March 3, 2008

     Today's discourse is brought to you by three sponsors: Yogi, Jimmy V and Bluto Blutarsky.
     Yogi: “It ain't over till it's over.”
     Jimmy V: “Don't give up. Don't ever give up.”
     Bluto: “Over? Did you say 'over?' Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!”
     Yes, we are talking perseverance today. Mine, specifically. I'm the guy who likes to fill these pages about the substance of athletics, beyond any sense of mere entertainment and working up a good sweat.
     Except that we have two problems.
     Problem No. 1: There are plenty of eggheads who disagree when I say that high school kids learn just as much, if not more, from the rhythms of sport — dealing with success, failure, teammates, coaches and parents — than you do from the droning science teacher.
     Problem No. 2: I've written it so much that even the people who agree might read the words and start thinking, “blah, blah, blah, blah. And one more thing: blah.”
     Remember, though: Today is about perseverance.
     And the lesson will be taught by Ellie Kleinhans, a junior at East Lyme High.
     Ellie is a keeper. Good kid, bright kid, not afraid to express her opinion, as you'll see later. What she's learned through sports in the last few weeks won't just stay with her until basketball season ends.
     Roughly two weeks ago, Ellie was the protagonist in the wackiest ending of a sporting event in the Eastern Connecticut Conference this season. The East Lyme girls, down two, were about to lose a big lead and a league tournament game to Stonington when she was fouled with no time left on the clock. Or maybe there was time left. The buzzer sounded. Or maybe it didn't. All we needed was for the public address person to replace that ear-splitting, what-passes-for-music we usually hear inside gyms now with the theme from the Twilight Zone.
     And so the officials huddled at the scorers' table for a discussion. Vegas left it a pick 'em whether the discussion lasted longer than some marriages. The result: Ellie was left standing at the foul line waiting. And waiting. Maybe humming the Jeopardy theme.
     By the time she was awarded the free throws, she had more time to think than felons in solitary. The free throw left her hand and ... clank. Vikings lose. Forlorn expression. Bummer.
     Fast forward a few days later. East Lyme at Kennedy, Class L state tournament. Third quarter and ... boom. Ellie collides with her best friend, Carly Thibault. It was not, as reported by yours truly, an elbow that broke Thibault's nose. It was a collision. Ellie was quite clear about that after Saturday's game.
     “About that article,” she began.
     This was what Katie Douglas once described as “the wife look.” Only this was coming from a high school junior.
     Instructions when you get “the wife look” are 1. clam up; 2. listen carefully; 3. rinse. 4. repeat.
     Yes, Ellie made her point.
     But this was a much happier Ellie.
     And the point of today's installment.
     After living with that missed free throw and the happenstance of her friend's nose ... there was Ellie Kleinhans beaming on Saturday night. She played a wonderful game, helping East Lyme advance to the state semifinals with a win over Stonington.
     Ellie spent the night attached to Heather Buck, along with Emily Walker, Kathleen Asselin and Hannah Formica. Ellie also scored 10 points, including a three-pointer during a 14-1 run in the third period and a buzzer-beating jumper a few minutes later. The look on her face after the game was more “priceless” than anything on that credit card commercial.
     “I've known Ellie since she was 11,” East Lyme coach Al Lewis said. “A very resilient kid.”
     “After that (missed) free throw, I was really down,” Ellie said. “And I felt really bad about the thing with Carly. But we got through it. I had so much support from my teammates. We kept each other's spirits up.”
     It was only the best part about sports, the way they can knock you down and pick you up again, sometimes in the space of a few seconds, or in this case, a few days. Ellie Kleinhans never wallowed. She did the old Chumbawamba: she got knocked down and got up again.
     You'll excuse my I-told-you-so if I reiterate that such an enduring lesson is more likely taught through athletics than some classroom lecture.
     There. Now I feel better.
     Looking like Yogi, Jimmy V and Bluto are right again.