Before I get into how badly I botched my last column, there is a
great story I wanted to share with all of you.
Swimming is one of those sports that sometimes receives a
general recap because there are so many people involved and much of
the action goes unseen under the water. A great swim is only
apparent (at least to some of us) if you’re holding a stopwatch or
the competition is noticeably left behind in the distance.
But for Gilroy High junior David Pribyl, last weekend’s 10th
place showing in the 100 breast stroke at the Central Coast Section
Championships was a great performance on so many levels.
Before I get into how badly I botched my last column, there is a great story I wanted to share with all of you.
Swimming is one of those sports that sometimes receives a general recap because there are so many people involved and much of the action goes unseen under the water. A great swim is only apparent (at least to some of us) if you’re holding a stopwatch or the competition is noticeably left behind in the distance.
But for Gilroy High junior David Pribyl, last weekend’s 10th place showing in the 100 breast stroke at the Central Coast Section Championships was a great performance on so many levels.
Along with Eddie Malick, who took 11th in the same event, Pribyl helped Gilroy acquire prestigious CCS points at the meet, giving the Mustangs the highest finish of all Tri-County Athletic League schools present.
Add a bit of redemption and a dedication to an ailing grandmother, and Pribyl’s performance is as close as one gets to a feel-good story.
Last year at CCS, Pribyl was leading the 100 fly by such a wide margin that he worried halfway through that he might have false-started. Seeing a CCS official standing above his lane, staring down at him as he came closer to the wall, Pribyl broke stroke, thinking the jig was up. It turns out his lead was legitimate, but his lapse caused him to be disqualified. It was the best race of his life and he stopped short.
This year he hoped things would be different. Focused on getting the most out of the last meet of the season, Pribyl was stunned to find out a day before CCS that his grandmother, Marion Smith, was in the hospital after suffering a heart attack.
“I was really surprised because usually my grandma is stronger than all of us,” he said.
Visiting her in the hospital on the eve of the biggest race of his life, Pribyl got all the motivation he needed to do her, and himself, proud.
“She told me to swim as fast as I had in my whole life and see how far up the ladder I could get,” Pribyl said.
While he was getting into the pool the next day, his grandma was going into surgery.
“There was a chance she could have died during the operation, so I was worried about it the entire day,” he said.
That nervous energy resulted in a personal-record time of 1 minute, 1.7 seconds, and the best news he could ever give his grandma, who is now doing well in recovery.
“She got this big ol’ grin on her face and said, ‘That’s David,’ ” Pribyl said. “She was really glad, and I was glad I made her happy.
“But I was mostly glad that she was OK.”
And as for making up for last year’s gaffe?
“It was great. I finally could let that go,” Pribyl said. “I redeemed myself and it kind of changed everything after that. All season I was worried about, ‘What if I mess up again in CCS?’ I was determined to not let it happen again, and it didn’t.”
That is how you end a season on a high note.
Back to the Private/Public school debate
Tuesday’s column might have rubbed some people the wrong way, and by people I mean those from private schools. I can see why.
If coaches and athletes are going to get called out in the paper for poor performances, I can admit when one of my own articles has some glaring omissions, and turns out to be a brick.
It’s important to note not every athlete from a private school, such as Palma or the West Catholic Athletic League members, is on scholarship, and very few fit the model of the Arthur Agee, “Hoop Dreams” archetype.
One parent of a former private school athlete told me they thought roughly 10 percent of student-athletes were getting financial-aid assistance to attend a private school in San Jose. That parent then added that even if it works out to be a “scholarship,” and there is no way the money would be paid back in full, the school will substitute other requirements to compensate for the cost of tuition. Volunteering for the most mundane of tasks such as operating the snack shack or pitching in with school repair are just a couple examples. If someone in the family has a skill, it will be utilized to repay the debt.
Conversely, public schools have advantages over private schools that several people I spoke with were quick to point out.
Gilroy and San Benito may not be able to recruit kids for a variety of purposes (band, drama, sports, etc.), but when you’re the only show in town, that’s pretty much a recruiting tool in itself. There is no reason to think any school with 2,400-plus enrollments can’t compete with the best in the Bay Area in most sports. Over the past year, I think that has been proven, especially by Gilroy football and wrestling, San Benito girls volleyball and basketball, and an assortment of other teams.
That’s a credit to both school’s strong athletic departments, which starts with the Athletic Directors (Jack Daley for Gilroy and Tod Thatcher for San Benito) and on down to the dedicated coaches and athletes.
A free education, middle schools that act as feeder programs and a community where just about everyone is familiar with one another is the best situation a public school could ask for when it comes to competing with the private schools, even if kids can’t be recruited.
As one Gilroyan told me, “You got two major grocery stores in town, you got a junior high school that doesn’t have a sports complex so they have to play at the high school – I’m not saying they’re doing anything illegal (recruiting-wise), but everybody is running into everybody.”
So add all this up, and my argument is still the same. An Open Division for all major sports, the ones that actually put fans in the stands, will give us better playoffs and better champions. It will also cut back on the lopsided matchups in early rounds. The private schools will still be there in the end most times because that 10 percent of gifted athletes on scholarship does make a difference. But it doesn’t mean they will always win.
The argument for an Open Division, I believe, should be even greater for the smaller public schools, which assemble championship programs sporadically.
So, I’ve said my peace. Now let me know what you think.
Call the Green Phone at (408) 842-9069 or e-mail
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