Honor Them

School shootings – in fact, violence in schools – is a much more complicated issue than most pundits care to admit. There are many layers to the problem of violence in our schools, whether we are talking about the incidents like what occurred at Oxford or the daily violence that many other schools across our nation fall victim to. 

Bumper sticker solutions cannot solve complex problems. My thoughts today are not for or against the second amendment. They are not in favor of the Democrat or Republican talking points. Nor do they touch upon legal issues or even the educational system. 

But I do want to touch upon one aspect of the coverage of this tragedy.

We say we want better kids. We say we want safer schools. We say we want a world that is less evil. We even sometimes complain about today’s youth. “Kids these days” may even be a phrase that crosses our lips.

Most of us know the name of the shooter and his parents. But how many of us know the names of the victims? We often focus on the negative and not the positive. We so desperately want to find out why a 15-year-old would do something of this magnitude, or even why parents could raise someone that was capable of this horrific act.

But we aren’t talking about the victims. We aren’t talking about the impact they had on others.

We aren’t talking about Hana St. Juliana, who was a volleyball and basketball player.

We aren’t talking about Madisyn Baldwin, who was a talented artist.

We aren’t talking about Justin Shilling, who was on the golf team and co-captain of the bowling team.

We aren’t talking about Tate Myre.

But we should be. 

Tate Myre should be a household name today. He was a star football player and a state-qualifying wrestler who reportedly tried to stop the shooter.

Tate Myre didn’t run. He didn’t hide. He sprang into action trying to be a solution to a problem. He didn’t have time to think. He didn’t make calculations on a spreadsheet as to the cost-benefit analysis of his actions.

Tate Myre didn’t want to die that day.

But just like every time he lowered his shoulder in a violent collision on the football field, he didn’t consider the possibility of injury. He just did what he needed to do. He just did what his teammates needed him to do.

His last day on earth found Tate Myre doing what his Oxford HS classmates needed him to do. They were his teammates that day.

Tate Myre had football talent that caught the eye of various college programs. In fact, just days before his death he was on the University of Toledo campus for a football game. But it was his leadership, character, and team-first mentality that made him someone coaches wanted in their program.

The young man he had developed into didn’t just make him a successful football player and wrestler, but an outstanding person.

We can’t always account for everything that can go wrong in this world. Bad things will happen. People will do not unexplainably horrible things. We can’t always predict or even prevent these things. Sure, we can learn something from everything we encounter but we need to focus on the things we can control. More importantly, we need to focus on the positives when we see them in our young people.

Our young people encounter situations daily that requires strength of character. They are regularly tested in their decision-making. We need to talk about the good choices they make. We need to catch them being good. We need to reaffirm their potential. We need to hold them up – not as perfect and without fault – but as examples of what can be. 

As coaches, we regularly drill the things that are most important. We try to create repeatable habits that become almost automatic. We want our athletes to do what they’re supposed to do almost without thinking. It just becomes who they are. Running a certain play, performing a certain action, or reacting a certain way during competition becomes like breathing. They don’t think, they just do. The thinking happens prior to the event.

Thinking leads to choosing which leads to habits which leads to actions. Good actions. 

It’s the same with their character. We always say that sports build character and that we are trying to develop people.  We want our kids to do what they are supposed to do. We want them to have integrity.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “it is always the right time to do the right thing.” That’s what we want from the young people we work with. Integrity is not situational. It is our hope that doing what is right becomes automatic. 

Whether it’s in the cafeteria, hallway, back of the bus, at a Saturday night party, or while shopping, integrity is not situational. We want our young people to lead themselves and those around them. 

We should shout it from the rooftops when they set the standard. We need to acknowledge them when they lead by example.

As adults, we should do all we can to encourage this type of behavior in our students. If we want to truly make a difference in this world, then we will keep developing great habits in our young people and then praise them when they exhibit that kind of behavior. 

Tate Myre was this type of kid. His name should be on everyone’s lips. His actions should be seared in our minds. 

His memory should be honored when we interact with others. We should remember that every kid we interact with can be a Tate Myre.

Not necessarily as someone that gives their life for others. But someone that lives their life as a positive example to others. Making the world a little bit better.

Honor Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling today by seeing the potential of our youth.

Help our young people see how much of a positive difference they can make in the world.

Value our youth, support our youth, invest in our youth, and believe in our youth.

There is nothing wrong with America that can’t also be solved by what is right in America.