There was a commercial on television for a financial firm that used this line.
"They do things the old-fashioned way, they earn it."
The stodgy old gentleman who uttered that phrase would probably appreciate Kyle Bowen because that phrase also fits in well with what he's accomplished.
I had a chance to talk to the 22-year-old, 2002 Killingly High grad the other night, the same day as he had learned that he had been one of the first to be selected to join with America's best in the trampoline at the U.S. Olympic training facility in Colorado.
What struck me most about Bowen is his dedication to the sport that he has loved since he was a teenager.
He not only is a performer, he's also a coach as he works with his former coach, Bill Young, at his Plainfield facility.
He's not only a coach, he's a judge. Bowen is certified to judge trampoline competitions through the World Championship level, the only competition he cannot serve as a judge at is the one he wants to compete in- the Olympics.
He's not only a judge, he's a fan and a promoter of the sport.
Bowen said to me he is surprised that the sport hasn't piqued American interest more as of yet as it is one of those "thrill of victory, agony of defeat" (to use another commerical TV line) sports. Exciting, fast-paced, and somewhat dangerous.
Here's wishing best of luck to Kyle Bowen in Colorado, maybe, we'll be wishing him best of luck in Beijing as well next year.
Read more about Kyle Bowen and his climb to the top in his sport in today's Norwich Bulletin and Bulletin on-line.

Bacon Academy was quite the sports lover's dream on Monday and a lot of people took advantage of the nice weather to come out and take in a game...or two.
The biggest crowd was over at the softball field where two rivals, the host Bobcats, and the Griswold Wolverines were playing.
The expected happened, a close game, highlighted by a couple of nice defensive plays by Griswold and some timely hitting on the part of the Wolverines as they danced past Bacon 3-0. One thing to remember, these two teams will see each other at least once more.
All you had to do was follow the tarred path (which I became quite familiar with) and there was a tennis match between the Killingly and Bacon Academy girls tennis teams. The Bobcats just managed to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Redgals in that one.
And if you didn't mind just a few more steps and down a slight hill, there was a baseball game between Bacon and Windham. All that one featured was a no-hitter by Bacon Academy senior Bryan Howes as the host Bobcats beat the Whippets 8-0.
All in all, not a bad 80-plus degree day to be in Colchester.

It's nice to have a team with ability, it's even nicer when that team is blessed with a little character as well.
The Waterford High Lancers baseball team certainly have ability and also plenty of confidence as they've already shown in several games this season.
They just held off a hungry Killingly squad 3-2 early this season and just this past week, won two close games. The Lancers nipped Ledyard 1-0 in 11 innings on Thursday, came back to beat NFA on Friday and then rallied for a 5-4 win over the number three team in the state, Fitch, on Saturday afternoon.
"Great character," Waterford's senior catcher Rob Bono said after the encounter with Fitch. "Our play is just showing it. If we get down, we're not letting it affect us. We're fighting right till the end and we're coming out on top."
The Lancers did hurt themselves a bit on Saturday as they committed six errors.
"I don't think we've had six errors all year," Waterford coach Jack O'Keefe said. "They were simple plays but we just started to bleed there and couldn't stop it."
The Lancers did give away a 3-0 lead as Fitch took a 4-3 lead by the fifth but Waterford was able to rally to win in the seventh.
Maybe not a perfect game but probably a typical one for these two ECC Large Division rivals who will meet again.

There was plenty to think about yesterday and this was only a softball game.
The weather was great in Waterford and the game was just as good, as most ECC Large games between NFA, Waterford, East Lyme and Fitch will be this season.
The question: Do you walk a batter with two outs and no one on?
In a normal situation, absolutely not. When her name is Caitlin Eaton of Norwich Free Academy, you might want to think twice especially if you're nursing a 2-0 lead.
Waterford pitched to the NFA third baseman twice and she burnt them twice as she ripped two triples and scored two runs including the game-winner in the Wildcat's narrow 3-2 victory Thursday afternoon.
"We dealt with the same thing, do you intentionally walk the winning run on?," NFA coach Jim Cotter said.
"We're a little different than baseball, we don't have too many three-run home runs (in softball) so I would probably do that," NFA coach Jim Cotter said.
Cotter did that in the eighth when he walked Anna Levesque. He got lucky, she didn't score.
As Waterford coach Kate Peruzzotti said, "the ball just didn't roll our way today."

