BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Arundel High’s baseball season opened Saturday with two losses at its own holiday tournament and without Tyler Hibbs, the pitching ace who lost his spot in the rotation and his college scholarship after a February drug arrest. Hibbs, The Examiner’s 2007 Player of the Year and member of the USA Junior National Team, was charged with possession of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia after being stopped for speeding in Odenton.

Ever since then, Hibbs’ situation has been stirring up strong emotions on many fronts. First, he became the latest symbol of wasted talent, another in a too long list of young athletic stars who fell from grace. The outcry continued when the Anne Arundel County school system did not immediately take action against the 18-year-old senior. Officials said the charges came outside school and outside the athletic season, so he did not violate any county athletic rules.

Since then, he has left the team — and apparently Arundel High, although privacy rules have kept officials quiet about it. Florida State rescinded his scholarship offer on March 5.

Hibbs’ arrest gave parents another chance to lecture their children about the dangers of bad behavior. Of course, drug dealing charges are near the top of the do-not-do list. But that do-not-do list grows longer and more complicated every year.

This is a good time to warn kids of the consequences of actions, however big or small. The teens of the 1970s are the parents of today’s teenagers. Like every other generation of parents, some of us probably think we survived our mistakes so we could teach our children never to make them. Unfortunately, words are not as powerful of a teaching tool as firsthand experiences.

But guess what: Kids always have made mistakes and always will. It is just a matter of degree and whether or not they get caught. Kids make terrible, terrible mistakes. And they need to take responsibility for those mistakes. But high school seniors — even those legal adults — do not always have the sense to stay out of trouble.

Kids have the ability to respond poorly to great success or great failure. Our teen suicide rate proves how difficult it can be to manage life at that age.

For athletes, handling success and failure can be even tougher. They watch college players and professional players, who are older and supposedly wiser, make poor decisions and then get second, third and sometimes uncountable chances. And they are thrust into the spotlight and made to feel invincible.

I’m not suggesting Tyler Hibbs should return to the high school pitching mound this spring. And I’m not suggesting that Florida State welcome him with open arms.

Hibbs deserves to face trial on the charges and, if convicted, to face legal consequences.

But he does not deserve to have his entire life judged by his actions as an 18-year-old. None of us does.

At some point down the road, I hope Hibbs gets a second chance. And if he does, I hope he makes the most of it.

Effie Dawson writes about high school and youth sports. Reach her at edawson@baltimoreexaminer.com