According to ESPN's "Outside the Lines," Pop Warner, the nation's largest youth football program saw participation drop by 9.5 percent between 2010-12. From ESPN:
Pop Warner lost 23,612 players, thought to be the largest two-year decline since the organization began keeping statistics decades ago. Consistent annual growth led to a record 248,899 players participating in Pop Warner in 2010; that figure fell to 225,287 by the 2012 season.
Pop Warner officials said they believe several factors played a role in the decline, including the trend of youngsters focusing on one sport. But the organization's chief medical officer, Dr. Julian Bailes, cited concerns about head injuries as "the No. 1 cause."
These kids are too young to be playing tackle football anyway. As a former high school coach and athletic administrator, this whole youth football thing is totally parent-driven and crazy. Any pediatric medical professional will tell you the same thing. It's all about parental ego.
Flag football before 7th grade is fine. They can still learn fundamentals and how to participate in a team culture, without endangering the child's brain, growth plates and in many cases their self esteem. Parents need to back off and let kids be kids. Tackle football before the seventh grade is akin to child abuse.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Monday, June 10, 2013
Good-Bye Big Cash Scheme, Hello College Football Playoff
As long as the BCS v. non-BCS (or haves v. have-not's) issue in college football is dominated by money, and by the conferences, networks and sponsors that are part of the Bowl Championship Series, nothing will change to improve the system, to get rid of the favoritism and corruption, or to make college football more about football and fair competition. Instead, it will only get worse.
Welcome CFP. Eager to turn the page from the complex and convoluted BCS era, college football's power brokers gave the most basic name imaginable to the four-team playoff that will crown the national champion starting with the 2014 season.
They announced Tuesday that the new event will be branded simply "College Football Playoff" --- a name that, for all it lacks in creativity, underscores the reality that fans are getting what they long demanded and were long denied.
But what really changes? Sure, four teams will be selected for a semifinal and final rounds in order to name a national champion. But will any team not belonging to the six power conferences ever be in the Final Four of football, even if they are undefeated?
In our dogged pursuit of "who is the best" , what really changes? The same BCS power brokers will determine the final four teams. More money for ....who?? Television networks will take the biggest cut. Will the four participants get millions? Football is an NCAA sponsored and regulated sport, yet does not sponsor or oversee a football championship at the FBS level. Strange. It does conduct plays offs at the FCS, Division II and Division III levels. Hum, not nearly as much money involved at these levels.
For some reason the NCAA is duped into approving 32 bowl games, most of which are loser bowls with teams that have 6 loses during the regular season. Why not just have a 64 team playoff like the NCAA conducts for the FCS level? That would be too logical and not fair to the Power conferences who would risk losing to a team in Conference USA, for instance. After all it is partly about status, perception, and ego at the top level anyway. Sort of the country club set versus the community center crowd, don't you think?
Oh well, reality is that television and the" haves" are always in control.
Dear Charlie,
Hi-while perusing the web this p.m. in search of people who
may know of this issue so that I could find some stress relief I came across
your article. As a middle school track coach I do believe all these elite
travel squads in the team sports have all but destroyed school sports. There is
no longer any school loyalty. Kids competing on several sports at the same time
will sacrifice their school sport obligations for the travel team.
Alas what
comes from it is injuries & extreme burnout at the wrong time when we are
poised to win a state title. I tried like hell to convince them of team
responsibility, loyalty to fellow relay members, but they told me flat to my
face that at their age they are entitled to choices & if it means they care
more about soccer then so be it. When I spoke of the concussions & injuries
that I woke up to yesterday, they made it clear that soccer was worth any
concussion. They didn't care if it meant they would burn out, lose the track
title, see their academics go downhill from brain dementia, or end up in a
group home. They didn't care. I asked their opinion about the NFL players
saying that they were not made aware of repercussions in the concussion dept.
They said it was worth the concussion. I spoke to the school nurses--they agreed
with me & said it's broken & I can't fix it--13 years of bad parenting.
It's not so much that they are playing a second sport that bothers me is that
they would not sacrifice that sport for the final 2 weeks of my season so that
they could peak properly.
And then I learn that some of these kids have travel
games 4 schooldays a week plus the town league on weekends. When do they do
homework & sleep? As a coach I'm lost for a solution & believe me I'm
reasonable-I allow kids to attend say jazz band after school & then come to
practice, etc. but these club sports must be feeding these kids some kind of
fuzzy baloney & they are making much more than I do. They have taken over
the schools' tradition. Now the devil's advocate may say well what about clubs
in your sport. Well, they dominate the middle school track title meet-the kids
are far better but these clubs are located mostly around cities where the
schools are too poor to offer any kind of sports at the middle school level.
They don't attend meets every week but they will occasionally travel out of
state. The clubs are also run by volunteers & I don't believe they have
practice every day. I just don't get it anymore.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Pennsylvania to Sue NCAA
The following are quotes from an article written by Paul Steinbach, who is the senior editor of Athletic Business Magazine. Please read his entire article at http://www.athleticbusiness.com/editors/blog/default.aspx?id=1050
Reaction to Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett’s announcement Wednesday that he intends to sue the NCAA over its response to the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State came with swiftness reminiscent of NCAA’s original actions.
