Published: June 03, 2009 10:48 pm      

No slowing down

Hornets star to cap stellar senior year on high school track’s biggest stage in Austin

The motor that drives Huntsville senior Kirby Ennis runs at a freakishly high pace. Always has and probably always will.

Competition, whether it’s on the football field, basketball court, discus ring or classroom even, revs Ennis’ engine. And once that motor cranks up, Ennis instantly shifts into high gear.

“I go hard at everything I do,” Ennis said this week while making some last-minute preparations for the state track meet — his swan song as a Huntsville Hornet. “I never want to lose. I like to be on top and I know I can be when I work hard.

“Basically, I want to succeed in everything I do and I don’t want to have any regrets. I know what I do in high school helps determine my future.”

What Ennis did in high school — helping the Hornets win three consecutive district titles in basketball, one in football and another this spring in track and field — earned him a full football scholarship from Texas A&M. He’ll be leaving home for Aggieland later this summer.

“I realized a long time ago that the only way I was going to college was in sports,” Ennis said. “It was going to be really hard for my relatives to pay for school.”

Huntsville’s head football coach Mitchell Coey remembers the first time he laid eyes on Ennis. A bigger-than-average eighth-grader, Ennis and one of his junior high coaches came to visit the Hornets’ football boss.

Coey knew right away that this young guy was special.

“Kirby told me that day he wanted to win a state championship,” Coey recalls. “Kirby’s a true competitor. He grew up in far from ideal conditions, but he has persevered. He’s always been focused on where he was going and he knew how he was going to get there. He works hard not only in athletics, but in academics too. Kirby works hard in the classroom. He has made something of himself and he’ll be successful in life because of the way he works. He listens and he’s coachable.

“I predict that Kirby Ennis will play on Sunday afternoons (in the NFL) barring any major injuries. He’s got that kind of talent, both physically and mentally.”

Coey said it’s been a treat to watch big No. 42 play football.

“You ought to see him come out of the dressing room,” Coey said Wednesday evening. “His eyes are bloodshot — they’re solid red.

“He’s one of those rare athletes who has that switch and he turns it on when the lights come on. He just goes at a different level than everyone else.”

Huntsville basketball coach Larry Carlson and his predecessor, Doug Anderson, say the same thing about Ennis. They sure enjoyed rolling out the ball and asking their big man to go to work.

Track coach Jason Elliott quickly found out that Ennis means business when he’s spinning around the discus ring. David Cooper has known that for four or five years now. He is Ennis’ former junior high coach who introduced him to Coey a few years back.

Today, Cooper and Ennis are still together. They’re headed to Austin this afternoon to get ready for the UIL State Track and Field Championships.

On Friday at 1:30 p.m., Ennis will compete with the top discus throwers in Texas with gold, silver and bronze medals on the line.

“It’s been fun to see Kirby set a goal and finally achieve it in his senior year,” Cooper said. “He’s been wanting to go to state since he was in eighth grade. Now he’s getting an opportunity to go there.

“If he can get in the 170s (feet), anything can happen. I just want him to go and compete well.”

Ennis will likely do that. Nearly nonstop since he first hit the doors at Huntsville High School, he has competed well from late summer through the next spring.

“I’m pretty sure my body is tired,” Ennis admitted when asked about the wear and tear that comes with playing three sports. “We’ve been doing 80 throws a day throughout the track season. I get tired sometimes, but I’ve just got to realize I’m throwing against seven other guys, and hey, they’re tired too.

“There are always times when my body feels like giving up. Playing football, basketball and track takes a toll on you,” Ennis added. “If you’re competitive, you can overcome that. It’s all about pushing yourself past that.

“That competitive spirit and heart go farther than fatigue.”