IN A CROWDED FIELD OF TALENT ... Who has the Edge? sports Multi-Sport Athlete Enters Hall Of Fame STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER H The child who has the confidence to grow into the person they were born to become. BECOMING THEIR BEST SELVES THROUGH THE Dale Carnegie Program ® Frankel Jewish Academy, through the generosity of an anonymous donor, invites students in grades 8-12 to participate in this free 8-Week program ($1,000 value). CLASS SCHEDULE Sunday 2/4 Sunday 3/25 Application Deadline is 01.12.18 Sunday 2/11 Sunday 3/11 Sunday 4/15 8-Week Begins Sunday 02.04.18 Sunday 3/4 Program Sunday 3/18 4/22 For more than 100 years, the lessons taught by Dale Carnegie have guided titans of business to the pinnacle of success. Your child has the opportunity to learn these lessons FREE . Applications are now being accepted. To apply, please visit: frankelja.org/dalecarnegie 66 ͘͘ĜĊĘęĒĆĕđĊėĉǤǡĜĊĘęćđĔĔĒċĎĊđĉǡĒĎ͚͚͛͜͠ȁȋ͚͜͠Ȍ͚͝͡Ǧ͚͛͝͞ 38 December 21 • 2017 jn igh school athletes are becom- ing more and more special- ized. Many are focusing all their attention on one or perhaps two sports. Rob Alvin didn’t specialize. What he did in high school and even college was simply special. Alvin, a 2017 inductee into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, earned eight varsity letters at Birmingham Groves High School in basketball, baseball, and track and field before graduating in 1984. His career-high 38-point game against Rochester Adams when he was a senior — achieved before the advent of the 3-point shot in high school bas- ketball — is a night he still Rob Alvin remembers. Alvin’s basketball skills earned him a scholarship at Oakland University. He was a member of Coach Greg Kampe’s first recruiting class. While Alvin was at Oakland, a won- derful thing happened. The university reinstated its baseball program that had been cut after the 1980 season. So Alvin played baseball, too, for Oakland. He was a rare two-sport ath- lete in college, playing basketball and baseball for three years. In 1989, Alvin’s final year at Oakland, he was named All-Region and All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the baseball team and set school records for home runs (12) and slugging percentage (.773). The slugging percentage record still stands. Alvin hit two home runs in one inning against Siena Heights and smacked a home run in five consecu- tive games during the 1989 season. “Was it difficult playing two sports in college? Very, very difficult,” Alvin said. “It was exhausting. I can’t tell you how many classes I missed because I was on the road, how many times I was in the gym at 6 o’clock in the morning … “But I have no regrets, and I wouldn’t have done things any differ- ently. In fact, looking back, I wish I’d have been on the track team or played tennis, too.” After graduating from Oakland, Alvin played in the American Amateur Baseball Congress’ top-level Stan Musial Division from 1989-1995 and later in the Detroit Men’s Senior Baseball League. Among his Senior League team- mates were Andy Cohen and Rick Loewenstein. Cohen is the husband of 2017 Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductee Sheila Cohen. Loewenstein was inducted in the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. Alvin credits tennis for his ability to play multiple sports. “Growing up, I played in tennis tournaments many weekends,” he said. “Playing tennis taught me how to win, to see how my opponent played and how I could use my strengths to take advantage of his weak- nesses. “That competitive mind- set translates to other sports. If you’re not com- peting, you’re missing out on opportunities to learn how to compete.” Alvin led his team to the 1998 U.S. Tennis Association team tennis state championship and a sectional title, both while representing Peachtree Tennis Club in Clinton Township. Golf is another sport Alvin has played for a long time. He’s a 3 handi- cap, and he has two holes-in-one on his golf resume. He shot the aces when he was 13 and 15 years old on 202- and 158- yard holes at Glen Oaks Golf Course in Farmington Hills and the former Rogell Golf Course in Detroit. “I remember those holes-in-one,” Alvin said. “They’re exciting no matter how old you are.” Now 51 and a Waterford resident, Alvin helps coach his son’s baseball and basketball teams and he plays golf as often as he can. He makes a living as a sales rep for Prestige Energy Products, a Grand Rapids-based commercial LED light- ing company, volunteers with Meals and Wheels and helps with Jewish Community Center and American Red Cross blood drives. Being inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame at the annual induction dinner of the JCC was a memorable night. “It’s the greatest athletic honor of my life,” he said. Kampe, Alvin’s basketball coach at Oakland, was honored at the dinner. He was named the Shirley and Alvin Foon Humanitarian Award winner. • Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo. com.