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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1977)
^ Sports A,M, THE BATTALION Page THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1977 5 Handicap overcome It's Valentine! vciT, rest :2| Assoc leptic it, Oji “Lac ir in >pe Al Reyes’ body is bent from a life-long battle with cerebral palsy, yet he earned and proudly wears a Southwest Conference cham pionship ring denoting Texas A&M’s basketball supremacy last year. Tlie crippling birth defect took its toll on Reyes’ body, but it left him with a big heart and powerful de termination. “I am glad that I had cerebral palsy instead of somebody else, be cause I can deal with it,” Reyes said. “I can see a lot of people who cannot cope with their ‘normal’ problems, and they surely could not handle something like cerebral palsy.” Reyes’ body will not let him play basketball or any other sport, but it does not keep him from participat ing. He is a student manager for the Aggies and has won the praise of coach Shelby Metcalf. “We have all benefited from Al’s outlook on life,” Metcalf said. “He carries his load of the work and is given no special consideration. “In addition to being a member of our program, I consider Al a good personal friend. He is a very intelli gent young man, and he is espe cially enjoyable to be around be cause he has a great sense of humor.” Reyes and Metcalf have a mutual admiration society. “Coach Metcalf is an outstanding human being and has made me feel like a contributing element in his program,” Reyes said. Metcalf is not the first coach to be impressed by the determined young man. Beginning in the eighth grade, he worked football under Tommy Runnels at Fort Worth’s O.D. Wyatt High School before Runnels joined the staff at TCU. Runnels’ successor, Rudy Mauser, also put him to work, as did the school’s baseball coach, Ted Harris. In fact, Harris sent him to a baseball camp in Oklahoma to develop his under standing of the sport and made him a student assistant. Reyes was transferred to Ar lington Heights High School at the start of his junior year and soon hooked up with Larry Wood, the baseball coach. In addition to mak ing Reyes team manager, Wood as signed him as student coach of the ninth grade team. A problem quickly developed: Reyes could not run infield practice because he was unable to throw the ball up in the air and then hit it. The problem was just as quickly solved when coach Wood made him a bat- ting tee on which he could place the iball and then bit it. “That’s where I learned that no matter how you accomplish a task, the important thing is getting the job done,” Reyes said. “That is the theory I will always use. If there is a difficult task that I can’t manage, just give me a chance to figure out how to do it another way.” Reyes emphasizes that all four of his high school coaches had one thing in common: their attitude to ward him. “They taught me that even though I have a physical handicap, not to let that get in my way of doing what I wanted to do in life,” Reyes said. “I really owe a lot to these men because, if it were not for them, I would have quit a long time ago, and certainly would not be going to Texas A&M today. “Through them I came to realize that, in order to be something in life, a positive attitude is the key to SANSUI 331 RECEIVER 12 watts per channel Reg. $200.00 SALE $149.95 success.. . .no matter what kind of handicap you have.” Reyes does not need much help these days, but he has lots of friends and understanding professors who are happy to provide what little as sistance he does require. For exam ple, since he has difficulty writing, classmates take notes for him, and his professors make special arrang- ments for him to take tests. While Reyes is studying for a de gree in recreation and parks, the same field in which Metcalf recently received a Ph.D., what he wants to be is a coach. “I know wanting to be a coach is a high goal for me,” he concedes, “but I once heard coach Billy Tohill say, ‘If you don’t have high goals, you have no goals at all’. “My dream is to be a coach,” Reyes concludes. “You better not bet against me.” The receivers below ap peared incorrectly