I think sports for young people today can become over organized with too much adult involvement for the wrong reasons. The primary objectives seem to be missed far too often in my opinion – learning and having fun – not winning. Number one should be to allow children to play and enjoy themselves, to have fun, without all the emphasis on “winning”. The best coaches are men and women who remember they are working with children, are good teachers, both skills and discipline, and promoters of having some fun with practice and games, not just winning.

I’ll never forget the fun I had playing football wherever we could find enough grass for a pick-up game, basketball on someone’s driveway with a backboard on the garage roof, or baseball at the park without a single adult involved. We competed, but winning or losing always seemed to be left on the field when we went home. Ironically, the first time I attended a soccer match my oldest son played in, I got yellow carded because I yelled at the official for missing what I thought was an obvious call. Some of the other parents then gave me the rundown on how soccer was to be watched, and it became a great learning experience for me. I realized that I had become no different than the parents that had yelled at me when I umpired Little League while a senior in high school, but I learned and changed.

I finished writing my life history last year and since I had a ready soapbox, I used it a little. Now CB gets it. Not to worry though, this is the end of it.