Richmond Heights High School - Yearbook (Richmond Heights, OH)

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Airborn Gaining that extra yard, Senior Larry Schwenk goes down against Berkshire. Larry, who played fullback and hnebacker for three years on the varsity team, gained 63 yards against the Badgers. Qi ick era! Senior Assistant Captain Jeff Zitel puts his -achwood opponent on his back. Jeff, a three year iner on the varsity, was one of the most successful estlers on the team with an 1 8-4 regular season record. aping up Senior Mike Haas stretches out prior to a -ne Cross Country meet. Mike, who ran to get in shape the upcoming basketball season, was one of the top i runners on the team. 1983-4 was an above aver- age year for the RHHS sports teams. The football team captured the ESC championship for the first time in 9 years. The wrestlmg team won State agam and the girls teams were very competi- tive. But graduation stole many key athletes. For the most part, it was time to rebuild. It was time to find new plays, new moves, and new stars. This meant getting back to the basics. For the inexperienced Varsity Base- ball Team there was, a new coach, new ideolo- gy and many new faces. For the young girls Volleyball team, there were young, young and younger faces eager to improve. For the Freshman boys Basketball Team it meant learning to dribble, pass, shoot and play de- fense correctly. In other words, executing the fundamentals. That ' s what it was all about. And that ' s a fact. JJ Sport ' s Divider 91

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E X E C U T 1 N G T H E Batter up Concentrating on the next pitch, Laura Lekson stares intently at the pitcher. Laura played second base on the JV Softball team as a freshman. LANCE ' S LAWS The bigger they are the harder they hit. When all else fails, try the coaches suggestion. Your shoelace breaks a minute before the game starts. The day you are sick is the day the team has a disgustingly easy practice. Plays that work in theory do not work in practice. Plays that work in practice do not work in the games. 90 Sport ' s Divider

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oul Performances Silence Conference or two straight years, the Richmond Heights High School baseball team was on the edge of greatness. In 1982, a seventh inning grand slam kept the Spartans from the state plkyoffs. In 1983, an extra inning loss in the Regional semifinals ended another great sea- son. But 1984, as expected was a year at rebuilding, a year of new faces and a year of change. It was not a team of greatness but it was capable of handling its own. First year coach Joe Mervar inherited a very inexperienced team, suffering from the loss of six starters and the entire 1983 pitching staff to graduation. Senior captains Paul Mysyk and Nick Tibaldi were both u p to this point I had remained calm. Now I was angry. I still remember the pain in my stomach from the low blow he gave me in football . I took the stretch and made the decision . This would be a pitch to be remembered . 1 started the windup, ignoring all signals from the catcher. I hurled the ball .A thud was followed by the sound of agony. A mere case of fun- damental revenge. optimistic about the season, however. There ' s a baseball tradition in Richmond Heights. People just know how to win, said Tibaldi. The season started very slowly with five losses and a tie in the first six games. Coach Mervar had scheduled a very tough independent sched- ule to better prepare the team for ESC competition. Still, lopsided losses to Euclid, Eastlake North, and St. Joseph, all AAA power- houses, left the team feeling down. Spring break posed another barrier for the Spartans to overcome. Coach Mervar had scheduled three games over the vacation, and about one-third of the varsity team migrated to Florida for a little fun in the sun. JV players were called up to fill the void. Although two of the games were rained out, the loss to St. Joe ' s left Mervar very angry at the loss of his players. Next year I ' m not scheduling any games over the break. They would really help us get ready for league play, but it ' s not worth the trouble, stated Mervar. The losing streak was stopped with a 6-5 win at Perry, where the pitching staff workhorse Bob Potokar got his first win. Not only did Potokar get his first, but it was also the team ' s first victory. Potokar led the team in innings pitched, wins, and strikeouts. Probably the worst effect of losing was the joy on the other team s J .ii « tJ 9 l,t t I t - 1984 Boys Varsity Baseball Team: Front Row: Jeff Zitel. Chris Courtney, Steve Organischak, Jim Skernivitz, Dave Bill. Back Row Jeff Ma -field, Paul Mysyk, Bob Potokar, Bob Suszek, Mike Haas, Nick Tibaldi, Coach Joe Mer ' ar. And the pitch! Into his wind-up, Jeff Zitel pitches against a tough AAA St. Joe ' s. It was a hard fought game, but the Spartans lost 19-7. Go for it!? Rounding second base. Bob Potokar thinks about advancing to third. Bob advanced to third and scored on the next play but it was not enough as St. Joe ' s won 19-7. 92 Boys Baseball