JANUARY 15, 2002
Smoke Signals 5
Local Athletes Get Top Grades in the Classroom
Willamina students are changing area perceptions about their school.
By Chris Mercier
If Willamina High
School's own student ath
letes have made a concerted
effort to dispel the myth of
dumb jock stereotypes,
they're not letting on. But
then again, maybe just
maybe they enjoy the satis
faction of a well-deserved
report card just as much as
a hard-earned victory in
their respective sports.
Whatever the reason,
2001 was a remarkable year
for athletes at Willamina High
School (WHS), not because they've
kicked butt on the courts and fields.
No, they've been kicking some seri
ous tail in the classroom as well.
The average Grade Point Aver
age of a Willamina athlete partici
pating in fall sports this year
football, cross-country, volleyball
was anywhere from 3.29 to 3.70,
good for fourth among 2A schools
in the state of Oregon. Twelve stu
dent athletes had 4.0 GPA's.
"It's pretty amazing the grades
they have considering all they do,"
said WHS Athletic Director Jerry
Buczynski. "We should be amazed
at what they accomplish at their
age, especially with their workload."
Buczynski has worked at WHS in
a variety of capacities over the last
19 years, many of them coaching
positions. Few people know better
than him just how demanding the
act of balancing athletics and aca
demics can be.
"Between practice every other
day, games, and homework, these
kids don't have a whole lot of time,"
he said.
Which makes WHS accomplish
ment all the more impressive. The
Oregon State Athletic Association
began it's academic watch four
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years ago under the sponsorship of
the Oregon Dairy Farmers, the idea
being to make sure that kids' grades
don't slip while engaging in sports,
thus keeping goals of college en
tirely realistic.
"Some kids don't understand the
importance of GPA until it's too
late," Buczynski said. "They start
looking at college their senior years.
What's it take to get into U of O
(University of Oregon), a 3.25 GPA?
They look at that and say 'Uh-oh'."
Fortunately, that particular sce
nario hasn't been commonplace,
though it happens enough to warn
others. But with coaches and peers
constantly emphasizing academics,
and with a single "F" grade mak
ing a student ineligible for sports,
athletes have more motivation. In
fact, Buczynski has noticed that on
average, athletes tend to have
higher GPA's than normal stu
dents, and almost specifically for
those reasons, among others.
Other reasons may include the
system of progress reports set up by
OSAA. Every three weeks teach
ers submit athletes' grades to
coaches and staff. An "F" gets a stu
dent athlete suspended from their
respected sport for one week. If af
ter six weeks the "F" still lingers, a
two-week suspension follows. At
nine weeks, a three-week suspen
sion ensues. Should a student ath
lete receive an "F" for an entire
term, then the following term they
may not participate in sports what
soever. "The eligibility standards are al
ways in place," said Buczynski.
Moreover, he said, it is not un
usual for coaches; ever the discipli
narians to even demand athletes
skip practices to catch up on home
work. Buczynksi can remember
watching one coach forcing a player
to spend an entire practice study
ing and doing homework, while
teammates scrimmaged. Such mea
sures evidently work.
Patrick Willis, a senior, has man
aged to maintain a 4.00 GPA, a tes
tament to discipline that he called
"tough."
"This really keeps your schedule
full," he said. "My days are just
packed."
Like many of his peers, Willis en
gages in sports year-round, spend
ing his autumns on the cross-country
team, winters with wrestling,
and each spring on the track squad.
Tack on to that a senior project, and
it's no wonder Willis calls Sunday
"the only free day I have."
Junior Matt Zimbrick, a Grand
Ronde Tribal member, also lives as
a three-sport guy, playing football
as a wide receiver and free safety,
playing out winters on the basket
ball squad and each spring doing
track. All that with a 3.80 GPA.
"Yeah, I don't have a whole lot of
free time either," he said, noting
that basketball is the toughest since
they must practice nearly every day
and have two or three games a
week.
Tribal member Caitlin Zimbrick,
a sophomore, agreed that basket
ball is the toughest on her sched
ule as well. Volleyball, in fact, she
said is pretty easy on one's sched
ule. She also does track, making
her a three-sport student athlete
with a GPA of 4.00.
Does the discipline of sports carry
over into academics? Apparently,
since all three students plan on go
ing to college, which with their
GPA's shouldn't be any problem. H
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Bulldog Hoops - Basketball season in the West
Valley is in full swing at Willamina High School. A recent
date with the junior varsity teams from Amity gave Tribal
members HighPine Eastman (top, 22), Andrea Childers
(far left) and Janell Lara the opportunity to get out on
the court and show their skills in front of the home crowd
on Saturday, January 5 in Willamina.
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