PHOTOJulio Concepcion, a 5-foot-1 all-around athlete at River Forest High School, stands beside 5-9 football teammate John Daniels. (Post-Tribune photo)
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Julio Concepcion is so small he cannot be overlooked. At 5-foot-1, 132 pounds, the River Forest High School senior is immediately recognized before a performance, and immediately respected during it, whether it be on the the baseball field, the wrestling mat, on center stage with the jazz band, or on the football field.
Yes, even on the high school varsity football field.
Concepcion started at defensive back last fall for the Ingots' sectional championship football team. He wrestled in the winter, and is hitting .372 while batting lead-off for the baseball team.
The center fielder was the team's most valuable player last year when he hit .348 and earned a spot on the All-Northwest Hoosier Conference team.
When he is not proving that size is not the most important factor in high school athletics, he is searching his insides for answers to vague questions, and telling the world what he learns through the alto saxophone that has won him honors in state competition.
'Look at all those handicapped people out there, look at (California Angels' pitcher Jim Abbott, born with one hand), look at how he does things with his disability, and all those handicapped people out there, they're my idols.
'You don't have to be big, it's not really your physical capabilities, it's your mind, it's how bad you want to do it. If you want to do it you can do it, it's all in your head. Everything's in your head.'
Concepcion not only presents probably the smallest strike zone in Northwest Indiana, but he also knows what to do with a pitch that is there for the taking.
'He's always had the ability to hit,' said baseball coach Kirk Whiting, who said Concepcion's only glaring weakness is arm strength. 'He's been working on switch-hitting. He has an excellent eye, usually makes contact, doesn't strike out much which, with his size, makes him susceptible to walks.'
'In baseball, my size is a real good advantage. I'm pretty quick, so that makes up for my height.
'All you see are those real tall long skinny guys, and those big powerful guys, but I'm short and kind of cocky, so I just go out and I know I'm going to hit that ball.
'I just know I'm going to hit it, and I have that kind of confidence in me.
'In the outfield, it's my speed that keeps up with me. I might not have those long legs, but I'll get there.'
Small baseball players are not that uncommon. Former Kansas City Royals shortstop Freddie Patek, a two-time All-Star, was 5-5. Former Cincinnati Reds star Joe Morgan was 5-7, 150 pounds, yet hit 268 home runs over his 22-year career.
But football? Even at the Class 2A level, Concepcion was surrounded by giants.
'Julio was probably the best pure tackler on the team,' said Whiting, who is also an assistant football coach. 'Early in the season, people thought they could stick their biggest receiver on him and try to throw over him, but Julio countered that with his quickness and knowledge. And he loves to hit people.'
'In football, I was the smallest guy on the team. I had to make up for what I didn't have. I sometimes had a 6-1, 6-2 receiver on me, so I had to back up and give him a little room so he didn't beat me out in the long run.
'What made up for it was my speed and my judgment. And I had to hit him low. I just wrapped my arms around his legs and BOOM! He's down and I just made up for it. I love football.'
Concepcion, the oldest of five children and an honor roll student, credits hours of practice and help from his coaches and teachers for helping him to achieve so much. And they, in return, receive something from him.
'Julio is very warm, personable, and very communicative,' said Weldon Slater, Concepcion's music teacher at River Forest.
'Some people play notes per se; Julio has a way of communicating with the saxophone. It's the sign of a real performer. If he's having a good day, his music is bright and exciting, and if he's having a bad day, or didn't get enough sleep or whatever, he plays more melancholy.'
At a recent Jazz Fest at River Forest, which included bands from Chesterton, Crown Point, and LaVille high schools, Concepcion was recognized as the most outstanding overall performer and the most outstanding soloist, which Slater said was the first time in 11 years that one student earned both honors.
A representative from Vandercook School of Music in Chicago has offered a scholarship. Concepcion is apparently leaning that way.
'I use music to express my feelings, to let out my fears, to let out my anger. I use music in a lot of ways. It calms me down when I'm really hyper.
'It's something you express, it's not something you can explain. You can feel it. If you can feel it, it sounds something real good.'
In less than a month, Concepcion will graduate from high school. He realizes he will need his dogged determination for a much bigger endeavor that never ends after high school.
'Sometimes, I have to come to reality and say, 'Hey, your years are your high school years and when you get out of there, you're going to be out in the real world, and you have to work on your studying. Set your life.
'In a way, I'm scared to meet it, but I can't because then it'll turn on me. If I go out and meet the real world, and go after the real world, then I'm going to do something.
'I'm going to miss baseball a lot, and I'll never forget football. I want to play football (in college), but I know I can't. But it is something everybody will remember, that 5-foot-1 guy on defense.'
To see him make a vicious tackle or smack a line drive into the gap in right field elicits cheers from all who love the underdog. Strangers shake their heads in disbelief of how that 'little guy' keeps up with the big kids.
But the fans who have followed River Forest the past four years give the oddest looks to people awed by Julio Concepcion. They seem to think there is nothing peculiar about their 5-foot-1 wonder, but then again, they have also heard him play the saxophone.
