Everyday

Chris, this is a fantastic tribute to Gregg!! I have been reflecting on all of the football, basketball, and baseball games as well as the many days spent swimming in your pool, playing hockey and basketball in your driveway or bumming around playing "INTELLIVISION" (now I feel old) in your basement. It's very powerful to me when I think back at how hard we competed together and how many more times than not we came out on top.

It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't been there how close you get to your friends and teamates when you are out there competing with everything you have day after day. From Junior High School on, we were together for 3 hours per day - in the fall it was football, in the winter - basketball,in the spring - baseball, in the summer - summer baseball and then next year we would start all over again.

The beauty of it was, as one season came to an end, we always had the next one to look forward to. There was a lot of comfort in that thought, "we always have the next season to look forward to."

Of all the laughs, tears, injuries, and challenges we went through together there is one in particular I wanted to mention:

it was our senior year and we had the best baseball team that I have ever had the privilege to play on assembled, including college ball. We started off with our flight to Florida and the memories of that trip speak for themselves. Coach Manfre must have a sick sense of humor to take on the challenge of trying to control that group!!

We all had extremely high expectations - we knew how good we were - nobody had to tell us. True to form, we won and we won and we won. When the season was over we had distinguished ourselves as League Champions and been ranked in the Daily News as one of the 20 best teams in the entire tri-state area.

Unfortunately the story goes down hill for here. In our first playoff game we lost a game that everyone - especially us thought was a sure thing.

I remember after we lost, just sitting down the right field line - some crying, some not saying anything, and I remember our parents hurting just as bad as we did.

After what seemed like an eternity we moved to the locker room to change out of our Commack South uniforms for the last time. Everyone was still staring with that blank look on our faces. We couldn't believe it!! We couldn't believe we lost!!

It was then that it hit me, this was not only the last baseball game we would play together, it was the last game period. No more football, basketball or baseball.

I remember the last thing I said to Gregg when I left the locker room - "I'm going to miss playing with you everyday".

>From all the teamates at every level who ever competed along side Gregg as his teamate . . .

"WE REALLY MISS PLAYING WITH YOU EVERYDAY GREGG".

In loving memory of #24,

John Beck