By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Long after the shrimp had been sautéed, ESPN anchor Stuart Scott told his last “short” joke and the spiffy video montages had been rolled, Matt Barkley endured one last interview on Wednesday afternoon.
Like the other 11 Gatorade national high school Players of the Year, the incoming Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) senior quarterback had been sports drinked and dined in the sixth annual luncheon and year-end awards banquet at the swank Sofitel Hotel in Tinseltown.
For the previous 90 minutes, they had been peppered with every inquiry known to prep kind by more than 20 media outlets.
This query, however, caused Barkley to scramble out of the pocket.
“So what do you make of the Favre situation?”
Barkley gave a quick quizzical scowl, and then smirked slightly.
“You mean Brett Favre? And the stuff he’s going through with the Packers?”
You won’t find a more seasoned 17-year-old than Barkley, who nodded and pondered for a moment. He’s been a starter since his freshman year for one of the country’s most visible and elite programs. He’s considered the nation’s top 2009 recruit not only for his quick release, footwork and strong arm, but his ability to quickly read defenses and blitzes.
Still, what possible perspective could a wide-eyed, baby-skinned teenager offer to a polarizing, over-wrought, over-dramatized national sports debate?
“Well,” he said. “I couldn’t possibly know all he’s going through – he’s been doing it so long – but I know how much I love the game. I know as a quarterback you feel so connected to your team. It’s so tight knit. You go through such highs and lows and experience them all together.
“I know I’m young but I feel like the relationships I have with my teammates will last a lifetime. So I can only imagine the ties he has with teammates and coaches and fans. Whether you’re in high school or the pros it would be so hard to walk away.”
Perfect.
Barkley avoided the rush and threaded the needle.
Touchdown.
He demonstrated not only why he was chosen the overall male athlete of the year – middle distance runner Chanelle Price (Easton High, Pa.) was the overall female winner – but he personified a surprisingly grounded and humble aura around this definitive dozen.
Keep in mind, this is the crème of the crème.
These six boys and six girls – all recently graduated seniors except Barkley, cross-country standout Ashley Brasovan (Wellington, Fla.) and softball pitcher Kenzie Fowler (Canyon del Oro, Oro Valley, Ariz.) – were honored later that night at the ESPYs, the Academy Awards show for all athletics that will air Sunday night on ESPN.
They’ve been the center of the prep universe for the last two to four years, a time when high school sports have skyrocketed to new media dimensions: cable networks, national on-line products, video and audio streaming.
Kids have never been so exposed and this dozen – on this glitzy day at this cathedral setting – have been perched to its highest point.
“At times it can be a little overwhelming,” said girls Volleyball Player of the Year Kelly Murphy from Joliet Catholic (Joliet, Ill.). “And this…this is definitely overwhelming.”
Said girls Soccer Player of the Year Teresa Noyola (Palo Alto, Calif.), the youngest player ever to make the under-20 national team: (See Krider feature on Noyola). “We’ve pretty much been treated like professional athletes which were obviously not. It’s really important for us to stay grounded because we have such a long way to go.”
So how exactly do these kids in their teens, an age when most are forming their own identity, keep their heads on straight? More to the point, how do they keep them on at all with so many coaches, journalists and recruiters filling it with constant praise and hyperbole?
“You just have to filter so much of it out,” said girls Basketball Player of the Year and Stanford-bound Nneka Ogwumike (Cy-Fair, Cypress, Texas), the MaxPreps overall Female Athlete of the Year. “People are going to tell you how great you are but you can’t reflect on it. You just keep working harder.”
Baseball Player of the Year Kyle Skipworth said he’s not always filled full of Skipworthyness. His baseball buddies at Patriot High in Riverside, Calif. give him a constant slices of humble pie. (See Krider feature on Skipworth).
“When I sucked they’d tell me I suck,” said the No. 6 overall pick in the June draft by the Marlins. “But they always had my back. We had each other’s back. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Said Murphy: “Once you get home and are around family and friends they don’t care about the awards or games you won. You can just go back and be normal.”
Said Noyola: “I think just staying connected to your community and being grateful for your parents and teammates is key. Though they’ll always praise you, they’ll also keep you grounded so you don’t get caught up in all the glory.”
A majority of the of the dozen mentioned a spiritual strength as their guide to staying grounded.
“First off I want to thank God,” Price said during her very eloquent acceptance speech. “He’s blessed me with a lot of talent and my job is to simply fill the path he set for me.”
Virtually every one of the winners said strong parenting kept them balanced.
“It’s all about family values,” Skipworth said. “Everything they instilled in me after 17 years isn’t going to change in two weeks after receiving an award.”
Even with strong parenting and spiritual guidance, kids who become superstars at such an early age can easily lose perspective.
Not necessarily Fowler, who came back from life-threatening surgery (blood clots to her shoulder) to go 24-1 with a 0.28 ERA and 309 strikeouts last season. (See Dave Krider story).
“That definitely changed everything for me,” she said. “I think before (the surgeries) I was too young to really know what was going on or wonder how good I was. Now I realize how quickly things can be taken away. I live life in every moment.”
Price and Riverbank senior German Fernandez, the two track and field athletes of the year, stay on point by simply never looking back.
Not so easy when you have the seasons each had – Price qualifying for the Olympic trials and recording the second best 800 in high school history (2:01.61), while Fernandez obliterated national cross-country and 1,600 and 3,200 track marks.
