Guest Column

We need to re-evaluate sports' role

By BILL VONADA, Guest Columnist
Published November 21, 2007

Re: Bears take down rival Sharks Nov. 10 story

In the aftermath of a post-game conflict between Central High and Nature Coast Technical High schools' football teams, it is time to reflect on the cause of such events, and perhaps the role of high school athletics.

It probably is safe to say there were things both teams could have handled better before, during, and/or after the game. Although I did see a replay of the event, I did not study it to the extent I am sure county and state officials will. It is possible that study of the film will reveal the necessity for punishment to be levied; however, if we merely punish the offenders and put it behind us, we are doomed to repeat it, probably to a much more tragic degree.

In the field of sports management, issues such as taunting, postgame melees and fans rushing the field are known as "hard issues." Unwanted and dangerous as they may be, these activities are merely symptoms of deeper problems. These deeper problems are referred to as "soft issues," the mind-sets, attitudes and thought processes that cause people to believe such behavior is acceptable or warranted. In order to more completely solve the hard issues, we must first determine what soft issues exist, and at what level they exist.

In other words, we must determine why players, coaches and fans believe this type of behavior is acceptable. Is it condoned by the administration overseeing the programs? Is proper direction being given at the county level?

The real cause of the problem, the root soft issue, may come from the level of importance we place on athletics, as well as from the purpose for which we offer it at our schools. For many players, coaches and fans, athletic participation is the first priority in their lives. Excelling, competing and certainly winning, are what they live for. While it is not up to us to tell others what their priorities should be, it is safe to say this should not be the first priority for athletics at the scholastic level.

What is the purpose?

Unfortunately, the purpose of athletics, in many places, goes too far in the opposite direction; it is assigned little or no purpose, other than to serve as a diversion or activity to fill the time. It becomes something to merely "keep the kids off the streets and out of trouble." Perhaps the real answer lies not in between these two extremes, but somewhere above them both. Athletics are considered to be extracurricular, meaning beyond the normal curriculum, not noncurricular.

Further, the curriculum that can be taught - perseverance, work ethic, integrity, teamwork - is something most students can use in their lives, no matter what their chosen field of endeavor.

Most coaches who have been in the profession for a while probably will tell you they have had a much greater impact, in quality and quantity, on the students they have coached on the field, court, track, etc., than the ones they have taught just in the classroom. Finally, for those who are still interested only in classroom performance, most studies show that students involved in such activities are more likely to succeed in the classroom as well.

However, instead of choosing to treat athletics as a true extracurricular activity, embracing all this means and capitalizing on the opportunities this presents, we too often treat it as much less, and are then surprised and dismayed when we see unwanted behavior from our teams.

Troubling questions

Understand that I am neither condemning nor condoning the incidents that have recently occurred on our athletic fields. If this was merely a one-time event, we could deal with it, chalk it up to a learning experience and move on. However, as someone who has spent almost 30 years as a player, fan and coach in our scholastic athletic system, I believe the problem goes much deeper than one incident.

Consider these other hard-issue questions that could possibly be related to this problem:

-How many postgame fights or conflicts after athletic events have there been involving our schools over the past few years? It seems to be on the rise.

-How many head coaches have been at their current position for five years or more? These are the people who studies have shown have the biggest impact on our teenagers, but we can't keep them here.

-How many programs/teams do we have that consistently excel outside of our own area?

-How does athletic participation at our schools compare to similar-sized schools around the state?

The negative answers that I believe would accompany these questions point to an overall approach to interscholastic athletics that is lacking a true purpose or sense of direction. With this lack of direction, our student-athletes, coaches and fans probably will turn to that which they see on television from the professionals; we all know what type of behavior gets the most attention at that level. Furthermore, this attitude not only influences our high school and middle school programs, but also the youth leagues that try to emulate them.

This recent incident shows us it is time to consider the direction in which we want to go as a county. We can examine the practices and procedures of other systems (i.e., county athletic directors, an emphasis on sportsmanship, plans to keep quality coaches, etc.) that more fully capitalize on the opportunities that athletics provide, and take the steps to implement the ideas that best fit our own unique scenario. Or we can simply maintain what we are currently doing. The choice is ours.

However, we need to remember that if we relegate extracurricular activities to the role of child care, we should expect it to produce little more than child-like behavior from its participants.

Bill Vonada is head football coach at Springstead High School. Guest columnists write their own views on subjects they choose, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.

[Last modified November 20, 2007, 20:59:00]