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by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg and Kelly Evans
Wall Street Journal
May 20, 2009
This weekend in Foxboro, Mass., more than 100,000 spectators are expected to pour into Gillette Stadium to see four schools -- Duke, Virginia, Cornell and Syracuse -- square off for the national championship of a sport that, if the numbers are correct, you'll be hearing a lot more about. That sport is lacrosse.
Until recently, lacrosse -- America's other stick and ball sport -- was rarely on TV and only its championship games generated much in the way of media coverage. It was mostly played on the East Coast, and it was often viewed as a game for private-school kids. Some of the game's most electrifying athletes -- Gary and Paul Gait; Casey, Ryan and Michael Powell -- were little known outside core followers. The sole exception may be Jim Brown, the former Cleveland Browns running back who played lacrosse at Syracuse University.
"Lacrosse has taken off because it combines the hitting of football, the speed of basketball, and requires the endurance of soccer," says Kyle Harrison, who led Johns Hopkins to a national championship in 2005 and who won that year's Tewaaraton Trophy as the country's best male player.
These days the sport is showing serious growth. Participation in high school lacrosse has about doubled this decade, to a total of 143,946 boys and girls playing on high school lacrosse teams in the 2007-08 school year, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, which tracks participation by sport. In 2000-01, there were 74,225 high school lacrosse players.
SEATTLE -- Zackery Lystedt's cause has become Washington law.
The state now has what advocates say is the nation's toughest law regulating when high school athletes can return to games after having sustained a concussion. The legislation signed Thursday in Olympia by Gov. Chris Gregoire prohibits athletes under 18, who are suspected of sustaining a concussion, from returning to play without a licensed health care provider's written approval.
It is named after a 16-year-old in Maple Valley who suffered a life-threatening brain injury in 2006 after he returned to play football following a concussion.
"It's the first of its kind in the country which mandates that youth athletes who sustain a concussion cannot come back to play without the written consent of a doctor or provider," said Rep. Jay Rodne, R-North Bend, whom Lystedt's family contacted for help.
Gregg Bell
May 19, 2009
The Associated Press
by Sue Shellenbarger
Wall Street Journal
May 19, 2009
We've posted before on injuries in youth sports. As summer teams start up, you'll be hearing more about one kind of injury in particular: Knee damage in girls.
Two professional groups, one of surgeons and the other of athletic trainers, are fielding an educational campaign on the prevalence of knee injuries among girls. Tears to the ACL, or the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee, are eight times more likely in girls than in boys, research shows. Doctors hypothesize that physiological differences between girls and boys, such as weaker hamstring muscles that reduce the stability of the knee joint, or estrogen that leads to weaker ligaments, are factors.
The educational campaign comes amid rising questions about the pressures on young athletes. Mark Hyman, author of a book on the topic, says he regrets having supported his son in pitching so long and hard in high-school baseball that he injured his arm, forcing surgery and a permanent setback. And recent research on 5,000 promising football players shows high-school and college injuries haunt pro players for years.
Respect ... Aretha Franklin wanted a little of it and so do Cumberland County taxpayers.
Though they discussed the matter several months ago, the Cumberland County Board of Education was recently asked to revise its policy on community use of school facilities so the public can have adequate access to what they help support.
"I have heard from several of my constituents regarding this...and all they are asking for is that the track and tennis courts remain open," said 5th District representative Bob Scarbrough.
Last June, the BOE and its policy committee spent several hours deciding what to do with policy 3.206 -- community use of school facilities -- after receiving concerns about keeping the high schools' sport facilities open. They ultimately decided not to change the policy.
"When not in use for school purposes, school buildings and grounds thereof may be used for public, governmental, charitable, civic, recreational, cultural and other purposes as approved by the board," concerned resident Jerry Harris read from the policy.
Missy Wattenbarger
May 11, 2009
Crossville Chronicle
In a stark appeal to the Juneau School Board on Tuesday night, Juneau-Douglas High School head football coach Bill Chalmers said he'd stop coaching if action weren't taken to make drug testing a requirement of participation in school sports and activities.
Chalmers has been teaching for nearly 50 years and is in his fifth year as head coach. He sat down Thursday to talk about what led to his ultimatum, what he hopes it will accomplish and share what he's gleaned about Juneau's drug culture.
Jeremy Hsieh
May 10, 2009
Juneau Empire
Do you have an emergency response plan for when a crisis occurs at your facilities? Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn., does. Recently, that plan was put to the test when an athlete had a seizure. Ryan Johnson, CSCS, Strength and Conditioning Coach and Coach Practitioner at the school, was first on the scene and blogs about the lessons he learned from the incident.
