life. Every time I come home I find myself going through all the old clippings from high school and smiling. They're a cherished memory that I can look back on because of Eric Wade. I thought he was not only a great sports writer that told it how it was (good or bad), but also a great person of character and perseverance ....
* Christian Novak: Multi-time All State pitcher, Nevada Lady Tiger Softball, 2010 State Champion Nevada Lady Tigers and current pitcher on scholarship with the University of Memphis
I kept every article written about the Nevada softball team while I was a player, as well as every article written about my personal softball career ... looking at the words my parents have framed in their office about the 2010 state championship softball team that I was lucky enough to be part of, I feel so blessed to have a writer who covered everything so well and thoroughly. It makes the memories come alive as if it was the day we won. The words I've kept will be with me even as my memories fade away.
* Alex Payne: Multi-sport All District selection, four-year starting quarterback for the Nevada Football Tigers AND a four-year starter on the record winning Nevada Tiger baseball team, has signed with Iowa Wesleyan to continue his athletic career:
Having Eric's articles over the past four years means a lot to me. I can look back at every game and remember what happened. The good and the bad. It's memories that I can relive, even though I can't play the games again. I only got four years at Nevada. Something I'm grateful for. My friends and I got to be part of something special and we can remember all of it because of Eric and the paper. It'll be something I can show to my kids about when my friends and I were in high school.
Eric ends the debate on how much individuals with disabilities can contribute to our sporting experience ... let alone our society and culture. His story is relevant to every future or current athlete in that it teaches a valuable lesson in, to borrow a term from Sam Ellifrits, "perseverance."
John Anderson of ESPN once said, "There are times when we ask an awful lot of our sports. Times, when in addition to the final score and fun, we want sports to instill values and hard work ... to amaze and inspire and on occasion it delivers." Usually that comes from the athletes on the field of play ... but not always.
I learned from my favorite novel ("To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee), that those who are different are often among society's most valuable. People with disabilities frequently do so in constant doubt as to their contributions and abilities by the public at large. If there were ever a present day lesson current society can look to, to understand why we should fully appreciate those significant contributions, Eric Wade should be the example. Most kids and adults ... challenged or not ... are simply looking for respect and a chance .... growing up what they often get in return is something far different. Eric Wade has earned the respect and admiration of many in our community.
At the close of "To Kill A Mocking Bird," the narrator shares one of my favorite quotes that has a profound and timeless meaning:
"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them."
Just standing next to Eric was enough ....