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Show High school sports Boom or bamel ai" L:- "A l nf 0 1J If 1 By JUDY JENSEN Anger, rejoicing, frustration, emotions run high when the topic of high school sports is discussed. Everyone has an opinion of the value of having teens spend their time involved in sports. Critics claim that it is too dangerous, too political, too expensive and too time consuming. Proponents say that it is the best thing kids can do to prepare them for "real life." One of the major complaints is that the sports programs are running run-ning the schools. According to one disgruntled former principal, his job was on the line based on his school's win-loss record in football. He said that many times when a school is trying to hire a teacher the first question asked of the applicant is not about their teaching credentials, but whether or not they can coach. Some parents feel that the commitment com-mitment required is too great for the benefits derived from the program. One mother felt the amount of time her son spent practicing was "ridiculous." A former basketball player who played for a local high school said he felt that if you "brown-nosed the coach you got to play." An assistant coach said he found the complaints of parents to the administration about the coaches were unfair. "They can put a guy's job and livelihood on the line just because their kid isn't playing enough." He said he felt parents should "lighten up" on coaches. Last year when the Davis County School Board decided to eliminate many of the special education edu-cation workers, outraged parents of special education children suggested sug-gested that the sports programs be eliminated from the high schools so there would be enough money to fairly educate their learning disabled dis-abled children. Despite the protests, supporters suppor-ters of high school sports remain loyal to their belief that the games and everything associated with them, are a great boon not only to the school, but to the entire community. com-munity. "My son would never have finished high school if he hadn't played football," said one local mother. She explained that her son had a difficult time in school both academically and emotionally. emotional-ly. "The discipline required to play football gave him the desire to discipline his life in other areas," she said. Although girls do not play football, foot-ball, many believe they do benefit from the football program. Cheerleaders, Cheer-leaders, pep clubs and drill teams are organized to support the team. These organizations require the same discipline as the football program and provide the same team spirit for the members. They also evoke a certain amount of controversy. One mother who feels the criticism of drill teams is unjustified said, "you don't have to belong, it's all optional." The choice of whether or not to play on a high school team is indeed in-deed optional, but as long as there are high school sports the entire community will be affected by them. Whether the effect is negative nega-tive or positive may only be measurable by each individual critic. |