Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Cates Sets Sights On New Horizons
PRAIRIE GROVE 2019 GRADUATE SPOTLIGHT
PRAIRIE GROVE — Enterprise-Leader sports editor Mark Humphrey recently interviewed Prairie Grove 2019 graduate Drew Cates, a four-year starter at shortstop on the Tiger baseball team. The following is a transcript from that interview.
WCEL: Drew, Jarren Sorters was your best friend and when that happened, it had to be a tough transition. First of all before he passed, he wasn’t able to play with the leg amputation and cancer treatments, so you must have missed him not having him in the lineup with you?”
Drew Cates: “Yeah, it was definitely tough transitioning over to not being on the field with him and not being able to look over and have someone that you compete with and someone that you hold so dearly to you be on the field with you. So it kind of motivated me to play every game like it was my last and play for him; and do everything the best I could because I knew that it would honor him and it would show him that I’m along for the battle that he’s going through”
WCEL: Drew, when you lose someone like that and you’re dealing with the emotional tumult of that, that’s not visible like if somebody’s walking on crutches or something like that, but was there people sensitive to your situation around you that really helped you and what did they do to help you get through this?”
Drew Cates: “I had a group of friends that were definitely going through the same thing that I was because we were all just as close to Jarren and we all kind of coped with it that same way. We can’t forget about him because he was so much a part of us that it’s just not right to forget about something like that.”
WCEL: “Including Jarren’s parents in the ceremony remembering No. 27 on senior night, if that was not done it just wouldn’t have been right to not do that?”
Drew Cates: “It wouldn’t, and any way that I can honor his family and him after everything they’ve done for me, I’ll do it any day. If they need anything done, I’ll help them because they’ve done so much for me.”
WCEL: “Would you care to go into details to relate what they’ve done for you?”
Drew Cates: “Giving me rides to ball games when I was young, and to practice and cooking home-made meals for me when I’d go to stay the night and just giving me a place to stay when I wanted to hang out with my best friend.”
WCEL: “What’s your future plans?”
Drew Cates: “I’m going to play college baseball at Coffeyville Community College on scholarship (and major in Business).”
WCEL: “To represent the community of Prairie Grove, you’ve had that privilege. What would you say to the next generation of kids, next year’s baseball team that are going to get that opportunity?”
Drew Cates: “Don’t give up, work hard and it’s anybody’s ball game on any day.”
WCEL: “Can you describe growing up in this environment, living in Prairie Grove, where you’ve had maybe a better support structure than maybe some kids do elsewhere?”
Drew Cates: “It’s great because when you get done playing a game, you’ll have grandparents and parents of other players tell you, ‘Good game,’ that you might not know of or you might not know or people from around the town that see who you are and see you wearing that Prairie Grove baseball hat. They’ll ask you how your season’s going, then ask you how you’re doing and it just shows a lot that the community cares about what’s going on at the baseball field.”
“I’d like to thank my mom, Michelle Cates, and my grandparents for supporting me through the whole way and going to all my games and showing support for me and showing that they care.”
WCEL: “How do you want to be remembered for your career at Prairie Grove, as a student and as an athlete?”
Drew Cates: “I’d like to be remembered as someone that is funny; but who also knows the time and place and knows the situation and when to be funny and when to not be funny. I also want to be known as a leader on the field and someone that people could look up to and ask for help when they need help.”
WCEL: “How do you think Jarren Sorters would want to be remembered?”
Drew Cates: “I think he would want to be remembered as a leader, as well; because that’s what he was and that’s what he was best at — was being a leader. It didn’t matter how big he was. He knew what to do and when to do it all the time.”
WCEL: “Your senior year here is over, now that you’ve graduated and kind of left the sheltered life and entered the real world so to speak, what would your wishes be, your thoughts that you would want to see for your class and your classmates?”
Drew Cates: “I just wish that everyone does what makes them happy and I wish them all the best and I wish that nobody forgets about each other and that everyone stays in touch because friendships last a lifetime.”