http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLER
Confession time.
When I first heard we would be selecting, contacting and then writing about athletes of the week every Monday during the school year, I wasn't thrilled.
"It's not like we don't have enough to do," I thought.
But when I attended the first Coordinated Health Athlete of the Year banquet Tuesday night at Steelstacks, I felt foolish when thinking back to my initial reaction.
What a great idea. What a great group of kids and what a great night.
I've attended my share of banquets in the last few months -- the Via All-Star Basketball Banquet, the National Football Foundation Lehigh Valley Chapter banquet, the banquet to honor Blue Mountain League legend O.R. Pacchioli, Dieruff's Kiska Banquet where I was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame and I even MC'd the Lehigh Valley Sports Hall of Fame shindig.
I've heard my share of speeches and asked for the basket of rolls much more than my waistline would care to remember.
But I thought this banquet was as good as any because it recognized great kids from 22 different schools and 14 different sports. It was a celebration of excellent from Palisades to Palmerton and from East Stroudsburg South to Emmaus.
What was special was that there was $1,000 given to each weekly winner and considering the cost of a college education these days, you know that the money is so very worthwhile.
I had a sense of pride in knowing that I selected about eight of the winners, and got to at least cover many of the others in the room.
In the photo below using the former Bethlehem Steel stacks as a backdrop are the athletes I either selected or at least had a hand in selecting during the 2013-14. I make my share of mistakes, but I didn't miss with this crew. Good athletes, good kids. I have no doubt they're all going to be successful
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