The first time we saw Cayde Stajcar in action, my son said to me, “Dad, that girl is good.”

That is because Cayde had flowing long hair that looked a lot like former Steelers star safety Troy Polamalu.

Cayde was playing basketball in the Knights of Columbus Little Kid Hoops program. He was 5 or 6 years old, and he was playing in the young league with the rims lowered to like 7 feet.

The game was way too easy for young Cayde. If he missed a shot, I didn’t see it. He was making shots from inside and out. He scored on translon and on jump shots.

That, though, wasn’t the impressive part about his game that day. Rather, it was the selflessness of the young boy. He would pass up open shots to instead pass the ball to a teammate. He made sure other boys and girls got the chance to shoot and dribble the ball. I made a point to find out who the boys’ parents were that day.

It was no surprise that his father is Luke Stajcar, who is one of the best athletes I covered in Butte as a sportswriter. Apparently, Luke married an athlete, too. His wife, Rissa, was a college volleyball player, so Cayde has the right genes to be an athlete.

That day, I went out of my way to tell Cayde’s mom and dad both how impressed I was with their son. Not as a player, but as a teammate.

It was obvious then and it is obvious now that Cayde Stajcar is the ultimate teammate.

He is also a superstar.

Last week, Cayde became just the eighth Butte athlete to win a Montana Gatorade Player of the Year award. He is the first in the state to win it for baseball.

One day soon, he will be flooded with offers from Division I college looking for him to play baseball and football. Don’t be surprised if he is drafted by a Major League Baseball organization two years from this month. Or after a couple of years in college.

The sky is definitely the limit for Cayde. Yet, we know he will stay humble to his roots because Cayde’s humility is not an act. I saw it that Saturday morning in the KC’s Felix Madrazo Gym, and I see it every time I watch him play football or baseball. I saw it when I refereed his basketball games.

Not only is Cayde a star athlete, he is the easiest young man to root for this side of Tommy Mellott. You know the younger generations are paying attention to that, too.

Here’s hoping some of us in the older generations learn a thing from him as well.

This conversation took place Wednesday in the home dugout at 3 Legends Stadium.

Listen in as he talks about how he learned that he won the Gatorade. Listen in as he talks about his love of baseball and football. Listen as he talks about playing with top-notch competition in tournaments in Arizona and George while we were freezing in Montana.

Listen to how he traces his humble foundation to his mom, dad and siblings.

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