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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Trying out the turf ... Council Corner: Addressing Ashland's asphalt problem ... Walking tours take a trip back through time ... Our View: Trying out the turf ... Council Corner: Addressing Ashland's asphalt problem ... Walking tours take a trip back through time ... ASHLAND HIGH SCHOOL Guthrie kicks off fundraising drive Baseball star alumnus donates $650K, gives speech in gym Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Mar. 25, 2015 at 2:00 AM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Mar. 25, 2015 at 2:00 AM Donate to the drive --> Donations to the $1.1 million drive to replace the sod at Walter A. Phillips Field with artificial turf can be made online at http://bit.ly/1CNCElL or mailed to ASF Turf Field Fund, 100 Walker Ave.... » Read more X Donate to the drive Donations to the $1.1 million drive to replace the sod at Walter A. Phillips Field with artificial turf can be made online at http://bit.ly/1CNCElL or mailed to ASF Turf Field Fund, 100 Walker Ave., Ashland OR 97520. » Social News Back when he was just another three-sport athlete at Ashland High School, Jeremy Guthrie was at North Valley High School in Grants Pass for a summer-league basketball tournament — one of those car-pool offseason roadies that every player who aspires to make varsity must endure. The Grizzlies had just completed their first of two scheduled games and had about two hours to rest, recuperate and eat before game number two tipped off. That’s when Guthrie approached coach Tito Soriano with an unusual request. The football, basketball and baseball player wanted to squeeze in a workout between games, but he needed Soriano’s help because the weight room was locked. Soriano, impressed and somewhat baffled, managed to track down a North Valley coach who had the key and a few minutes later Soriano was spotting Guthrie on the bench press. “That was how determined he was,” Soriano said. “I can tell you, as a junior in high school that work ethic was like none other I’ve seen. He was like, leave no-stone-unturned to kind of fulfill his dream, and that was to be a starting varsity quarterback.” Guthrie ended up fulfilling that dream and a few others, and on Tuesday the Kansas City Royals starting pitcher returned to his old stomping grounds to help the Ashland School District kick off a fundraising campaign aimed at replacing the Walter A. Phillips Field grass with a more durable but costly synthetic turf. Guthrie, who graduated from Ashland High as valedictorian in1997, has already pledged $650,000 to the estimated $1.2 million project and on Tuesday he made his rounds to say both "thank you" and "you’re welcome" to the Ashland community. “For me, when coach (Jim) Nagel called me and asked me about it, it was a no-brainer,” Guthrie said during his speech, referring to the former Ashland football coach, “because I can go back, like I said, and I can think about those early moments as a young freshman learning lessons from football that impacted everything that I do in my life.” Guthrie’s long day began at the Elks Lodge and moved on to Ashland High’s Mountain Avenue Gym, where the 35-year-old righty who started Game 7 of the World Series last October was greeted by about 150 spectators. After back-to-back introductions, first by Ashland Mayor John Stromberg and later by AHS principal Michelle Zundel, Guthrie took the podium and gave a speech that lasted about 10 minutes before fielding more than a dozen questions. After that, he signed autographs, posed for pictures and even stood in for an on-camera interview conducted by a local chess club. All told, he arrived at AHS at 3 p.m. and didn’t leave until about 4:45 p.m. Later, he was scheduled to head back to the Elks Lodge for another reception. But true to his reputation as a humble star athlete, Guthrie did not complain. “I don’t make it back a whole bunch so every time I do it’s great,” he said, just before ducking out. “I don’t realize how much I miss it and what a great place it is.” Guthrie said his favorite hangout spot while attending AHS was Giseppi’s Pizza, and he spoke fondly of the school itself, which he said, “kind of felt like an outdoor campus, almost like a little mini-college.” “It was great,” he said. “We’ve got great teachers here, great faculty, many of which have retired, and they deserve to go off and enjoy their lives because they’ve done a great service to me and to the other students that have come through here. That’s what I remember the most, just a great faculty from top to bottom.” Why such a large donation? Guthrie said he’s only following the example that was set for him at AHS 20 years ago. “Much of what I’ve accomplished throughout my life, a lot of those foundations and lessons were taught here in this high school,” he said. “So for me to give back is — I’ve obviously been blessed and have been very fortunate in my career and have the ability to do that. And I’m happy to do that. “For me, more importantly, just try to live a good life and being a good example, and to do that — that to me is much more important than any financial donation for whatever it may do. Just going about and doing great things and representing the community in other aspects of life, I think that’s really the greatest way to give back and fortunately I can do it in other ways as well.” Many of Guthrie’s former coaches and teachers were in the bleachers Tuesday as he covered a wide range of topics, from his childhood influences to why he believes it’s important to branch out and play multiple sports in high school. If you want to limit yourself as an athlete, he said, stick to one sport. He learned that after giving up basketball for a few years following high school in order to avoid the risk of injury. He picked it up again on a whim and has been playing pick-up games ever since. Guthrie also talked about Nagel’s influence. The coach who led AHS to three state titles required players to fill out a sheet with three columns, stating their goals, obstacles and actions. Guthrie was only 14 years old when he filled out his list, and he still remembers sitting down with Nagel to discuss it. For Guthrie, his main athletic goal was to become Ashland’s starting quarterback as a junior, so he hit the weight room hard, studied the playbook and committed himself to summer passing leagues. Then one day before Guthrie’s junior season Nagel called Guthrie into the coaches’ office and told him that he would not be the starting quarterback. Guthrie was disappointed, but told the crowd Tuesday that the benefits of Nagel’s lesson have far outlived that frustration. “I learned from a young age …what it meant to set a proper goal, how to work towards that and how you can achieve it,” Guthrie said. One of Guthrie’s former teachers, Tamara Anderson, said that Guthrie was as focused in the classroom as he was on the field. “He was extremely dedicated,” Anderson said. “When he wasn’t having to meet for football during lunch times, he was in my classroom or the year before (another teacher’s) class. I mean, he was always in there getting help when he needed it or just to get things done.” Now, he’s returning the favor in a huge way, giving Ashland High a huge helping hand as it attempts to replace one of the oldest playing fields in the state. “I feel profound gratitude for Jeremy stepping forward and launching this project that’s going to create an extraordinary place for the community,” Zundel said. “Our current grass field hosts eight or nine home football games a year and this will be available all the time. We’ll be able to have physical education classes, we’ll be able to have home soccer games for the first time. And it will be available for community use as well.” Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Mar. 25, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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