RETHINKING SCHOOL SPORTS

This morning, National Public Radio reported on efforts to change the focus of varsity sports in New York City. Turns out that in a city with an estimated 50% overweight school-age population, some have suggested that varsity sports needs to be more inclusive, and focused on getting more kids active.

I continue to be astonished that our thinking about school sports remains so firmly entrenched - stuck - in perpetuating old values and traditions, rather than directed toward how sports could better serve young people in our public schools. Where in school policy, in any American school district, is it written that athletics should be organized primarily for the purpose of winning trophies and championships? Yet in practice, creating winning teams is so often the sole focus of our coaches. As a result, we routinely lose valuable opportunities for achieving those benefits that athletic participation offers for students of ALL ability levels.

Compare the situation of physical educators and coaches - ironically, often the same people. Class sizes in PE are frequently too large, and filled with students who are unskilled and unmotivated. Students are expected to learn in cramped facilities with insufficient equipment. In contrast, coaches enjoy small groups of already motivated and athletically talented students who rarely lack for equipment.

What puzzles me is why more people don't ask 'which of these two programs is most important to the mission of the school?' Should it be the group that is part of the regular curriculum and includes all students, or the group that is an extra to the curriculum and in most schools caters to a small elite of have's rather than have nots?

Lest I am now caste as being opposed to public school athletics, I should hasten to add that I believe athletics can be a truly valuable addition to all schools. As noted elsewhere on this page, athletics offer students opportunities for personal development unavailable in the regular curriculum. But the point that is so often overlooked is that most of these benefits can be experienced by all students interested in participating, and not just the highly skilled.

How absurd is it that schools routinely invite students to participate in athletics - promoting the benefits of being part of a team - and then a few weeks later exclude those very students who stand to gain the most from participation? If athletics are good for students, surely they are good for all students? Why are athletics only good for students when we need more members on our teams, and not good when we have too many members?

Unfortunately, traditional athletic thinking is that there simply is no way to make athletic participation possible for all students who, regardless of ability, might be interested in involvement. A lack of funds fuels complaints and excuses inaction. But, this is just a cop out. It's simply not true. Rather it's a lack of creative thinking.

More than ever today, we need school sports leaders who begin with the fundamental belief that athletics are good for all students, and that one way or another all students can participate. No exclusions. No cuts. No excuses about lack of facilities, equipment, or coaches. Instead we should begin with the premise that our school athletic programs will somehow accommodate all students who are willing to turn out and meet our training expectations.

Of course this won't be easy. Of course more money would help. But let's recognize that we cannot expect a different result if we continue to do things the same way. Schools might need to change the sports they offer. Schools certainly need to come up with creative ways to involve large numbers of students in learning and competitive opportunities.

If not all students can play on the competitive varsity teams, how can we include all students in a quality learning experience? Limited facilities? Then come up with creative scheduling alternatives. Lack of equipment? Do some fundraisers. Sell the value of athletics to parents. Wear t-shirts instead of fancy uniforms. Other schools don't have teams to compete against? Regular inter-squad competition is fine.

Above all let's quit the excuses and find solutions. Creating a positive athletic environment that the entire community of students and parents support is not impossible. No one is saying it will be easy. But with a change in attitude it's certainly not impossible.

Too often athletic program administrators are unwilling to risk change. They perceive challenges as insurmountable obstacles. They believe parents and community will revolt if the focus isn't exclusively on game results. But this is not true. Most parents simply want a good experience for their children. They want the focus to be on students not trophies. Of course we like to win games, but even more we want to see that our children are having a good time, with good people, learning important life skills. When this happens, guess what? Teams are more successful.

What do students learn who are excluded from our athletic programs? That they aren't good enough? That by their early teens it's too late to learn athletic skills? What sort of preparation for life is this? And what nonsense! If this were true, why do we bother putting them in any classes?. Using that logic, we should abandon the entire academic curriculum, save money, and put them all to work!

What despairs me most about this situation is that it perpetuates itself year after year. Young people today, preparing to become tomorrow's coaches, aren't thinking any differently. But why would they? They are products of the programs I've described. They are the former students who excelled in athletics and enjoyed all the benefits. They don't know the negatives. They don't have any empathy for the lesser skilled. They don't know what it's like to be excluded and told they aren't good enough. In most cases they are not overweight or physically inactive. They love athletics and respect their former coaches. In fact they want to be just like them. And unfortunately they will.