He didn't want to think of it as a possibility but were the Norwich Free Academy Wildcats caught looking ahead just a bit to a game vs. Waterford today.
NFA coach Jim Cotter thought about that question for a moment after his Wildcats were shutout by Fitch 4-0 Wednesday and said he had hoped not especially after they found themselves down 3-0 in the first inning.
NFA could never recover.
Fitch junior Kristina Torres never let NFA get much going as she failed to walk a batter and allowed only three hits. A base-running miscue ended the only threat NFA could mount.
One thing the Fitch victory did signal is that there is a new kid in town in the midst of the Large Division battles as Waterford, NFA and East Lyme will now also have to contend with the Falcons.
As Cotter said, "it's going to be a great year."
I couldn't agree more as long as the weather breaks and allows us to enjoy it a bit more. I don't know about you but I've had more than my share of being cold watching a game this spring.

We've been getting a lot of response to the resignation of Dave Austin as Putnam High baseball coach.
Most have said it's a good thing that coaches are now being held accountable for what they say, in a huddle, in a practice, after the game.
But one parent, Sue Gardner, from Putnam had a legitimate question. After what has happened to Putnam boys basketball coachTony Falzarano (a two-game suspension for talking ill about his team to the media after a game and almost including a four-letter word in the description) and Austin (a resignation, be it voluntary or forced for directing a homosexual slur at a player in practice), how difficult is it going to be to coach in Putnam? Even at a baseball game Friday, two coaches were thinking that very same thing but dared not say anything.
In the past, what Austin said would probably have never been challenged. It was acceptable to use those analogies in practice and it was almost commonplace. We live in a different world now where every word we say, can, and will be judged (just ask Don Imus).
It means that coaches, those who teach and those who don't, should be given specific guidelines as to what they can and cannot say and what they can and cannot do. It also means there should be specific punishments as to the offense not a two-game suspension here or a resignation there.
If we're going to be politically correct all the time, let's do it by the book.

You can already get the idea that the softball battles are going to be just that in the Eastern Connecticut, battles.
As it traditionally is in the game, pitching will again be the key although some teams can also hit the ball well.
Take for example, Waterford. Their offense got them the one run they needed on Tuesday against Griswold as the Lancers posted the 1-0 win over Jess Arremony and the Wolverines. That was also a good effort by Waterford pitcher Brittany Connors who had to shut down a veteran-dominated Griswold lineup.
NFA had enough offense and just enough pitching to finally down seventh-ranked Lauralton Hall on Saturday in 13 innings.
East Lyme, Bacon Academy, St. Bernard, Lyman, and Plainfield all have experienced pitchers as well which makes for interesting races in all three divisions with, at least, three teams seemingly in the mix in each.
Now if we can just get the weather to cooperate.

It's about time that they're talking about it.
Brian Girasoli's article on Monday about high school golf got some discussion going about something I've felt strongly about for a long time.
In New England, golf should be a fall sport.
The reasons why are pretty simple. Just take a gander out your window at the lawn right now and it's pretty clear that winter hasn't quite left yet and we're approaching the middle of April.The conditions on golf courses at this time of year are not what one would consider to be the best.
The players are coming off a long winter of inactivity as far as golf is concerned, some a long of period of inactivity- period.
Plus, there are just so many activities in the spring and summer, many which do not take place on an athletic venue, that the reduction of one sport probably wouldn't matter all that much.
Here is the plus side.
The golf courses, in the fall, are at some of their peak conditions. The players, having played all summer for the most part, are much more prepped to play.
"Senior-itis" will not have set in yet so more athletes are available to choose from and the weather is just plain better. Plus, courses probably wouldn't mind the additional revenue as play from the public begins to slack off in the fall as opposed to picking up in the spring when everyone is antsy to get out and play.
There is the argument that golf will now buck up against football, soccer and cross country but that's not all that different than what it faces now, baseball, track, tennis, and lacrosse.
Let's hope the informal poll that will be taken by the Eastern Connecticut Conference's coaches at the end of the season feels the same and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference also listens.

It's here already...maybe.
The spring high school sports season is set to begin in somewhat typical fashion as a cold rain is forecast for today.
With fields already in somewhat questionable condition, we probably won't see that many games played today.
There are teams in the Northeastern part of the state who have only seen practice on their fields a couple of times thus far this season and there's one, Tourtellotte, who hasn't seen any at all.
That's because the Tigers no longer have a field.
A school building project has taken over what was the baseball, football and reserve soccer field behind the Fisher Elementary school which is all part of the same school complex with the middle and high schools in Thompson.
The baseball field will now be located up where the current track and soccer field is, the land is being cleared but the field won't be ready this season. The Tigers have had to scramble for places to play home games and will do so at the Thompson Senior League, Owen Bell Park in Dayville and at Ellis Tech.