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This is our readership...*sigh*

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by spikechiquet, May 16, 2009.

  1. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    Sent in this week...guess the "8th Place" ribbon makers like this stuff or "Participation" trophy makers...

    Because there is nothing between playing on a team and doing drugs. Don't kids have video games to fall back on lady?

    ****
    To the Editor:
    It’s another year of spring sports season with all the extra expense that come with that such as extra gas to and from the school for practice and games.
    I have no problem with that what so ever especially in today’s society where alcohol and drugs seem to be at our kid’s fingertips.
    I feel if you try to keep them active in something positive that they enjoy and can focus on, it will help keep them steered in the right direction, hopefully.
    What is aggravating is game after game to go watch them sit on the bench when they have put as much time into it as everyone else on the team. No one is so good they shouldn’t sit on the bench.
    No wonder today’s society is in such a mess. I feel there is no reason every kid that goes out for a sport should get to play an equal amount of time.
    My definition of winning is not on the scoreboard but that you have kept kids interested in something so they do not head down the wrong path.
    I now see how kids easily give up on trying something when they just get benched. They end up with too much spare time, which can be a negative thing. I do not see any of our county schools producing professional athletes, they may have missed a few that were on the bench. You cannot improve on things if you do not play.
    About 70% of my property tax dollars go to the school. We have taken that money and built a lot of things built around sports programs such as a field house, a soccer field, baseball diamonds and a locker room building. It would be nice if I only had to pay tax for what my kid used that would just be a very small section of the bench in the dugout. This is great as long as every kid gets an equal opportunity.
    I don’t think there should be cuts in sports, what happened to everyone gets to play, they are kids. I do not know anyone getting taxed in this county that their career is a professional athlete. I do not know who the “Star Athletes” were twenty years ago in high school. Society has created some unethical standards for our youth over the years and we now are paying for it. They say “Get kids involved” which drives them to keep they’re grades up to participate in that activity. This is valuable lesson and will provide them many opportunities in life however then they park them on the bench to kick them down.
    I understand when you commit to coaching that you obligate a lot of free time but no one makes anyone take that position. When you do, it should be for the right reasons. Positive role model and boost the kids self esteem, which will help make them productive citizens in the future. They can’t get that sitting on the bench over and over.
    Life is so short and times are so tough for our kids to stay on the right path, I would think when they have kids trying to be involved in something, the athletic department would do everything in their power to keep them involved. These kids are “Our Future,” and when you watch the news it seems there are more slipping through the cracks than into a professional athletic career.
    Proud Parent of my child for not giving up
     
  2. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    Parents bitching about their kids sitting on the bench is so degrading to humanity.
    Back in the day, when I was a kid, we knew who the best players were and nobody bitched about playing time. The coach/managers aren't dumb. They play the best players. Eventually you either earned P.T. or continued to sit on the bench. And back then parents didn't go to the fucking games. What a great time we had. Practices were fun as well MINUS parents.
     
  3. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    But PT doesn't matter..."no one" remembers the high school stars in 20 years.

    Yup, I'm sure no one remembers a high school aged Mikey Jordan or that good kid with a fast ball named Clemens. I heard Texas might sign him.

    Let's not keep score...heck, let's not report the scores in the paper. Heck, let's get rid of the sports section since if my kid can't be in it...there's no reason for it to be there.

    Ooops, sorry, that might happen someday. I should shut up now.
     
  4. CA_journo

    CA_journo Member

    So having "everybody play" now will just set them up for failure later in life. What are these parents going to say when their kid eventually figures out that not everyone gets to be an astronaut or all-star baseball player later in life? Will they write letters to CEOs saying that their kids applied just as hard as the people that got the jobs?
     
  5. spikechiquet

    spikechiquet Well-Known Member

    Honestly, I would love to write a column off this letter.
    Other than the pat on the back from my co-workers and especially my boss, it would be suicide to try to show up to a game the rest of the year. It's got my brain working on a "nice" way to relay my thoughts from pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as it is).
     
  6. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Sadly, this is not far from the truth. When parents are writing college professors and coaches with this type of shit -- for their adult-age children, my god -- and believe me, it's happening ... ::)

    Parents, let your kids GROW THE FUCK UP. Prepare them for life, not protect them from it. I know that goes against your instinct sometimes, but you have to do it, for their sake, if not your own. You might think you're being loving, but you're only being selfish by not allowing them to live their own lives.
     
  7. Tom Petty

    Tom Petty Guest

    all those little bastards are winners in my book.
     
  8. I Digress

    I Digress Guest

    This sentence is gold.. I'd like to see it inscribed in every 'player participation' trophy awarded nationwide.

    "These kids are “Our Future,” and when you watch the news it seems there are more slipping through the cracks than into a professional athletic career."
     
  9. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    You know, I rode the pine in at least one high school sport. I wanted to play, and eventually got to in a somewhat-valued substitute role, but I didn't consider benchwarming to be humilating or soul-damaging, and neither did my parents. It just was what was.
    To me, this kind of rant indicates a loving, caring parent who completely underestimates their children.
     
  10. JakeandElwood

    JakeandElwood Well-Known Member

    Unbelievable.
     
  11. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    Putting aside the naive content of the letter, this was written by someone who clearly still values the existence of the newspaper, enough to use it as a forum for communication and opinion.

    At a time when 'readership' is fast becoming a mythic creature, it's not the worst thing that someone would still think to turn to the local paper as a means to connecting with the community.
     
  12. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Proud parent was the icing on the cake...
     
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