FRIDAY REFLECTION
From the desk of Dr. Tuin, THS Principal
April 23, 2021
Recently every week has been packed with a myriad of athletic competitions. However, it isn’t every week that one of our teams wins an Empire League Championship, at least a share of it. Last Friday night our football team took the field for the last time this season. It was a beautiful evening and I sensed excitement and energy among our players before the game. I think the seniors in particular realized it was their last opportunity to play in high school, and they wanted to make the most of it. They came out of the gate strong scoring on their first drive and never looking back. The final score was 48-7 and it didn’t feel that close. Our boys showed up with full intensity and focus and found themselves celebrating the three way tie for first place. It was a joyful end to an incredibly grueling year of practice for what might be a potential season. As the team talked after the game on the field, I could sense their gratefulness for having stayed the course.
Throughout the game, there were some pretty impressive plays by many different players. It was fun to watch and in some cases marvel at the athletic ability exhibited and the precision on some of the plays. However, one of my favorite moments came in the final minutes. This is sometimes called “mop-up time” when plays are being run and the outcome has long been determined. In the waning moments of the game, the ball was handed to number 25. It wasn’t a number I had seen play the whole season. He ran hard, breaking a tackle and making some moves. I thought it was great this player had the opportunity to carry the ball a few times and experience a varsity game under the lights. After the game, as I was congratulating players and coaches, I realized number 25 was Jacob Quinn. Jacob faced some challenges in the past and didn’t always make the best choices. However, he never gave up and showed determination to complete courses he needed for graduation. Additionally, he wasn’t able to compete in earlier games. It would have been easy to give up and quit. Instead, he enthusiastically served his team on the sidelines helping with keeping track of the footballs and other assignments. He stayed engaged with the team despite so many opportunities to choose otherwise. His determination paid off Friday night as he carried the ball to end the final game. Those few plays will be seared into his memory for life, not just the actual experience, but the realization that his perseverance and focus made it happen. League Championships are awesome, but being part of a team and learning to overcome are invaluable lessons. I’m grateful for coaches and programs here in T-Town that see the bigger picture of what high school sports are all about.
Speaking of those coaches and programs, many of them competed this week at home. Boys and girls tennis were two of those teams. I appreciated watching our students out on the court engaged in the struggle. So many of our tennis players are amazing students in the classroom, and I was impressed with how intent they were in doing their best despite facing competition that in some cases out matched their current ability level. Competing in sports is easy and fun when in front or ahead. When the scoreboard isn’t favorable, that is when character is often built most, especially when those challenges are met head on with full intention of changing what sometimes feels like an inevitable outcome.
Other teams this week faced some tough situations similar to tennis. Boys basketball, boys and girls soccer and baseball all didn’t have satisfactory outcomes to their standards. However, in each case, they approached the competition with focus and desire. I took the supervision assignment to watch Tiller baseball play our cross town rival at the Great Park in Irvine. The setting was exceptional, playing in what felt like a professional minor league stadium. The score didn’t reflect how well our players competed, winning a number of small moments during the game. The other team was loaded with some talented players and our boys played right with them. I was proud of our kids for grinding and not going out easily.
Track and Swimming also hosted home meets this week providing our athletes opportunities to compete in their individual events in front of the parents and family. Track had some impressive individual performances again this week. Swimming also showed what happens when hard work consistently occurs over time. For the girls team, every varsity girl has now qualified for CIF in either an individual or relay event. From the boys team, Anders and Hayden Hundeby have both qualified for CIF in individual events. One of the things I appreciated most about the team on Wednesday, was observing the encouragement and genuine care for one another. At one point, a girl finished an arduous race. It was obvious the notion of climbing from the water to the deck was going to require everybit of what little strength she had left. One of the boys waiting for his race saw the slight predicament facing our Tiller in the water. He reached down and grabbed her arm to help escort her to the deck. It was a subtle moment, but impactful to me. Again, it is great to win, but the subtle lessons learned from competing on a team are worth far more than any single championship. Don’t get me wrong, our students want to win, but our coaches are committed to the more important lessons gained from high school athletics.
