A special time

by J. Patrick Reilly

I remember a line in the movie “A League of Their Own” that speaks volumes about some athletic accomplishments this week.

Dottie Hinson was going home and was quitting baseball.  Her manager, Jimmy Duggan asked her why.  She said it got to be too hard.  Duggan replied—”It is supposed to be hard.  The hard is what makes it great.”

The Dodgeville co-op gymnastics team and the Barneveld girls basketball team turned the hard into great this past week.  The co-op team won the state tournament for the first time..  What makes it so great is that four school districts—Dodgeville, Mineral Point, Iowa-Grant and Highland have benefited from Julia Oellerich and staff’s knowledgeable and special coaching.

I know how hard that sport is.  While it looks like a thing of beauty because it is, the sport requires strength, courage and a desire to perform.  It takes a toll on the body.  

My granddaughter was a varsity gymnast who competed until her body would no longer allow it.  She stayed with the program as a manager and now teaches gymnastics in Madison.  She loves the sport but her competition was ended due to injuries.

There are falls, there are tumbles and there are injuries.  But when you love smething you do it.

Congratulations to the co-op and thank you for making it so special for four school districts.  Four trophy cases will be added to, four pep rallys will be held and a lifetime of memories will be with the athletes and coaches.

The Barneveld girls basketball team did it for Jimmy.

Jimmy is Jim Myers, a first class gentleman who could have stepped  away from the season to deal with a family tragedy.

But he didn’t step away, instead h choosing  to deal with his grief and keep the girls a priority, the same way his has for over 40 years.

It is a story that would be hard to write and much harder to live.

The team and of course Jim have my respect and no matter what happens in Green Bay they have proven they are winners in every sense of the word.

I am honored to be able to cover such dedicated athletes who are competing  with honor and  learning life lessons along the way.