Diego Lopez, Reporter
GRANTS, N.M. – Milan Police Chief Ustupski was a baseball player in high school and college, and while football wasn’t his best sport, he spoke to the Grants High School Pirate Football Team hoping to motivate the young players, and give them an idea about the commitment needed to succeed if the athletes plan on advancing to professional sports. The speech took place after a team dinner in the GHS cafeteria on August 22, the Pirates went on to win the I-40 Rivalry Game against Gallup the next day. “It’s just tradition, man. We come together the night before with speakers who talk on different topics to help teach perseverance and success,” Coach Fernandez said. “I want to give a huge shoutout to the team moms for their help, they’re keeping the tradition alive.”
Ice Cream
Chief Ustupski is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he is a big Cleveland Guardians fan. He made it clear that although, he didn’t graduate from GHS, he is a big supporter of the Pirates. “I grew up in a pretty crappy neighborhood,” Ustupski said, “My family grew up poor – not like missing a shoe poor, but poor.” The neighborhood he grew up in was rough, “But the one thing that we did have was family,” Ustupski said.
When Ustupski was a young child, he found 50 cents on the ground. Happy as can be, Ustupski took the money he found and bought himself an ice cream cone. He went home, proud of his newfound purchase Ustupski went home with his sweet treat. This was one of his first lessons in the importance of family. When Ustupski made it home, his father asked how he was able to afford the ice cream, after hearing that Ustupski had found 50 cents, his father took the ice cream and washed it down the sink. His father told him that if there wasn’t enough for his sisters, then he couldn’t have it either. This was a resounding lesson that stuck with Ustupski, helping him to understand better the importance of working as a team.
“I learned that day I am not an individual, I am part of a family.” The chief said. Ustupski used this moment to call out the team captains and have them write down goals for the Pirates. Goals included “Become state champions,” “Keep the rythym,” and “Never give up.”
“There is no ‘me’ on the field,” Ustupski said, “These are your team goals, keep you vision. If your goal is to eat ice cream, make sure your family gets some too.”
The Eugene Story
Growing up in his rough neighborhood, the young Ustupski had to put up with an older bully called Eugene.
Eugene was three or four years older than Ustupski and always picked on him. Even though Ustupski could never beat his bully, he never gave up.
One day, when Ustupski was getting beaten up by his bully, a girl came out of the corner of his eye, “This girl comes flying with an ‘S’ on her chest. Who was this girl? It was my sister.”
Ustupski’s sister beat off the bully, “Eugene never picked a fight with me again.”
When he couldn’t handle Eugene on his own, his family came to his rescue. He emphasized to the team that they are family, and when one of them is down, the others need to come support them.
Tradition
Ustupski understood that comradery and family were important to team success, but he learned the hard lesson that academics are just as important to sporting success.
“Baseball was my sport,” Ustupski said, “All four years of high school, our team were champions, we had a tradition of excellence.”
As a freshman in high school, Ustupski missed a day of school. When he went into the locker room for practice, a senior was waiting for him. The senior didn’t threaten, bully, or attack Ustupski, but spoke to him about the tradition of excellence the team had, and explained that he needed to be present for the team. “It was a reminder that the team struggles together, and is victorious together,” Ustupski said. Ustupski told the team about how he managed to earn a scholarship playing baseball, however, because he didn’t stay focused on his academic studies, Ustupski told the team that he lost his scholarship and took a year off of his studies.
His biggest downfall was a ping-pong table in the gym. His focus shifted from school work to fun, and he ended his freshman year at college with a 1.74 grade average. When he returned to his education, Ustupski had lost all of the attention he had garnered from his previous years playing baseball. He returned to his studies but by that point, the pro-scouts were gone and his chance to attend a D1 school was gone. “Keep your grades up,” Ustupski told the Pirate team. He spoke with them at length about avoiding drugs, how one time smoking marijuana or trying other drugs could disqualify them from better opportunities in the future.
A fter his speech, the Pirate Football team went on to trounce their opponent, Gallup High School, 34-0.