4 Chapter 3 High-School Challenges

Chapter 3 High-School Challenges Derek wanted to go to Kalamazoo Central. It was, after all, right in his backyard. His best friends were going there, too. Central was big. One thousand students attended the three-story brick building.

Charles and Dot wanted Derek to go to a Catholic high school. They knew Derek wanted to play high-school basketball, as well as baseball. The Catholic school was smaller. Derek had a better chance of making both teams there. Derek was not going to give in easily. He made a deal with his mother. That summer he was going to try out for a really good summer basketball team called the Kalamazoo Blues. If he made the team, his mom agreed he could go to Central. During tryouts for the Blues, Derek won every running drill. When other boys said they were too tired to keep practicing, Derek said he was ready for more. He made the team. The summer passed with Derek playing basketball—and baseball, too, of course. Then, just before Derek started Central, his parents sat him down for a talk.

His parents explained what they expected of Derek for high school. They had a contract for him to sign. They talked about grades, about girls, and about sports. They came up with a set of rules. Some were simple, like "Eat your lunch!" Others were harder: No baseball if he failed a class. No baseball if he smoked, drank, or did drugs. His dad felt this was especially important. Charles was a substance-abuse counselor. He helped people who had problems with drugs and alcohol. He'd seen firsthand what could happen to teenagers. It all made sense to Derek. He was scared to do that stuff anyway. He knew it was bad

for his body—and bad for his game. Besides, he wanted to make his parents proud. Sharlee had a different view. "Derek was a wimp," she joked later. Derek signed the contract. He was ready for high school. He made the Central basketball team and played all winter. Then, one cold February day, baseball tryouts were called. Derek headed to the gym with the other freshmen. The junior varsity coach was in charge.

"JV" teams are younger, with less experience than varsity. Varsity teams have the best players. The coach hit some balls to the freshmen. Derek caught one, then fired it to first base. The throw was so strong, the coach called in the varsity coach. The varsity coach liked what he saw. But Derek didn't make varsity, at least not right away. For most of the season, he stayed on JV. Then the senior shortstop agreed to step aside. He knew Derek was the better player. "As long as you keep batting me third," the senior told the coach, "that's fine." Derek moved up. He was on high-school varsity, at only fourteen!

That summer he joined a high-level baseball team called the Maroons. The team played about seventy-five games, with little time to practice. In snowy Michigan, athletes could only play outdoors a few months of the year. Derek wanted to make every minute of summer count. So he came early to games. He stayed late. As long as someone would pitch or hit to him, he'd stay to practice.