In this month's section I've chosen to refocus us on the purpose of interscholastic athletic programs. I believe that we need to think more about why students choose to participate in athletics. Too often we bring our adult perspectives to coaching. We want students to experience what we think they should get from athletics. Instead, we should focus on what they want. The research clearly shows that most participants want to have fun, learn skills, and be with their friends. Winning is lowly rated in terms of importance.

We need to return an educational perspective to interscholastic sports, and avoid being confused by what we see in colleges and professional leagues. Let's make it clear. We are not in the business of community entertainment. Our mission is to prepare young people for life. Athletic programs offer a wonderful opportunity for personal development. Unfortunately, today's public school athletic programs will never fulfill their potential until athletic administrators cast off the traditional thinking that impedes progress.

"The great value of sport is that it teaches us to recognize the difference between winning and striving for excellence, the better but much harder achievement. More important, sports teaches us how to handle failure, to get up and try again when we lose. That's the most valuable lesson, since we lose more than we win in life."

Recently, in a weekly commentary on CBS News, correspondent Bob Schieffer observed that throughout history - from the Greeks, then Romans, and to the present day - the games that people play, and the way they play them, has helped us to understand core values of each society's

The Greeks believed that the body and mind were harmoniously interrelated - sound body, sound mind. The way they developed and exercised their bodies reflected this belief, and of course led to the emergence of the peace-promoting Olympic Games. In contrast, fiercely competitive, and often violent combative sports, reflected the Romans' penchant for war and conquest.

Sixty years ago, Adolf Hitler attempted to use sports to show the superiority of Nazi Germany. And throughout the last century, continuing to the present day, communist nations have endeavored to use international athletic competitions to illustrate the weaknesses of democratic societies.

In his commentary Schieffer wonders what will future generations think of us when they look at our sports:

"Basketball players brawling with fans, a college football player photographed kicking an opponent in the head on the sidelines, all this against a continuous background of millionaire players whining about money and drug testing."

Schieffer wonders what is happening to our sports. He notes that from children's sports and up, the emphasis on winning at any cost has led us to accept any behavior that gets the desired result. In noting the valuable life lessons sports can teach us, Schieffer believes that somehow those lessons have been lost in modern sports. He writes:

"If we are blind to that and do nothing about it, then the core values which have been the strength of this country are changing. We cannot let that happen."

It's now been a few weeks since the well-publicized basketball brawl involving out-of-control professional athletes and spectators.

Different perspectives have been offered to explain the behaviors and point guilt at those involved. Fines, suspensions, and criminal charges have attracted most of the media attention. But a more pertinent question to those of us interested in school and youth programs is how this event might impact our athletes. What did we learn? And perhaps most importantly how can coaches use this event as a lesson for the young people in our youth and school programs?

Unfortunately, fighting and abuse among athletes and spectators is no longer an unusual occurrence at any level. Since their inception, and clearly connected to the importance of the game results, violent acts between athletes, parents, spectators, coaches, and officials have become commonplace. It’s the emotional highs that competitive sports elicit that attract our participation when young, and sustain our support later as parents and fans. And it’s the same emotions, when unchecked, that explain how nice people sometimes behave badly.

School coaches and young athletes need to be taught that sports are neither inherently good or bad. It’s the way they are played that determines the outcomes – good and bad. And the way sports are played is mostly determined by the way they’re coached. Unfortunately, coaches, athletes, and spectators can impact game results though inappropriate behaviors. And the real and imagined pressures that our school coaches feel explain – but do not excuse – poor behaviors.

But what is often overlooked is the responsibility shared in these negative outcomes by the very organizations charged with facilitating school and youth athletic programs. If, as most people agree, the excessive focus on winning is the main cause of negative behavior, the emphasis that sport organizations put on game results clearly influences the behavior of participants.

Local, state, and national governing bodies expend most of their energies on scheduling competitions, debating rules, and publicizing winning performances. True, they occasionally pay lip service to things like “sportsmanship” and report the benefits of participation, but attention to the value of sports is secondary to the competitive results.