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Show i Coaches Push To Get Specialised5 Athletes vDAVtWlGKAM WSports I'm into spoils probably a little more than veplgC guy. Alright u whol lot more than UVS bl" m'n " Su"B"ho glly like me isn't Ire that he'd play high school football these ' fpiOff IHIN'T got me wrong 1 love prep foot-dl foot-dl but the time involved is becoming such a k -lor that many parents have stopped me on !f street and begged for this editorial, y Bisically 1 agree with them. 1 recall in my "'h school days the first football game was lut August 28th. That being the case the first Lewe saw the coach was exactly two weeks jfriorto that date on Aug. 14. That was when f hat is commonly known as Hell Week began. you remember those great two-a-day practice ' sessions in the blistering heat. IT SEEMS though all that has changed. Sure the official starting date, that means when the pads can be put on, is still your basic two weeks but that isn't the first time you see the coach. Truth is they now have weight conditioning, condi-tioning, which is twice as bad as any Hell Week this guy ever went through. Then to get in condition for weight conditioning they have a football camp to attend. This isn't the fault of the coaches, they are simply trying to stay competitive which is exactly ex-actly what these parents who are complaining want out of them. If you don't think winning is the only thing in high school sports then you probably also believe the Utah Jazz could beat Philly in a seven game series. commentary 1 SUPPOSE years ago some high school coach in his first job decided the only way to win was to have a year round weight program. From then on every other coach had to keep up with the Joneses so they also went to this form of weight training. Weight training can be good, don't get me wrong, but they can also over do the thing. Sure the big guys say it cuts down on injuries, maybe it does I haven't seen figures to defend or oppose that but the truth is no matter how many hours you've spent in the weight room you are not immune to injury. I've known too many high school athletes that have put in their hours on weights and still had their seasons shortened by injuries. I GUESS I really shouldn't just attack the football people either. I can remember when the summer months were for enjoyment and playing a little baseball. Not these days. Your basic athlete has to attend football camps, basketball bas-ketball camps, soccer camps as well as play an occasional baseball game when their schedule allows it. In all honesty I feel sorry for the high school athlete, and the guy wh o has to pay for all these camps, in this day and age. The time when an athlete can go from one sport to another seems to be over. This is the age of specialization and that's not right either. HIGH SCHOOL is a time for enjoyment, let the athletes compete in as many sports as his or her talents allow. Don't cut them off by making them play one sport or the other. The only solution is for the general public to not put the pressure on these coaches for the almight wins. 1 know the coaches would just as soon relax a little and not put the pressure on the kids but the pressure is on the coaches' shoulders for victories so they have to do whatever what-ever they have to in order to stay competitive. A COACH is judged on his team's performance, perform-ance, if they don't win then he's out of ajob. In order for him to keep that job he has to establish estab-lish an edge, and in most cases that means playing one sport year round. Don't blame the coaches, or the athletes. It's the system and the general public created that system. |
