1994

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Standards help ECCC players excel The tough admission standards at East Central Community College mean baseball coach Jamie Clark must turn away many players for academic reasons. he said. "But these kids like to be here. There are no ego problems. They all don't think they should be playing somewhere like AARON DEAR Mississippi State or LSU. They're good kids."

But Clark said the standards that have helped produce Academic All-Americans Brandon Gray, Jamie Morrow and Mark Fanning actually make his job easier. "We have to go after good stu– dents," Clark said. "But I know once they get here I don't have to worry about their academics."

The emphasis on academics makes for a hectic schedule for student-athletes like Gray, who is from Philadelphia. Like most of his peers, the out– fielder attends class during the day before baseball practice at

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6:30. He is not able to get home and relax until about 10 and then usually studies until midnight or 1 a.m. Gray also attends a study hall for 90 minutes in the evenings. "It's real stressful, especially during the sea- son," Gray said. . "This is an academic-minded school. The teach– ers don't slack up just because it's baseball sea– son. The GPA usually falls a bit during the sea– son." The ECCC players live in the dormitory on campus complete with a lights-out curfew. But Gray said he and his teammates enjoy the dorm atmosphere. ·

Gray, Morrow and Fanning are three of seven ECCC seniors on the squad, all of whom will graduate this spring. Last year, 10 of the 11 seniors graduated and the 11th is almost there, Clark said. "We emphasize academics here," he said. "Our academic counselors do a good job with the stu– dents. "When they hired me here, they didn't talk about state championships or anything. They told me they wanted me to get kids in here and teach them some things." Clark said what makes his players unique is t hey are content to be playing ball at East Central. "We've sent a lot of players to senior colleges,"

"All of the guys are fun to be around," he said. "There are no egos here. We just like to play ball." ----------------------------------------------~

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