How ` vehicle of sports' guided OSSAA's Whaley

Editor's note: Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association associate director Mike Whaley tells The Oklahoman's Jacob Unruh why he loves sports and the role it has played in his life .

I was introduced to sports as I was introduced to life — my dad led the way.

My dad, a f ormer college football player himself and USMC officer from the greatest generation, started my two younger brothers and I on this journey of life in the late 1950's, and he, along with my mom, used the “vehicle of sports” to get us down the road.

I have been bl essed t o sit in many different seats as this “vehicle of sports” bounced down the road the last 60-plus years, and because I got on and took the ride, my life has been enhanced.

Initially, I rode as a player of the games, first playing with my brothers and neighborhood kids at backyard football and baseball, then driveway basketball and hockey.

I played every sport offered in Cleveland, Oklahoma, with my friends in junior high and high school.

We not only learned the basics of each sport, but we got the first lessons of life at the same time.

I continued the “vehicle of sports” ride to colle ge and found another seat — my calling and my profession — coaching the games I had fallen in love with as a player. For over 30 years, I was privileged to coach in the high schools of this great state.

Those coaching experiences in Sand Springs, Mangum, Blanchard and Westmoore, competing on the fields, in the gyms and on the track with the Sandites, the Tigers, the Lions and the Jaguars

made each day of life fulfilling.

Occasionally, during t hose 30 years I would switch seats and put on a set of stripes and grab a whistle.

Yes, the“vehicle of sports” has seats for sports officials also.

There is no thrill like stepping on the floor in a packed gym on the Saturday night of the county basketball tournament and have the game come down to the last shot — an electric moment in life.

But the greatest joy in sports was what my dad taught us early in the ride —the games were a lot more fun and meaningful when you shared the

moment with others. The lifetime relationships and experiences — first with my two brothers, then my Cleveland Tiger classmates, then with hundreds of people I worked with I called “Coach” — that is why I love sports.

This life we live was never designed to be a solo event.

Because my dad led me to get on the “vehicle of sports,” my entire life has been enhanced by those I met along the way.

What a ride!

Before moving to his current job as associate director at the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, Mike Whaley was the head football coach at Westmoore High. During his offseason, he officiated basketball games. [OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]