The date was Feb. 5, 2016.

Butler's varsity girls basketball team was closing its section season at Seneca Valley with a 64-18 loss.

Golden Tornado sophomore Alyssa Eyth was helped off the court that night. Her knee, already in a brace, had locked up again and her season was over before the game was.

Eyth sobbed as she was assisted to the bench. Her team was 3-17 overall and the loss that night dropped Butler's section record to 0-12.

That's not why the girl was crying.

She just wanted to play basketball. Enjoy time on the court with her friends while representing her school.

That was taken away — temporarily.

Eyth and her fellow sophomores returned next season and led Butler to the WPIAL playoffs. They did so again as seniors, this time as the second-place team in their section.

It didn't stop there for this girl.

Eyth will be graduating in the spring with a 4.3 grade point average. She is vice-president of the National Honor Society at Butler High School. She participates in volleyball and track, along with basketball.

And she received the KDKA Extra Effort Award during a school assembly a few days ago in front of her fellow students.

She won't be done after she graduates. Eyth will join longtime Butler teammate and close friend Jenna Kunst on the women's basketball team at Mercyhurst University next year. She will begin her quest to forever serve her love of animals by one day becoming a veterinarian.

Quite a success story, Alyssa Eyth.

The good news is there are others like her, at Butler and other schools.

The school shootings in recent months are horrific. So is the drug problem in our schools and on our streets. No question, there is a portion of bad in our society that we all must address and deal with.

But the portion of good youths in our society outweighs it.

Such is the privilege of covering high school sports for a living. I get to see that and be reminded of it every day.

I see wrestlers endure a grueling tournament day, ice on their elbows, shoulders and knees, cuts above eyes, mat burns on their faces — and I see smiles of satisfaction from giving all they had to give.

I've seen Butler football players crying in the team huddle — because it hurts to lose — especially when you're pouring your heart and soul into trying to win.

I've seen the magic of Ethan Morton on the basketball court that really isn't magic at all — it's the product of years of dedication and tireless energy devoted to his craft.

This is all part of the good on display by our youths these days. It's still there.

These kids are laying the foundation now for success later in life.

I see it all the time. And I'm grateful for it.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle