High School Baseball Web
College Fund Award
by: Bob Howdeshell
High School Baseball Web
2002 High School Baseball Web
Award Winner
Larry Gempp Jr.
Ingleside, Illinois
Grant Community High School
Fox Lake, Illinois
Son of: Susan and Dean Tragos
(stickwatcher) - (ChicagoBB)
High School Coach
Lee Raddatz
College
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois
Larry plans to major in mechanical engineering at NIU. The following is a portion of the letter
that Larry wrote when submitting his nomination for the award:
"Baseball is so much bigger to me than the game itself. It has given me opportunities
that I would not have had otherwise. I've traveled to parts of the country that I would not have
seen otherwise, and I got to represent our country when I played in Australia. It doesn't get
better than that. Baseball has also taught me invaluable life lessons. It has taught me that
determination, positive focuses, and hard work do prevail. I have overcome two potentially
career ending injuries, to return to top physical condition to date. I do have aspirations to play
professional baseball, but realize that dreams can be shattered in an instant, and thus the
importance of getting my education first."
"My Mom is one of your "websters". I was surprised with her new found information and knowledge
that she gained from your site. She was very active in my college recruitment process, and if your
website helped her to help me -- thank you."
Some of his high school activities included:
Student Council (4 years)
D.A.R.E. Student Role Model
Athletic Leadership Conference Member
Lake County Election Judge
4.1 grade point average - senior year
Academic Honor Roll
High School Athletic Achievements:
Participated in both baseball and golf at Grant Community High School in Fox Lake, Illinois.
Varsity Leading Hitter Award
IHSA Hitting Derby - 5th in state
All-Conference Baseball
All-Area Baseball
All-State Honorable Mention
Illinois State Coaches Association - All Chicagoland Baseball
School Career Record for Home Runs
School Career Record for Runs Batted In
School Career Record for Total Bases
School Career Record for Slugging %
Baseball America "Illinois Player to Watch" List
Lakeland Media's "Pre-Season Player of the Year"
Here's a comment from Larry's high school English teacher that I enjoyed:
"Larry has it all - brains, talent and the work ethic that will transform his givens
into success. He is a young adult in whom we can place our trust for a bright future."
From the Northern Illinois Baseball Web Site:
Larry Gempp Jr. - Outfield
He helped guide Lee Raddatz's Bulldogs squad to a 23-12 mark and the school's first
regional championship.
"Larry is an extremely dedicated athlete," said Coach Dave Schrage. "He works on his game all
the time and even though he broke his ankle, knowing his work ethic, he'll come back
even stronger. He'll add to our team speed and we'll look for him to fill the hole at the
top of our line-up, in the lead off spot."
When we started the award and asked for nominations it was made clear that many factors would be used in evaluating
and selecting the winner. We had many wonderful nominees to choose from. Since I had never done
anything like this before I went into the process assuming that it would be a "slam dunk" easy thing to do.
I thought that one student-athlete would be clearly superior to the others, this was not the case. Each nominee
seemed to have his own strong points.
Larry Gempp Jr. was not the strongest academic nominee, did not have the most "non-athletic" extra-curricular"
activities and was not the most talented baseball player nominated.
What Larry is ...... He is the best overall candidate for the award and we are proud that he is
the first winner of the High School Baseball Web's "Student Assistance Fund" Award!
A check for $3,700.00 dollars will be deposited in Larry's student account at Northern Illinois University.
To everyone that donated, you have my sincerest thanks. To those that helped select the winner - thank you.
Link to the Northern Illinois University Baseball Web site:
NIU Baseball
I know that most of you thought this item was a figment of my imagination. The truth of the matter is
that the 2002 recipient was selected and the family told about the award many months ago.
Since that time it has been a non-stop argument, discussion, phone slamming, aggravation to
get this money to the rightful winner. It seems that the designation of "scholarship" placed this
small stipend under the watchful and caring eyes of the NCAA!
For months it seemed that this money would not be allowed to be awarded to the winner, without penalizing
the overall baseball program at the student-athlete's college. Any monies awarded this player would count
toward the total 11.7 scholarship dollars, etc. etc.
Thanks to the diligence of the player's mother and help from the school's student affairs office
we finally are able to award the money and announce our winner!
Now on to the "Second Annual" Award! Follow the link below to learn more about the award and entry
criteria. Get your nominations ready .... If you would like to help a deserving student-athlete
please donate to the award fund.
High School Baseball Web - College Fund
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