I asked a high school coach this week what it will take to get our local teams back on the winning track. He answered very cautiously, but was also very humble in his attempt to not downgrade anyone or do further damage to an area that saw limited success on the field of play.

He reminded me that sports are supposed to be fun and a learning experience for athletes of all ages. He also let me know it’s supposed to be fun and enjoyable for coaches as well. I asked him how that has been going for him and I got a shoulder shrug. He said first of all “We’ve got to have kids.”

We talked for a while about high school sports and how things have changed over the years. One thing we both agreed on was, sports are becoming harder and harder to enjoy. The idea of always winning has taken the fun out of the game. It’s put more pressure on everyone involved from the coaches to the kids.

I decided to take it a step further and questioned him about the skill level today verses 30-40 years ago. Again we were in agreement that kids today are faster, stronger and often have more knowledge of the sport they play compared to those in the past. This brought up the main question, why are we not as competitive? Again the answer came down to lack of athletes. I won’t mention the coaches name at his request, but he said it’s not so much the lack of athletes as it is the amount of options kids have today.

“It’s hard to compete when half of your athletes play one sport and half play another,” said coach. He said he’s not knocking opportunities, because it’s like that in everything. “Some kids want to be doctors, and some want to be school teachers, it’s a choice they have to decide upon for their own success.”

As we talked it became appearant that things have changed dramatically since the 50’s and 60’s when we were growing up. We didn’t have all the tools and luxuries kids have today. We spoke about the Friday night football games, when the whole town showed up in support and the talk all week was who’s going to win.

Back then the main sport in the fall was high school football. We hadn’t even heard of soccer and the only girls activities were cheerleading and band. Once they started volleyball it was played in the spring or late winter. A lot of high schools didn’t even have baseball teams. Basketball, baseball, track and football were basically what made up the sports seasons. So those wanting to play would work on their skills in the off season on their own time.

In keeping with our story of how athletes are different now then they were decades ago and how we can get back on the winning track we have to understand there are distinct differences between high school and youth sports then and now.

Back then we played everyday with the neighborhood kids for hours on end, whatever sport was in season.

Todays kids only play and practice real sports when adults formally organize them. Rarely do you see kids organize informal, real games of their own. Kids of all ages went into a backyard or nearby vacant lot to play, while todays kids play on artificial turf.

Back then we played against kids of all ages and had to get better in order to compete with the older ones, that’s how we learned the game. We often played on our own, kicking and passing football, throwing a baseball ball, shooting a basketball anything to get better. That was just about all we had to do. No video games and no cell phones.

Today they are pushed into multiple summer camps, or travel teams that use paid instructors. And for some it works quite well, but for many in small town communities that can’t afford the luxury they are left to either train on their own or give up.

Fifty years ago kids were lucky to have one glove in the family and you shared bats with the neighbor kids. Ball fields consisted of empty lots or in the street were bases were just a marker of any kind. Uniforms consisted of an old pair of converse shoes, cutoff shorts, a T-shirt and old ball cap.

Well things have changed and not all for the better. We honed are skills at our own expense with an occassional cool pop or a bottle of coke. Lunch and supper were whenever you could find your way home, and often times you might miss out altogether.

We used to choose sides with one designated played from each side picking teams. Todays teams are chosen by coaches or community leagues. We even had our own rules which weren’t official, but worked for us and fit the different situations of our playing areas. The other thing that always seemed to work well and help us adjust was we were our own officials.

I think we learned a lot about sportsmanship as well, although there was an ocassional skuffle here or there, but you had to learn leadership skills as well. Our rewards weren’t trophies just for showing up, ours came with bragging rights until the next game. And drinking out of the garden hose or water fountain was not considered dangerous. We didn’t have parents providing us with snacks, and gatorade. Yes there are a lot of differences from past decades. We had different motivations, and definitions of success then kids today. But that was a different time and place.

Today’s kids work extremely hard, they want success as well, but the main difference over everything is you have to have kids to work with, and you have to let the coaches do their job. Ask any high school coach what it would take to get back to being competitive and the answer will always be more kids to work with! Especially when your talking team sports. We have many competitive kids in our area. Several have displayed great leadership. The problem we have is an all to common one today, not enough kids to compete with the schools from larger communities. Let’s get behind what we do have and work hard to motivate, encourage, and provide support to make them the best they can be, those things alone can help us get back on the winning track!