in yester day’s Battalion ad. They should be as follows: TECHNICS 5460 RECEIVER 65 watts per channel Reg. $399.95 SALE $299.95 3820 TEXAS AVE. BRYAN 846-3517 SUGAR AND SPICE . . . AND EVERYTHING NICE FOR YOUR VALENTINE. Corsages and Boutonnieres for the Freshman Ball. FLOWERS WIRED EVERYWHERE! Petal Patch 707 TEXAS AVE. 846-6713 COLLEGE STATION Across from Texas A&M & \jast CaW MSC DIRECTORATE TRAVEL COMMITTEE JOIN THE AGGIES ON A CARIBBEAN CRUISE aboard the fun ship “Mardi Gras” SPRING BREAK March 13-20 Sailing from Miami, Stopping in Nassau, San Juan and St. Thomas From $430/person incl. air fare Call MSC Travel Committee 845-1515 Room 216 or ^xecutivdlravel 846 1748 707 TEXAS AVENUE, SOUTH • COLLEGE STATION Positions Now Available APPLICATIONS FOR COMMITTEE CHAIR MEN ARE NOW BEING TAKEN IN THE MSC STUDENT PROGRAMS OFFICE, RM. 216 OF THE MSC. ANYONE MAY APPLY. CHAIRMAN APPLICATIONS- deadline FEB. 18 \!!!k c step into the msc circle MSC Travel Committee and Overseas Loan Fund has LOANS to TAMU Students for study and travel abroad applications at SPO Desk/216 MSC please sign up for an interview time For further info, call Travel Committee, 845-1515 or come by 216 MSC. The Opera and Performing ^ Arts Society of Texas A&M V University § presents ^ A SPECIAL ATTRACTION | Carlos Barbosa-Lima, £ 8 Brazilian Classical guitarist || “In haunting lyricism and purity of£ tone, these readings were of the first^ order. Barbosa-Lima ... is a front|f rank member of the younger vir-S tuosos.” * Philadelphia Inquirer j| “He is gifted by the goddess of music.” j| Andres Segovia pjj Sy Thursday, February 10, 1977 8:00 P.M. § Rudder Theater I REMEMBER YOUR SWEETHEART THIS VALENTINE’S with lingerie at special 20% discounts from: CARNABY SQUARE 1 r ", CULPEPPER PLAZA NOTICE MSC Bowling Lanes now forming AJBC Leagues for A&M students or young people of faculty, staff or students ages 9 to 21. Saturday, February 12, 1977 9 a.m. Place: Bowling Lanes in the Basement of the MSC. TICKET PRICES: REGULAR A&M STUDENT ZONE 2 3.00 2.00 Ticket Information: MSC Box Office 845-2916 OPAS: an MSC committee | MSC Cafeteria MONDAY EVENING SPECIAL Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy Whipped Potatoes Your Choice of One Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or Tea Now Better Than Ever. You Will Be Pleased With These Carefully Prepared and Taste Tempting Foods. Each Daily Special Only $1.49 Plus Tax. “Open Daily” Dining: 11 AM to 1:30 PM — 4:30 PM to 7 PM . TUESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Mexican Fiesta Dinner Two Cheese and Onion Enchiladas w/chili Mexican Rice Patio Style Pinto Beans Tostadas Coffee or Tea One Corn Bread and Butter WEDNESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Chicken Fried Beef Steak w/cream Gravy Whipped Potatoes and Choice of one other Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or Tea THURSDAY EVENING SPECIAL Italian Candle Light Spaghetti Dinner SERVED WITH SPICED MEAT BALLS AND SAUCE Parmesan Cheese - Tossed Green Salad Choice of Salad Dressing - Hot Garlic Bread Tea or Coffee FRIDAY EVENING SPECIAL BREADED FISH FILET w/TARTAR SAUCE ’ Cole Slaw Hush Puppies Choice of one vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee SATURDAY NOON and EVENING SPECIAL "Yankee Pot Roast Texas Style” Tossed Salad Choice of one vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee “Quality First” SUNDAY SPECIAL NOON and EVENING ROAST TURKEY DINNER Served with Cranberry Sauce Cornbread Dressing Roll or Corn Bread - Butter - Coffee or Tea Giblet Gravy And your choice of any One vegetable Q)mino 0lcom Top of the Tower Texas A&M University Pleasant Dining — Great View SERVING LUNCHEON BUFFET 11:00 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. Each day except Saturday $2.50 DAILY $3.00 SUNDAY Serving soup ir sandwich 11:00 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. Monday - Friday $1.50 plus drink Available Evenings For Special University Banquets Department of Food Service Texas A&M University “Quality First” Battalion Classified Call 845-2611 BankAmericard 6 days lodging,meals & transportation. REGISTRATION IN ROOM 216 M.S.C. $50.00 DEPOSIT DUE AT REGISTRATION