Pay to Play
July 28, 2015
Our local newspaper recently reported that a group of 8-year-olds had qualified for a national 3-on-3 soccer tournament July 31 to Aug. 2 at a theme park resort in Florida; but the report said the team had to raise $5,000 for the privilege.
Without knowing it at the time, the players and coaches qualified on the basis of a second-place finish at a tournament last August in Hastings, Michigan. Really? Second place? Last year?
Let’s be frank. The basis for qualifying for this national event in Florida was not a runner-up finish in a tournament for 7-year-olds the previous summer in a small town in Michigan. The basis for qualifying was the ability to raise $5,000 so the resort could fill its hotel rooms and sell tickets to its theme parks.
National tournament? Baloney. If you can pay, then you can play. Sell this as an expensive family trip, perhaps; but as a national tournament, it has zero integrity.
This kind of hype and hypocrisy adds to the challenges of administering sane and sensible school sports. Neither 8- nor 18-year-olds need national tournaments. There’s a lot more bang for the buck in our own backyards.
Not Good Enough
January 1, 2016
Good is never good enough.
When Frank Lloyd Wright was asked to choose his best project, he replied – in his 80s – “My next one.”
As we turn the page from 2015 to 2016, we are content that 2015 was a good year when several large, even transformative projects were initiated and some completed.
But 2016 must be better. The challenges to educational athletics will be tougher, and the needs for serving and supporting school sports will be greater.
Good will not be good enough in 2016. Our next year must be our best year.