The University Statement: "Penn State, which counts Corbett and five gubernatorial appointees among its board of trustees, issued a statement Wednesday that read “Penn State is not a party to the lawsuit and has not been involved in its preparation or filing.” It goes on to quote university officials as saying, “The University is committed to full compliance with the Consent Decree, the Athletics Integrity Agreement and, as appropriate, the implementation of the Freeh report recommendations."
The NCAA issued its own statement Wednesday, quoting the association’s executive vice president and general counsel, Donald Remy: “We are disappointed by the Governor’s action [Wednesday]. Not only does this forthcoming lawsuit appear to be without merit, it is an affront to all of the victims in this tragedy — lives that were destroyed by the criminal actions of Jerry Sandusky. While the innocence that was stolen can never be restored, Penn State has accepted the consequences for its role and the role of its employees and is moving forward. The announcement by the Governor is a setback to the University’s efforts.”
Associated Press columnist Jim Litke, meanwhile, quoted an unnamed legal expert who says Corbett’s antitrust claims against the NCAA have merit. No one is in favor of abusing children, Litke wrote. “But determining the punishment for covering up an actual crime — for what a few men in high places at Penn State did, instead of what they should have done — is still a matter for the courts, not the NCAA. That's where the damages will be decided going forward, and where they had been until the NCAA took a whack.”
Associated Press columnist Jim Litke, meanwhile, quoted an unnamed legal expert who says Corbett’s antitrust claims against the NCAA have merit. No one is in favor of abusing children, Litke wrote. “But determining the punishment for covering up an actual crime — for what a few men in high places at Penn State did, instead of what they should have done — is still a matter for the courts, not the NCAA. That's where the damages will be decided going forward, and where they had been until the NCAA took a whack.”
Litke then concluded, “It should be comforting to anyone who wants to see justice done that the matter is in the hands of a real court, instead of the kangaroo court that Emmert( NCAA President) and his crew convened at their headquarters in Indianapolis.”
Is the NCAA too powerful? Wealthy it is, but in this instance is it's nose somewhere it doesn't belong?
Reaction to Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett’s announcement Wednesday that he intends to sue the NCAA over its response to the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State came with swiftness reminiscent of NCAA’s original actions.
The University Statement: "Penn State, which counts Corbett and five gubernatorial appointees among its board of trustees, issued a statement Wednesday that read “Penn State is not a party to the lawsuit and has not been involved in its preparation or filing.” It goes on to quote university officials as saying, “The University is committed to full compliance with the Consent Decree, the Athletics Integrity Agreement and, as appropriate, the implementation of the Freeh report recommendations."
The NCAA issued its own statement Wednesday, quoting the association’s executive vice president and general counsel, Donald Remy: “We are disappointed by the Governor’s action [Wednesday]. Not only does this forthcoming lawsuit appear to be without merit, it is an affront to all of the victims in this tragedy — lives that were destroyed by the criminal actions of Jerry Sandusky. While the innocence that was stolen can never be restored, Penn State has accepted the consequences for its role and the role of its employees and is moving forward. The announcement by the Governor is a setback to the University’s efforts.”
Associated Press columnist Jim Litke, meanwhile, quoted an unnamed legal expert who says Corbett’s antitrust claims against the NCAA have merit. No one is in favor of abusing children, Litke wrote. “But determining the punishment for covering up an actual crime — for what a few men in high places at Penn State did, instead of what they should have done — is still a matter for the courts, not the NCAA. That's where the damages will be decided going forward, and where they had been until the NCAA took a whack.”
Associated Press columnist Jim Litke, meanwhile, quoted an unnamed legal expert who says Corbett’s antitrust claims against the NCAA have merit. No one is in favor of abusing children, Litke wrote. “But determining the punishment for covering up an actual crime — for what a few men in high places at Penn State did, instead of what they should have done — is still a matter for the courts, not the NCAA. That's where the damages will be decided going forward, and where they had been until the NCAA took a whack.”
Litke then concluded, “It should be comforting to anyone who wants to see justice done that the matter is in the hands of a real court, instead of the kangaroo court that Emmert( NCAA President) and his crew convened at their headquarters in Indianapolis.”
Is the NCAA too powerful? Wealthy it is, but in this instance is it's nose somewhere it doesn't belong?
Monday, December 24, 2012
Proposed Athletic Handbook Irks Parents
Proposed high school athletic handbook ires parents.
The Estancia (NM) High School’s athletic staff and administration have been working on an athletic handbook to present to the district school board for approval. Most schools at all levels have such a document. The handbook usually covers obvious items like care of school uniforms and equipment, attendance at contests, and other school policies. Handbooks are intended as a source of information for coaches, athletes, and parents. They also serve to insure that all coaches and staff are on the same page as far as policy matters. They also should contain the school’s and district’s philosophy of athletics along with the goals of the program.
Most handbooks will include a section on student-athlete expectations, such as abstaining from alcohol and substance abuse and the consequences for violations. This area of Estancia’s proposed handbook has drawn the ire of a group of parents who feel this section invades their parenting responsibility.