As I was watching on the pool deck, a parent asked me about the virtues of competing even though the prospect of winning isn’t likely. I didn’t have to think long to recall my experience playing football at a NCAA Division III school in Illinois. I showed up from Santa Ana, CA to play football for a team that was 6-3 the year before with a great deal of tradition and pride. Although we battled each week in many close games, our record ended at 1-8, not what we had hoped. Soon after that season, the coach was let go, and another coach took over. This was one of my favorite coaches and most meaningful mentors, Coach Schimmels. I learned a great deal that season, but as our 2-7 record suggested, those lessons came from more failures than accomplishments. A local high school football coaching legend was brought in to “save our program”. The 1-8 record communicates how that worked out, another learning experience based on more failures than successes. Then in my final year, I was selected to be the captain among a group of seniors who had only one 4 football games in three years. The person who selected me the defensive captain was our fourth coach. J.R. Bishop also had an impressive high school coaching record, and it was obvious from the start that he knew how to teach and lead players. Unfortunately, despite a couple of epic games against some formidable opponents, our record was 2-7. The very next year, Coach Bishop turned it around and won 6 games, never looking back. Since my woeful four seasons playing from 1979-1982, Wheaton College never had a losing season, other making it well into the NCAA Division III playoffs. I told this story to the parent hoping they would understand it was a difficult experience, but one in which served me well over the years dealing with adversity. Learning to show up and fully engage despite the likelihood of defeat built some invisible muscles I had to drew from many times as an educational leader. Looking back, I can see how that experience was probably one of the most important experiences of my young life. I write this making the link to some of our students and programs who don’t always “win”. I am proud of how our students prepare, push, compete and come together as a team despite the outcome.
While athletics continues to dominate the calendar as we try to fit it all in within a few months, there was so much more going on this week in our school. One of my highlights was celebrating and recognizing our office support staff. Wednesday was “administrative office assistants day” and we gather in my office to show our appreciation for our team who works hard to make sure everything gets done. We have some incredible people doing the everyday work of making sure everything is tracked, recorded, communicated, paid for, ordered, etc. We appreciate our team so much, and it was great to stop and take a little time to intentionally share that appreciation!
We also continued to celebrate students among departments, and also celebrate students announcing college intentions with #accepted. One Tuesday, we also celebrated our students who earned the State Seal of Biliteracy. This is an impressive accomplishment to validate impressive academic performances the acquisition of at least two languages. The teachers put together a meaningful collection of a certificate, a beautiful medal and some goodies. Students had their picture taken by themselves, with other students, with teachers and with family. It was a special time to recognize such a significant accomplishment of about 125 students!!
Another important event this week was our 2nd of three committee meetings to prepare for coming back to school next year and starting our next 100 years. As each of the committees shared an update to the work being accomplished to ensure we approach next with intentionality and purpose, I was impressed. There are 40 are about teachers and staff involved in committees focused on Starting the Year Well, PBIS, Family Engagement, School Wide EL Support and Interventions. There are also two other important committees working to establish activities and events, as well as celebrations for the 100 year anniversary. The next year will no doubt be challenging, and some students will return to school after an 18 month absence from the classroom. Regardless, we are determined to get us back on track and move beyond “normal”.
All the reflecting on the past year and considering next year, caused me to appreciate the Instrumental Music Program all that much more. Students performed live for the first time in 15 months in front of family. There was an attempt to stream live, but like so many times this year, didn’t go quite as planned. The program was recorded though, and hopefully more will have a chance to appreciate the hard work from our students and teachers to put the show together. The drumline and winterguard performed routines live they submitted for competition, both earning at least one first place. As the winterguard moved gracefully across the floor to soothing music, I thought about all they had to overcome this year to be able to perform. This was a difficult year for sure. We have learned so much, especially related to technology. However, I think we also learned how important it is to work together and be connected. I am so looking forward to next year when we can get connected and again and get to work. There were so many aspects of this year that will serve us well moving forward, but I am ready to move on. We still have 6 important weeks to invest, end well and celebrate our seniors, but I am also ready to take these life lessons and apply them in a more connected form of school next year.
Go Tillers!
Dr. Jon Tuin
Tustin High School Principal
Contact us!
Email: THSInfo@tustin.k12.ca.us
Website: https://www.tustin.k12.ca.us/tustin-high
Location: 1171 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92780, USA
Phone: 714-730-7414
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Twitter: @TustinHS