Hurdle Talks Sportsmanship With WPIAL Student-Athletes
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - You couldn't blame Clint Hurdle if he wanted to take the day off today to celebrate winning the National League Manager of the Year Award.
But, he was still talking baseball today with hundreds of high school athletes who were hand-picked to attend a WPIAL event at the Heinz History Center.
"It's all about the game. It's not about who's across the net from me. It's about my team and what we are doing. I don't worry about what everybody else. It's just all about us," Ashley Taylor said.
Through the WPIAL's Fifth Annual Summit on Sportsmanship, hundreds of high school athletes are reminded of lessons learned when they were little.
"My mom was our coach when we were little and my dad, they coached together. That was their biggest thing was to have fun and work together and be nice to other teams and stuff like that," Jess Porter said.
In Charlie Batch, they heard from a local boy who made it to the top and from the man who just was named National League Manager of the Year.
"These kids are right in the midst of something at an important time of their life and a developmental time of their life as well so it's not like you are flat out trying to teach them something, but you are trying to help them along the way and mentor them," Hurdle said.
Hurdle knows that as leaders in their schools the kids already do and will continue to make a difference in southwestern Pennsylvania.
"It's been called the City of Champions for a long time. It's not just champions on a playing field. It's champions in the community. It's champions in the medical industry. It's champions in the healthcare, in business, in banking. We are good all over, and we're getting better every day and this is the next group of people -- of young people -- who are getting better and are going to make Pittsburgh even greater," Hurdle said.
The WPIAL knows how lucky they are to have Hurdle as a speaker.
"We are thankful and appreciative and that's just tremendous and I think it's a treat for the kids who are here today," WPIAL Executive Director Tim O'Malley said.
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