By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer

Lou Brock's message to the high school athletes gathered at the B.A. Sports All-Star Gala on Saturday was simple: "Nobody can do it better than you."

The baseball Hall-of-Famer and former St. Louis Cardinal covered several topics and told more than a few stories of his experiences in professional baseball, but he always came back to how each individual must take responsibility for his own success.

Opening with an anecdote in which he informed the crowd of the four most Googled words in the English language -- sex, God, job and professional wrestling -- Brock joked, "For those of you 30 and under, you'll have to Google me."

Brock's memory of his own Hall of Fame induction in 1985, when he looked around and found himself surrounded by some of the greatest players in the game, was thinking "How did I get here?"

He encouraged the athletes to remind themselves how they achieved the success they had during their time in high school and the people who helped them along the way.

Brock remarked that today's youth know much more about technology than his generation does. As an illustration, he told a story of a time when he told his young grandson not to touch his computer when he left the room. Upon returning, Brock found that his grandson had turned the machine off.

When he asked the boy how he turned the computer off, Brock said, he replied, "I pushed the button."

For the athletes and coaches, just the chance to be in the same room with a sports legend made their night memorable.

"It's always an honor to come and be recognized by the people in this area, but when you're recognized by somebody as well-known as Lou Brock I think it adds to it all that much more," Naylor coach Stephana Deckard said.

Brock also told the athletes to be responsible for their success because one day the coach won't be there to help them. He related that point to a time early in his career when he admitted to knowing nothing about stealing bases.

After getting thrown out in his first attempt, he listened to his coach and found success. From that point, Brock became known for his ability to steal bases.

Doniphan senior Charles Wilson said the message of forging through struggles and hard times really spoke to him.

"I really took it to heart because there are a lot of people who go through struggles, and he hit the nail on the head, when you struggle you have to keep your head up and focus," he said.

In closing, Brock told the athletes that the key to being successful in life is perseverance.

"You must be able to outlast your past and outlast the other person," he said.

Dexter girls' basketball coach Chad Allen received the Coach of the Year award. Greenville's Sara Woodgeard was named MVP of the girls' all-star game, while Naylor's Hailee Deckard was named female Player of the Year.

Wilson was MVP of the large school boys' game, while South Iron's David Prater won in the small schools division.

Notre Dame's Ryan Willen was named the male Player of the Year.

The Bess Award went to the South Iron boys' basketball team, which overcame the tragic preseason death of teammate Ethan Riggs to advance to the Class 2 championship game.