Reading the posts full of remembrances of Mr. Ayres over the last few days has brought back a flood of memories for me, all of which were classic Craig Ayres. There was the Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Colts football game, where Tommy Baldwin, John Floyd, and I spent the night at his parents’ place on the Eastern Shore before freezing our tails off at the stadium. There were a couple of pre-season NBA games at Scope, too. I don’t remember everyone who went, but if it hadnt been for Mr. Ayres, I never would have seen Ralph Sampson or George “Iceman” Gervin play in person. Then there was the camping/fishing trip on the Chickahominy River with David McKenzie. We took Craig’s car up to the little camp store one night, and we brought it back to him in one piece, but just barely. The next morning, looking at the tire tracks and some of the bushes we took out, it was amazing we didnt eat a tree. He also made it possible for me to play basketball in 8th and 9th grades. I don’t know if he realized at the time how much that meant to me, although I think he must have. I didnt realize until much later how important that was in my life. Not only was I not very good when I started playing, but I didnt have a way home from practice, either. So Coach Ayres took his star benchwarmer home from practice every day, in that beat up old Corolla that had a basketball wedged behind the driver’s seat to keep it upright. Not only that, but he worked with me enough that I eventually got off the bench. We were just a little better than a mediocre team, strictly speaking in wins and losses, but we all learned the value of working as a team. What he really taught us, something that has shaped much of my life, is not to give up. As a coach, he realized sports are a microcosm of life – everybody fails, everybody falls down, everybody loses; the ones who are successful are the ones who get back up and get after it again, no matter how many times it takes. Then there’s what he did in the classroom - the Jeopardy games for extra credit, the detailed maps and battle plans of the Battle of Gettysburg, getting emotional while reading from “The Killer Angels,” the conspiracy theories of the Kennedy assassination. Not to mention three days spent re-enacting the Springsteen concert. At one point he jumped off a chair to show us one of Bruce’s moves. He had a way of making us work our butts off, but we enjoyed it so much we didnt mind. To his day, 11th grade AP History is one of the most difficult, yet most enjoyable classes Ive ever taken. From reading everyone’s comments, I know that my memories of Craig are not unique at all, and that I’m just one of many whom he touched. That, I think, is what makes him such a great person, and why so many of us feel his loss so profoundly. He didnt just go above and beyond the call of duty for one or two of us, he did it for all of us, every day. I hadnt seen Craig in many years, and I was really looking forward to catching up with him at the reunion. Well, Craig, your work here is done, but it lives on in all of us who were blessed to have known you. Thank you for teaching me the sport I love, for instilling in me a deep love and respect for history, especially the Civil War, for teaching me to question and analyze and think for myself, but most of all, thank you for believing in me. There are many influences in a person’s life, some better than others, some stronger than others, but I know that I would not be the person I am today if our paths hadnt crossed. Rest easy, old friend.
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 19:17:39 +0000
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