Charley Tyler on Ken’s Think Tank Season 3, Episode 14

“I tried my daughter in all kinds of sports activities.  I tried her in soccer.  I tried her in volleyball because I knew she was going to be tall.  She hated the ball.  ‘The ball hurts.’  Oh my gosh.  I tried her in basketball.”

“But as an only child . . . When I coach children’s sports, I found out real easily . . . you find the kids who had siblings because they knew how to fight for the ball and go get the ball.  People who were only children . . . or as my daughter calls herself, the lonely child . . . they expect people to just give them the ball.  And that ain’t gonna happen that way.  You gotta go rebound the ball.  You gotta go kick the ball.”

“We never got very far except . . . I started her in golf.  The golf pro out at the country club asked me to come help out and maybe come ramrod some of the kids that were in the junior program out there.  Sure!  I’ll take off my lunch hours or whatever and spend it out here with you.”

“I found three girls.  This was the very first year that Piedra Vista was opening as a high school.  I found these three girls that were all going into the 8th grade.  I knew from being in the NMAA that 8^th graders could play high school sports.  If it’s not offered at the junior high, you can play high school sports.  I found these three girls that were all, for young kids, good golfers.”

“I said, you know what, I can pick you girls up because I know Piedra Vista is going to need a junior varsity golf team.  I found out real early once I started taking them to golf practice . . . girls golf, unlike boys golf . . . girls golf, if you own a set of sticks, you’re on the varsity.  There is no try out.  There were not enough girls to play sports.  All the girls wanted to play softball, they all wanted to play basketball or volleyball, and they didn’t want to play golf.”

“So these three girls all lettered as 8^th graders on the varsity team for Piedra Vista.  Lettered for five years, and their senior year, they won the state title.  That was the very first state title that Piedra Vista ever won in any sport was girls golf.”

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