“I think it’s fairly easy to stay humble because there is so much more to achieve,” Price said. “What I’ve achieved is great, but until I set that one goal – to be the best 800 meter runner in the world – I won’t be happy. I won’t be satisfied.”
Same goes for Fernandez, who said his senior year has been a dream that just keeps “going and going and going. I never want to wake up.
“I just try to think about the Olympics, that’s my ultimate goal. I don’t just want to get there though. I want to win a gold medal for the USA.”
Boys Basketball Player of the Year Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall, North Hollywood, Calif.) never worries about over-confidence. His dad is a former professional athlete and his brother a college basketball player.
“I’m really uncomfortable with a lot of praise,” he said.
Holiday a massive talent who averaged 25.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 4.6 steals and 2.4 blocks per game, took humble to an entirely different level.
Even another sport. He volunteered to be the girls tennis team manager last fall.
“I’d never seen a tennis match before so I went out and watched,” he said. “I noticed they had some really good food so I stuck around. Then I watched one of our doubles team win in about 10 minutes and they thought I was good luck so they asked me to be the manager.
“I thought why not?”
The managerial role wasn’t completely altruistic.
“Well, I got to travel everywhere with them – Santa Barbara and Malibu – and on the bus there were 12 girls and one guy. That’s a pretty good ratio.”
It’s always a good chance that the skilled and tireless folks at Gatorade, who have been handing out awards for almost three decades, aren’t going to pick any lemons.
Out of the 7.3-million high school athletes, they pluck not only the elite with gaudy on-field numbers, but scholars with ridiculous GPAs and community service leaders.
To ensure the dozen weren’t blinded by the La-La land spotlight, they treated – or grounded – them to a night of bowling as their one activity.
Did we mention they were located smack dab in the middle of Hollywood: aka, trouble?
“It was a blast,” said Fowler, who led the girls with a score of 147. “I think I had an advantage being an under-handed sport.”
Fernandez led the boys with a 162, though Holiday, whose family bowls in a league, said he didn’t keep score. Likely, he was just trying to stay out of the bowling limelight.
He’ll stick with the other hardwood.
“It was just very cool hanging with all these great people and athletes,” Holiday said.
Said Skipworth: “Honestly, I was kind of in awe meeting all these great athletes. Turned out they were better people than athletes.”
GATORADE’S MIGHTY DOZEN
BOYS
Baseball – Kyle Skipworth (Patriot, Riverside, Calif.). Senior catcher hit .543 with 51 runs, 47 RBIs and 13 home runs. Set state record with 18 straight hits in 18 official at-bats. No. 6 pick overall by Florida Marlins. Playing currently in Marlins farm system. GPA: 3.81. College: Committed to Arizona State but signed with Marlins.
Basketball – Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall, North Hollywood, Calif.). Senior averaged 25.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 4.6 steals and 2.4 blocks. Led team to two straight state titles. College: UCLA.
Cross country – Chris Derrick (Neuqua Valley, Naperville, Ill.). Senior ran the fastest 5K ever in high school-only race (13.55.96) at Arcadia Invitational. Led Naperville to 2007 Nike team national title. GPA: 4.57. College: Stanford.
Football – Matt Barkley (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif.). Junior quarterback completed 63 percent of passes for 3,576 yards and 36 touchdowns. GPA: 3.77. College: USC.
Soccer – Chris Agorsor (McDonogh School, Owings Mills, Md.). Senior scored 24 goals and had eight assists in 15 games. 88 career goals, 43 assists. College: Virginia.
Track and Field – German Fernandez (Riverbank, Calif.). Senior set a national and state-meet record in the 1,600 (4:00.29) and just missed 3,200 mark in the 3,200 (8:34.23). Also set national 2-mile record. GPA: 3.25. College: Oklahoma State.
GIRLS
Basketball – Nneka Ogwumike (Cy-Fair, Cypress, Texas). Senior forward averaged 18.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. McDonald’s All-American led team to state 5A title. MaxPreps overall Athlete of the Year. GPA: 3.86. Class President. Homecoming Queen. College: Stanford.
Cross Country - Ashley Brasovan (Wellington, Fla.). Junior won 2007 Foot Locker national championship (17.20). Nike Indoor Nationals 2-mile champion (10:25.41). Three-time 4A state champion. GPA: 4.44.
Soccer – Teresa Noyola (Palo Alto, Calif.). Senior had 18 goals and seven assists in 16 games. First-ever two-time Parade Player of the Year. GPA: 4.44. College: Stanford.
Softball – Kenzie Fowler (Canyon del Oro, Oro Valley, Ariz.). Junior went 24-1 with 309 strikeouts in 148.2 innings and 0.28 ERA. Hit .448 with .707 slugging percentage and five home runs. GPA: 3.45. College: Arizona.
Track and Field – Chanelle Price (Easton, Pa.). Senior clocked the second fastest 800 ever by a high school runner, going 2:01.61 at the Prefontaine Classic. Three time PIAA 3A 800 champion. Academics: 99.28 average. College: Tennessee.
Volleyball – Kelly Murphy (Joliet Catholic, Joliet, Ill.). Senior outside hitter/setter recorded 414 kills, 303 assists, 121 digs and 55 aces. No. 1 recruit in country according to PrepVolleyball.com. GPA: 4.52. College: Florida.
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com