Injuries can and will occur in a weightroom, and most coaches and athletes know how to react when they do. Medical emergencies, however, are a completely different story and it has been my experience that no amount of planning can fully prepare you for every situation. As a volunteer firefighter and first responder for the past six years, I've learned the importance of establishing a base plan of action that allows you and your support staff to hit the ground running should something happen.
Ryan Johnson
May 18, 2009
Training & Conditioning
COVINGTON -- Keith Hennig has a 3-year-old boy named Trevor and a 1-year-old named Brady. He wants to watch them grow up. Not in the brief moments between school and basketball practice. Not in the late-night hours when he would get home from a game or an open gym.
"I hate it during the winter season because I leave when it's dark out, and when I come home it's dark out," Hennig says. "It's almost depressing."
Long before he led the Kentwood High girls basketball team to the state championship in March, Hennig, only 32, had decided that it would be his last season. But Hennig discovered that, as with any addiction, it's one thing to decide to quit. It's quite another to go through with it.
For two weeks after the championship game, he walked past the state championship trophy every day and saw his girls in the halls at Kentwood, where he is a history teacher. He remembered all those moments that made the late nights and early mornings worth it. He was going through withdrawal.
Tom Wyrwich
May 12, 2009
The Seattle Times
PAHOKEE -- What does Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin need to do to fully make amends in Pahokee?
Hop on a plane, Principal Ariel Alejo said Monday.
Three months after Kiffin insulted the school and community while talking to Tennessee boosters, a new controversy was sparked last week.
Tennessee assistant coach Eddie Gran, who helped swing star receiver Nu'Keese Richardson from Florida to the Volunteers, arrived at Pahokee's campus last week to offer junior Antonio Ford a scholarship.
Upset that Kiffin has yet to directly apologize to the school and the community for implying they are inept, Alejo told Gran no one from Tennessee is permitted on school grounds until Kiffin satisfies that demand.
Kiffin apologized to Blue Devils coach Blaze Thompson publicly and privately, but Alejo and Pahokee Chamber of Commerce President Lewis Pope III want Kiffin to attend an open meeting in Pahokee to clear the matter with the community and school.
JASON LIESER
May 11, 2009
Palm Beach Post
Bret Hayworth
Sioux City Journal
May 17, 2009
On opening night of the Westside Little League T-ball season Wednesday, the four Kirk Hansen Park fields in Sioux City were full of young athletes.
The Sara Lee team of 12 girls and boys ran onto one of the fields. A boy dug in dirt behind third base, a teammate stood on first base with his cap on backward.
In the dugout, one of the Cardinals' male coaches asked, "Does everyone know where you go when you hit the ball?" Yes, a boy answered, first base.
Sam, wearing No. 3, approached the plate and, on his first swing at the ball on the tee, delivered a grounder to a girl standing between the pitching mound and shortstop. Sam beat out her throw, which was on target but merely trickled to first base.
As the kids softball and baseball seasons begin, some children are taking part in youth sports for the first time. They're getting started in an era in which kindergarten boys compete in wrestling tournaments with the chance to win ribbons or medals, a time when youth basketball leagues run from November to March, consuming months of kids' and parents' lives.
by Monica Ho Ehlers
The Examiner
May 17, 2009
Whether it's basketball, soccer or softball, playing youth sports requires a lot of practice. But how much is too much? It seems the "mellower" average team practices and plays a combination of about three times a week. Then there are teams who practice and play about five to six times a week.
What's interesting is that the teams that practice more are no more talented or skilled than the ones who don't practice and play as often. Or at least, they don't win as often as you'd think.
Kids whose teams practice or play more than three times a week should question if there is enough recovery time for players. Like adults, children need to rest their muscles if they've exercised rigorously.
by P. Stitlon
Jackson Community
May 15, 2009
Early on as the parent of a girl who was very interested in sports, I realized there were mild differences in people's opinions on girls sports vs. boys sports. In general, boy sports were always given more social importance, baseball, football and hockey while the traditional girl sports were back seat novelties to the general community, softball, gymnastics, cheer. Even when you look at youth and scholastic soccer, the boys teams are given prominence, usually.
I sometimes remember back in high school, when the Toms River North Girls field hockey team won the state championship, the headline in the Ocean County Observer for the day highlighted the Toms River South vs. Toms River North regular season football game and the girls championship was given a sidebar mention. For me, it was alright at the time. I was a boy. I played football. Football was more important than field hockey at any cost.
Today, I received a study and excerpt from a book at GoKidsNJ that discussed this phenomena and social misunderstanding in a study presented by sports sociologist Michael Messner, a professor of sociology and gender studies at USC.
In his book he writes:
One of the many things I enjoy about sports is the opportunity to share coaching experiences with others who choose to teach the game and share their talents.
