Like father, like son, Maturi glad he gave prep sports a try
posted by Dennis Semrau at 9/8/2009
Dennis Semrau
Wissports.net
As a long time coach and athletics administrator, Joel Maturi learned the value of and preached about the rewards one could receive by participating in sports at the high school and collegiate levels.
My relationship with Maturi, who has served as the athletic director at the University of Minnesota since 2002, dates back to the 1980s when we both worked for the University of Wisconsin athletic department.
Before entering the college ranks, Maturi spent 19 years as a high school coach and administrator at Madison Edgewood High School where he coached football, basketball, baseball and track and field.
But it was while serving as an Associate Director of Athletics at UW in the early 1990s that Maturi relayed a story to me of how he “made” his son, Mark, go out for a high school sport.
Mark opted for cross country and went on to run for Madison Edgewood High School for four years. He also ran track in the spring for the Crusaders, who participated in the now-defunct WISAA.
Well, time flies and I recently became reacquainted with Mark Maturi -- who I covered as a prep sports reporter for The Capital Times during his high school career -- through the social networking web site, Facebook.
And I heard it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, about how Maturi became interested in distance running.
“I remember my days as a cross country runner for Edgewood,” Maturi recently wrote. “However, I almost did not go out for the team.
“The summer of 1991 entering my freshman year, I was told by my dad that I had to go out for a fall sport -- no exceptions -- because he wanted me to get involved with activities and meet other people.”
Mark explained that he wasn’t planning to participate in a fall sport because he wanted to prepare for tryouts for the freshman basketball team.
But before participating in Bo Ryan's basketball camp at UW-Platteville during the summer, he had to complete the form that indicated which sport he was going to play in the fall. So he chose soccer.
“Then, the Sunday before all the sports practices began, I had a "change of heart," and decided to go out for the cross country team,” he wrote. “I ended up making the varsity squad by the end of the season.”
So, sometimes father does know best.
“Now, I am an avid runner who is training for the 2010 Boston Marathon,” Mark wrote. “I was planning to run in last year's race, but I suffered an injury during my last week of training.”
With the passing of another Labor Day brings the unofficial end to summer and another high school year shifts into gear.
Hopefully, a new generation is learning what Maturi and many other former high school student-athletes have experienced in regards to high school sports as well as other extracurricular activities.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. You might just discover a passion you will enjoy for the rest of your life.
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