PRIDE OF THE PLAINS

from August 2021

by enidmonthly

COVER STORY

"Live the Creed""Live the Creed"

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Jake McCool - Baseball SUMMER PRIDE

by Billy Tipps, EHS Athletic Director by Robert Faulk

The Enid High School Baseball team has continued to improve throughout this season. Just after the midway point in the 2021 season, the Plainsmen are finding their grove and Jake McCool is a big part of that success. Jake has played baseball for the Plainsmen since middle school and has had his sights set on starting for the Plainsmen the entire time. His motivation was then, and still is, to be the best he can be every day when he shows up to practice or games. That motivation had paid off, as he is currently the 1st baseman and plays in the outfield for the Plainsmen. The starting position is one he has had to work hard and be patient for. His advice to upcoming athletes is to “work as hard as you can every day.” This past year has been different for everyone to say the least, and for athletes around the world, including Jake, it is just another challenge in their lives. “This year I have learned that you can’t give up no matter how bad things seem.” Jake goes on to say that being an

Pride. Pride in yourself, your sports program and your school is what Summer Pride is all about. And never has that been more evident than this summer, during Enid High School’s ath lete has “Summer Pride” strength and agility workouts that concluded at the end of July.

Enid HS Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Tracy Baldwin says that this year’s Summer Pride program has had the most participation, especially in football players, in the three years that he has been here. Coach Baldwin attributes the increased participation to the increased performance of the teams that have bought in to the program. “Although Enid has its challenges to compete in the highest levels of 6A, we are quickly closing the distance, and showing real growth across all sports that participate in the program.” While participation is the key to development, results have certainly been increased by the quality of not only the program itself, but the facilities. According to Coach Baldwin, while a few schools in the state may have larger weight room facilities than Enid, none have higher quality. The room is even comparable to some colleges across the state. And Coach Baldwin would know, as he spent 19 years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Oklahoma State University. The room has excellent weights, machines and flooring, and the students are given Ipads that are loaded with weight lifting programs specially designed for each

athlete. This program allows Coaches to see helped prepare him for this type of event. “Behow the athletes are progressing, attendance ing an athlete has made me a better person and everything they need to know to get them because it has taught me how to be self-disci bigger, stronger and faster. plined in many different situations.”

Coach Baldwin’s influence and focus on Jake plans on extending his academic strength and conditioning doesn’t just start in and athletic career at Northwestern Oklahoma high school either. Waller and Longfellow MidState University where he will play baseball and dle Schools have both started a summer pride pursue a degree in Business. Coach Gore, the program and Emerson Middle School as a Enid High head baseball coach adds that “Jake weight room that will be available to their athhas had to work very hard to get to where he is letes starting in the fall. at today.”

While strength and conditioning may be the We look forward to seeing Jake continue foundation of athletic success, it is also the that hard work and play at the next level. He will foundation of success in life. Nowhere else continue a long tradition of Plainsmen baseball players doing great things beyond high school. does “Living the Creed” manifest itself more, than in voluntary summer workouts. It’s where champions are made.