thedrifter
02-05-07, 07:23 AM
Marines give Cary an avenue to play
By KENT MINCER The Daily Sentinel
Monday, February 05, 2007
Most athletes who want to continue playing sports after high school take the traditional route of trying to earn a college scholarship.
Val Cary is going in a different direction.
The 2006 Palisade High School graduate will continue to play her two favorite sports, softball and basketball — in the Marine Corps.
Cary reports in March to Paris Island, S.C., for the start of a challenging journey in her life.
Like many young athletes, Cary dreamed of earning an athletic scholarship in college. It didn’t work out that way.
“When I was a freshman, I wanted to play basketball in college,” Cary said. “I never thought I’d go into the Marines.”
She knew she sought something more in her life.
“I wanted something challenging,” she said.
The Marines sought her out — the local recruiter had seen her at local athletic events.
She mulled it over, then decided the Marines would offer her the opportunity, and the challenge, she was seeking.
“I figured if I was going to do something like this, I wanted to come out being the best,” she said. “They are physically the strongest of the four (service branches).
“When I decided to go into the Marines, I told them I was interested in playing softball and basketball. (The recruiter) said, ‘We have those programs,’ ” she said.
After 13 weeks of boot camp, she’ll have six weeks of basic training before she begins her schooling.
In the test she took before enlisting, Cary qualified to become either a communications specialist or a mechanic.
“Ultimately I wanted to be a cop, so I wanted to be an MP (military police),” she said. “But I was too short (5-foot-3) to be an MP so I wouldn’t be getting the training I need.
“I’m choosing to be a mechanic,” she said.
She will work primarily on large vehicles, such as tank trucks, water trucks and Humvees.
After mechanics training, she will be stationed in either San Diego, South Carolina or South Korea. Then her athletic career in the Marines begins.
That she’s playing softball in the military is quite a story. Cary didn’t begin playing the sport until her freshman year at Palisade, and tried it only after an upperclassmen urged her to join the team.
“She didn’t have a glove or cleats,” recalled Jamie Dunn, who coached Cary for four years in high school.
When Cary showed up for her first practice, “She had these necklaces and was all dressed in black,” Dunn remembered. “I thought, ‘Oh my God.
“I remember as a freshman, she couldn’t even swing a bat.”
Cary played outfield and shortstop during her four years, earning All-Western Slope League honors during her junior and senior years. After her senior season, she was selected to play in the Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports All-State Game.
Her basketball coach, Jay D. Muller, also remembered Cary as a quick learner.
“She was so coachable,” Muller said. “She’d do everything you asked her to do. She was so fun to coach because she was willing to learn.”
Dunn and Muller both believe Cary is making a good choice.
“I think athletics have given her direction in life,” Dunn said. “She has too much ability to waste it.”
Cary realizes she’s in for the challenge of her life.
“(The Marines) break you down into the person they want you to be,” she said. “I guess one of the reasons I want to be in the Marines is the respect you get. You walk around (in uniform) and kids are in awe.”
Cary also wants to be an inspiration.
“I think one of the reasons I want to do this is to show that women can do it,” she said. “You don’t have to save somebody’s life to be a hero.”
By being an example for others, “You can change somebody’s life,” she said.
Kent Mincer can be reached via e-mail at kmincer@gjds.com.
Ellie
By KENT MINCER The Daily Sentinel
Monday, February 05, 2007
Most athletes who want to continue playing sports after high school take the traditional route of trying to earn a college scholarship.
Val Cary is going in a different direction.
The 2006 Palisade High School graduate will continue to play her two favorite sports, softball and basketball — in the Marine Corps.
Cary reports in March to Paris Island, S.C., for the start of a challenging journey in her life.
Like many young athletes, Cary dreamed of earning an athletic scholarship in college. It didn’t work out that way.
“When I was a freshman, I wanted to play basketball in college,” Cary said. “I never thought I’d go into the Marines.”
She knew she sought something more in her life.
“I wanted something challenging,” she said.
The Marines sought her out — the local recruiter had seen her at local athletic events.
She mulled it over, then decided the Marines would offer her the opportunity, and the challenge, she was seeking.
“I figured if I was going to do something like this, I wanted to come out being the best,” she said. “They are physically the strongest of the four (service branches).
“When I decided to go into the Marines, I told them I was interested in playing softball and basketball. (The recruiter) said, ‘We have those programs,’ ” she said.
After 13 weeks of boot camp, she’ll have six weeks of basic training before she begins her schooling.
In the test she took before enlisting, Cary qualified to become either a communications specialist or a mechanic.
“Ultimately I wanted to be a cop, so I wanted to be an MP (military police),” she said. “But I was too short (5-foot-3) to be an MP so I wouldn’t be getting the training I need.
“I’m choosing to be a mechanic,” she said.
She will work primarily on large vehicles, such as tank trucks, water trucks and Humvees.
After mechanics training, she will be stationed in either San Diego, South Carolina or South Korea. Then her athletic career in the Marines begins.
That she’s playing softball in the military is quite a story. Cary didn’t begin playing the sport until her freshman year at Palisade, and tried it only after an upperclassmen urged her to join the team.
“She didn’t have a glove or cleats,” recalled Jamie Dunn, who coached Cary for four years in high school.
When Cary showed up for her first practice, “She had these necklaces and was all dressed in black,” Dunn remembered. “I thought, ‘Oh my God.
“I remember as a freshman, she couldn’t even swing a bat.”
Cary played outfield and shortstop during her four years, earning All-Western Slope League honors during her junior and senior years. After her senior season, she was selected to play in the Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports All-State Game.
Her basketball coach, Jay D. Muller, also remembered Cary as a quick learner.
“She was so coachable,” Muller said. “She’d do everything you asked her to do. She was so fun to coach because she was willing to learn.”
Dunn and Muller both believe Cary is making a good choice.
“I think athletics have given her direction in life,” Dunn said. “She has too much ability to waste it.”
Cary realizes she’s in for the challenge of her life.
“(The Marines) break you down into the person they want you to be,” she said. “I guess one of the reasons I want to be in the Marines is the respect you get. You walk around (in uniform) and kids are in awe.”
Cary also wants to be an inspiration.
“I think one of the reasons I want to do this is to show that women can do it,” she said. “You don’t have to save somebody’s life to be a hero.”
By being an example for others, “You can change somebody’s life,” she said.
Kent Mincer can be reached via e-mail at kmincer@gjds.com.
Ellie