Life's setbacks can create opportunities

Sometimes what’s really important in life gets convoluted during the course of athletic competition. Athletes or coaches are so compelled to win that it becomes winning at all cost.

I remember back in 1985, former Denver Nuggets power forward Calvin Natt needed knee surgery that would have ended his season before the Nuggets were scheduled to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Finals.

I don’t really know all the circumstances, but I’m guessing Natt, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, figured he might not get another chance at a Western Finals with the chance to play for a World Championship hanging in the balance. He chose one last time against “Showtime” — Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the boys. Being from Denver, I’m a little bias, but the Nuggets had their chances, taking one in Denver and losing in the final minute of a couple more before bowing out after Game 5. Natt had 30 points and seven rebounds in Game 5.

Where I’m going with all of this is that Natt, a grown man, chose to play rather than have surgery. He chose the game over good health and the ability to walk up stairs when he was 40. His career ended shortly after that, but he did chase the dream.

I am proud to report, the game didn’t supersede good judgment in Quincy this past weekend when the boys soccer team traveled to Toppenish for the second round of the 2A state soccer tournament. Doctors discovered a heartbeat disorder with senior striker Francisco Alejandrez earlier in the week and said he shouldn’t play. There is no question Alejandrez’s heart was with the game and another run with a team featuring 12 seniors.

I give a great amount of credit to Jacks coach Arturo Guerrero for sitting his superstar. There would be no forgiveness if he dropped dead playing a game he loves with fair warning. Coaches with lesser morality might have taken the chance, but Guerrero did the right thing because it was the right thing to do.

“I am so proud of how he handled it,” the Quincy coach said. “He wanted to play so badly, to be out there with his teammates, his brothers. But he realized the risk was too great and he actually helped me coach a little bit.”

Let’s not pretend it wasn’t hard for Alejandrez to watch what easily could have been his last high school soccer match. But he was right there on the bench providing what support he could.

“I have asthma too, so it made it that much worse. Right now, my heart is a beat slower,” said Alejandrez, who’s getting some looks from college coaches. “I just told my teammates to work hard and we were going to go out and get this win. I told them what I would do and maybe that would help.”

The Jacks went out and bought Alejandrez another day, beating the Central Washington Athletic Conference rival Toppenish for the second time in 11 days. This band of brothers rallied around their field general. Not so much win one for the Gipper, but winning one for the good of a proud Quincy tradition.

“Winning (here in Toppenish) means a lot. They are a very competitive team and they play hard,” said Alejandrez, who had two goals in the tournament opener against Pullman. “We beat them in districts and again today. I’m proud of this team and how we stuck together.”

They say there is no stronger bond than brothers who become friends, except maybe the bond between friends who have become brothers.

Rodney Harwood covers sports and business for the Columbia Basin Herald. He can be reached via email, businessag@columbiabasinherald.com.