"It's kind of a slap in the face saying that we don't know how to parent our kids," scolded Cheri Lujan. She - and several other parents - referred specifically to a provision under "Prohibited Conduct": "The use or possession of alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, or tobacco in any form, or attendance at a party or other gathering at which any of the foregoing substances are present and/or being used ..."
Discipline "is our role as a parent," said Angela Coburn. "I do have a problem with 24-hour monitoring or surveillance of our kids."
So here I go: Your high school coach is paid pitifully to coach your child. Yet he/she has had years of formal education and training as a teacher and a coach. He/she has chosen a noble profession that regretfully is dependent on the actions and attitudes of teenagers and their parents. You would think that Mrs. Coburn would be grateful that her child is under the guidance of adults who expect them to abide by certain standards of conduct while a member of an athletic team. Coaches who remind them to make good choices should be supported. We tend to forget that team membership is a privilege not a right. Nobody has forced Johnny to be a part of the school’s basketball team and if he wants to be a team member, he should expect to abide by a code of conduct set forth by the school and the coach...for everyone’s protection.
Ideally coaches and parents work as partners. It truly does take a village to raise a child. There is some poor coaching out there and there is some poor parenting as well. Too often coaches and teachers provide the only parenting some children receive. Remember these young people need guidance. They are not yet adults and they should not be treated as adults.
The Estancia (NM) High School’s athletic staff and administration have been working on an athletic handbook to present to the district school board for approval. Most schools at all levels have such a document. The handbook usually covers obvious items like care of school uniforms and equipment, attendance at contests, and other school policies. Handbooks are intended as a source of information for coaches, athletes, and parents. They also serve to insure that all coaches and staff are on the same page as far as policy matters. They also should contain the school’s and district’s philosophy of athletics along with the goals of the program.
Most handbooks will include a section on student-athlete expectations, such as abstaining from alcohol and substance abuse and the consequences for violations. This area of Estancia’s proposed handbook has drawn the ire of a group of parents who feel this section invades their parenting responsibility.
"It's kind of a slap in the face saying that we don't know how to parent our kids," scolded Cheri Lujan. She - and several other parents - referred specifically to a provision under "Prohibited Conduct": "The use or possession of alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, or tobacco in any form, or attendance at a party or other gathering at which any of the foregoing substances are present and/or being used ..."
Discipline "is our role as a parent," said Angela Coburn. "I do have a problem with 24-hour monitoring or surveillance of our kids."
So here I go: Your high school coach is paid pitifully to coach your child. Yet he/she has had years of formal education and training as a teacher and a coach. He/she has chosen a noble profession that regretfully is dependent on the actions and attitudes of teenagers and their parents. You would think that Mrs. Coburn would be grateful that her child is under the guidance of adults who expect them to abide by certain standards of conduct while a member of an athletic team. Coaches who remind them to make good choices should be supported. We tend to forget that team membership is a privilege not a right. Nobody has forced Johnny to be a part of the school’s basketball team and if he wants to be a team member, he should expect to abide by a code of conduct set forth by the school and the coach...for everyone’s protection.
Ideally coaches and parents work as partners. It truly does take a village to raise a child. There is some poor coaching out there and there is some poor parenting as well. Too often coaches and teachers provide the only parenting some children receive. Remember these young people need guidance. They are not yet adults and they should not be treated as adults.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
DIVORCE AGREEMENT
Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al: We have stuck together since the late 1950's for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course.
Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.
Here is a model separation agreement:
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.
We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them.
You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.
Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.
We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel.
You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.
We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street.
You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens.
We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks.
We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood.
You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.
You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under !@# ault, we'll help provide them security.
We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.
You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.
We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Volt and Leaf you can find.
You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors.
We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem."
I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine", "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "Kum Ba Ya" or "We Are the World".
We'll practice trickle-down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.
Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.
Sincerely,
John J. Wall
Law Student and an American
P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin & Charlie Sheen, Barbara Streisand, & ( Hanoi ) Jane Fonda with you.
Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al: We have stuck together since the late 1950's for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course.
Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.
Here is a model separation agreement:
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.
We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them.
You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.
Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.
We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel.
You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.
We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street.
You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens.
We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks.
We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood.
You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.
You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under !@# ault, we'll help provide them security.
We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.
You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.
We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Volt and Leaf you can find.
You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors.
We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem."
I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine", "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "Kum Ba Ya" or "We Are the World".
We'll practice trickle-down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.
Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.
Sincerely,
John J. Wall
Law Student and an American
P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin & Charlie Sheen, Barbara Streisand, & ( Hanoi ) Jane Fonda with you.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
I just received my tax return for 2011 back from the IRS. It puzzles me!!! They are questioning how many dependents I claimed. I guess it was because of my response to the question: "List all dependents?" I replied: 12 million illegal immigrants; 3 million crack heads; 42 million unemployed people on food stamps, 2 million people in over 243 prisons; Half of Mexico; and 535 persons in the U.S. House and Senate." Evidently, this was NOT an acceptable answer.
I KEEP ASKING MYSELF, WHOM DID I MISS?
I KEEP ASKING MYSELF, WHOM DID I MISS?
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