MACKINAW CITY – For as long as he can remember, Ben Strittmatter has had a motto.
Be a team first person – and put full effort into everything you do.
“There’s no point in doing something if you don’t put full effort into it, so that’s why I put full effort into the team, I put full effort into myself, and I put full effort into my grades,” Strittmatter said.
In recent years, perhaps nobody has embodied the student-athlete mindset at Mackinaw City High School more than Strittmatter, a senior who is wrapping up his career on the baseball diamond with the Comets this spring. But as well as Strittmatter has performed in his three main sports – cross country, basketball and baseball – he’s been an even better student, registering a 4.0 grade point average and solidifying himself as the valedictorian of his class.
“According to my dad, I told him I wanted to be a valedictorian before the start of high school,” Strittmatter said. “Obviously, it means a lot, because my class is smart and highly competitive.”
If you ask Strittmatter’s father, assistant baseball coach Robert Strittmatter, where his son’s self-motivation started, you could trace it back to preschool when, according to dad, young Ben was upset because he thought he was going to learn how to read on the opening day of school while the family lived in Copper Harbor. Even though Strittmatter had to wait until the next day to start reading, his dad saw an early indication of what his child might end up becoming down the road.
“Every parent tries to teach their kids the right things to do and stress work ethic, but I think he was born with it,” Robert said. “I even tell him at times not to stress about things, but he just motivates himself.”
Eventually, the Strittmatter family moved to Mackinaw City when Ben was in first grade. Falling in love with basketball during his elementary school years, Strittmatter pushed his way to becoming a productive center for the Comets, where he recently received Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) all-state honors following an impressive senior campaign.
When it comes to baseball, he’s been as steady as they come, earning all-conference honors.
But perhaps where Strittmatter has worked hardest is cross country, a sport he struggled with early on, especially after only running a 28-minute two-mile when he started. But through that putting-in-the-effort mentality, he blossomed into a team captain, an all-conference runner, and a major reason why the Mackinaw City boys qualified for the state finals as a team for the first time since 2011 last fall.
Sure, the individual accolades have been nice, but Strittmatter reiterated it’s all about the team.
“(My senior) cross country season, I didn’t (hit a personal record), but we made states, and that was the goal,” Strittmatter said. “Last year, I PR’d and got into the top 20 for school record times, but we did not win the conference, and we didn’t go to states. This year, we won a conference and we went to states. I’m taking that over personal records any day of the week.”
Strittmatter’s rise through athletics has been remarkable, but it’s his influence in the school and being a first-class person that’s gone a long way in the eyes of many at Mackinaw City. Whether it’s being the president of the student council for multiple years or taking a young athlete under his wing, he’s willing to help, something his dad is proud of.
“He sets a good example for the younger athletes,” Robert said of his son. “If they don’t have a ride, he goes and picks them up. He wants to make sure our programs are better. In a small school, we need everybody to participate, and he goes out of his way to make sure we do that.”
Strittmatter will be graduating soon, but as far as the impact he’s made as a student and in sports, being team-first and having the all-effort approach has paid dividends since the beginning.
“My motivation is to prove people wrong, so I knew no doubt that I could (have this much success), so that’s why I tried to do it,” Strittmatter said.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Mackinaw City senior’s motto drives success in sports and school
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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