Sat Nov 07 2009
By TIM McDONOUGH
The demands on his time have been great and between academics and athletics, Cameron Stykemain of Defiance sometimes doesn't know if he's coming or going.
But ask this three-sport standout if he would change anything at all about his high school days playing football, basketball and baseball for the Bulldogs and the slender senior will tell you ... "Not a thing."
In a world where many high school athletes choose to specialize in one sport or maybe two, Stykemain, who stands just 5-10 and weighs 160-pounds, is a bit of a novelty. Not only has he played all three sports for all four years, but he's played all three at a high enough level that he's earned all-league and even all-state accolades.
Not bad when you consider that four short years ago it was not Stykemain's intention of never taking a season off in high school.
"When I got to high school I thought I might like to play all three sports, but I really didn't think it was in my best interest to do it," said Stykemain. "I was trying to think what sport I wouldn't play and I was afraid that if I played all three, I wouldn't as successful in my favorite sports.
"But looking back now, I'm really glad I did it because I like playing all three," continued Stykemain. "What I like most about it is that I never had to wait a season to go out there and compete. I wasn't sure I was going to do it, but I'm glad I did."
Stykemain's coaches throughout high school, Jerry Buti (football), Kirk Lehman (basketball) and Tom Held (baseball), are also glad that he decided to stick it out as well. But it's not just his athletic endeavors that have impressed these three.
"It's unique here that there are still three-sport athletes, but what's even more unique is that Cam is very good in all three," said Buti. "But, the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Cam Stykemain is the word serious. He's a serious guy, who works very hard.
"I would guess that if you asked all the coaches he's had here, they would tell you that if you had a whole team of Cam Stykemain's, you would never have any problems winning games," added Buti. "He's the consummate student-athlete and we all know that when he leaves here, whatever he does he's going to be the best at it."
Lehman couldn't agree more.
"In this day and age, just to be an athlete in three sports is remarkable, but when you look at Cam, he's played all three at a pretty high level which is even more remarkable," commented Lehman. "On top of that, to be the great student he is speaks volumes not only about him, but about his parents as well.
"Not only has he achieved success in athletics, but he's done it with great effort and with class," continued Lehman. "I don't think you can give him enough accolades for what he's achieved in all three sports, especially when you consider the time commitment that is asked of a young person in that position. He's handled it extremely well and again, with as much class as any athlete I've been around."
Held also knows that it takes a special individual to excel the way Stykemain has and he can pinpoint exactly why.
"Cameron Stykemain has heart, plain and simple," said Held. "He's an old-school kid and what I mean by that is, he shows up, he works as hard or harder than anyone, he never complains and when the job is done, he goes about his business.
"Cam is a role model as well, look at what he's done in the classroom," added Held. "I can tell you that if I was in the corporate world, he would be someone I would hire without question."
What also sets Stykemain apart in a big way is his versatility.
For example:
* On the football field at the varsity level, Stykemain has played cornerback, safety, wide receiver and was also the backup quarterback.
* On the hardwood at the varsity level, Stykemain has played shooting guard, small forward and even some power forward where he was asked to guard players sometimes six to seven inches taller than himself.
* On the baseball diamond at the varsity level, Stykemain has pitched, played second base, and all three outfield positions.
"It's not something I set out to do, but I was always ready to try something new if it meant I was going to get to play," said Stykemain about being versatile.
Along the way, Stykemain has earned accolades such as being named first team all-WBL, all-district and special mention all-Ohio in football as a senior, special mention all-WBL and honorable mention all-district as a senior in basketball, and first team all-WBL and all-district as a junior in baseball (all league and all district accolades haven't been announced yet this season in baseball).
But times haven't always been rosy for Stykemain.
During his sophomore year Stykemain saw his playing time in basketball diminish greatly. He began the year as a starter, but by season's end he was one of the last players coming off the bench. It was following that season that Stykemain almost became a two-sport athlete.
"That was the closest I ever came to quitting a sport," said Stykemain. "I thought if I'm not going to play at the junior varsity level, I must not be very good and I thought I should just work on football and baseball.
"But that summer coach Lehman called me into his office and told me he wouldn't be surprised if I quit, but I told him I wasn't going too and I think he was a little shocked," continued Stykemain. "I had a great summer playing basketball and by the beginning of my junior year I was starting. But that was as close as I've come to quitting any sport."
Lehman remembers that conversation well.
"I remembered how well Cam handled adversity that year and I wanted him to know that," said Lehman. "I also wanted him to know that I felt very strongly that I wanted him to be a part of the program.
"You just can't have enough kids like Cameron Stykemain around," added Lehman. " I remember the determination he had on his face right after that talk. You just knew that he was going to put his full effort into becoming successful in basketball."
As a senior in football, Stykemain led the team in tackles with 87 and interceptions with three, while also catching nine passes for 254 yards and three scores. On the hardwood Stykemain scored 9.6 points per game (tied for the team lead), while also grabbing 2.7 rebounds per game.
In baseball, he's currently second on the team in hitting at .461, while scoring 25 runs with eight doubles and five triples. He also had a team-leading 32 RBI and currently has 23 stolen bases, just five off his school-record pace of 28 a year ago.
"Cam has been blessed with some speed and athletic ability, but what also sets Cam apart is the fact that he's so heady," said Buti. "He understands everything about the sports he plays. In football he was like a coach on the field for us in the secondary, and when we moved him to safety (his junior season), everybody got better. That's something special and will be hard to replace."
"For a three-sport guy, he's very skilled at baseball which is pretty remarkable because he doesn't spend all year just working on his game," said Held. "He's not flashy, but by the time the season is over he's one of your top hitters, he's stolen nearly 30 bases and he's played almost every position on the field.
"He just gets the job done and I think because of that we sometimes take him for granted. I hope he takes that as a compliment because we always know what we're going to get from Cameron," added Held.
And while he's loved playing all three sports, there have also been times when it's taken it's toll.
"It's been stressful and I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out where my time would be used the best for me," said Stykemain. "You just do as much as you can and I think all the coaches have appreciated the fact that I've done as much as I could, when I could. The way I look at it, if I'm not doing anything, I better get doing something because I won't get better if I don't."
So if handling adversity and being versatile are Stykemain's calling cards, what his future holds should be no problem. At present Stykemain has been accepted as a student at Ohio State, but he's "95 percent" certain that he will end up somewhere else where he hopes to play baseball. He just doesn't know where yet.
"People have told me that because I don't know where I'm going to college," concluded Stykemain. "That I should be freaking out, but I've had so much going on in my life for four years that it's really not a big deal."
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