My columns this past winter were apparently received with a great deal of enthusiasm and appreciation (which is very humbling, by the way) as evident by the many calls and e-mails I received from coaches, athletic directors and recreation center personnel. One community, in particular, went so far as to ask yours truly to speak to a group of coaches ready to embark upon an exciting spring and summer season of youth sports.
The Brecksville-Broadview Heights Center of Recreation and Parks, under the direction of Dale Alexander, recently hosted a special seminar for its coaches titled "Work Hard -- Play Fair -- Display Good Sportsmanship." Alexander, who I've had the pleasure of working with in the past, and event coordinator Lori Siwik organized a terrific program in which more than 80 coaches took part.
Mike Holzheimer
May 17, 2009
Parma Sun Post
by Bill Wells
masslive.com
May 17, 2009
Southwick Baseball has resisted the temptation to treat their prepubescent players like major league baseball free agents; has resisted the temptation to decimate the in-town baseball program; and has resisted the temptation to cross the line.
In 2001, Southwick Baseball came up with a plan. It was, and is, a good plan: a plan which caters to everyone, as opposed to a select, talented few.
For its 11-12 division, Southwick Baseball made the decision to keep all of its players in its in-town program. Every player, regardless of ability, would be put on a team and compete in 15 or so games with or against fellow classmates from Southwick, Tolland and Granville.
At the same time, the nonprofit organization also started its Southwick Cooperstown team, which is its all-star team. Those players play in various competitive tournaments from April into August, but not in conflict with any of 15 in-town games. Those Cooperstown players, selected during a fall tryout, play about 30 games against top-notch competition.
The plan has kept the in-town program strong, and also has given Southwick's elite players a chance to compete at a high level.
It's the best of both worlds.
I've read it takes 30 days to form a habit. I've also read if we aren't consciously forming good habits, we will form bad habits.
Life is full of habits that produce expectations.
When we don't get the results we want, we have unmet expectations, and we probably end up disappointed or frustrated.
Typically, we make adjustments and work on getting better results, or we let things slide and, in essence, form another habit -- the habit of apathy, or indifference.
Based on the input of two readers, I can tell apathy is not going to rear its ugly head without a fight.
Bill Gosse
May 17, 2009
The Post-Crescent
ESPN RISE and Disney's Wide World of Sports have developed a new weeklong, multi-sport event called the "ESPN RISE Games". The ESPN RISE Games, which will feature elite and competitive channel sports events, will be presented by Target. The ESPN RISE Games Presented by Target will take place July 19-25, 2009 at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, the nation's leading multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports, in suburban Orlando, Fla.
The ESPN RISE Games Presented by Target will be anchored by three elite high school sports events: the AAU 17-under Boys Basketball Super Showcase presented by Champion®, the Under Armour High School Softball All-American game and ESPN RISE's newly developed, elite high school football event Champion® Gridiron Kings. Additional sponsors for the event will include POWERADE, the events exclusive beverage provider.
The weeklong event will also feature competitive channel youth sports - baseball (10U, 11U and 12U), basketball (12U and 14U), field hockey (U14, U16 and U19) and track & field (12-14 and 15-18). The ESPN RISE Games Presented by Target is expected to host 4,000 student athletes.
May - 13 - 2009
The Tournament Guide
Tonight is the smackdown between the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks. It's hold-your-breath tense as fans await the competition. It's also National Etiquette Week (apparently Mark Cuban didn't get the memo). What can parents of teens garner from the hubbub surrounding comments made between the two teams? Plenty.
Roughly 75% of all boys and girls in the United States play organized sports, according to a study commissioned by the Women's Sports Foundation. It's a big part of a lot of kids' lives. Many parents like organized sports as an extracurricular activity because of lessons learned that kids can use in all areas of life.
The study, titled "Go Out and Play: Youth Sports in America," documented increased family wellness due to children's participation in sports and exercise. When children are young and just starting out on a team, it's a black and white world: play by the rules; respect your opponent; share your snack; and be a good loser. These basics continue to apply as young athletes age. All the way to the pros.
Sheryl Butterfield
May 13 2009
examiner.com
by Nick Infante
College Athletic Clips
May 14, 2009
From a federal court in Bridgeport, Connecticut comes word of the unusual actions taken by D1 Quinnipiac University to keep within the proportional gender guidelines of Title IX.
Quinnipiac, located in the New Haven suburb of Hamden, has experienced terrific growth in its athletics program over the past few years. The school - a member of the Northeast Conference (with other schools like Saint Francis-Brooklyn, Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth and Sacred Heart) - supports 21 D1 sports -- 10 men's and 11 women's programs.
Citing budget cuts because of the recession, the school announced in March that it was ending women's volleyball, cutting men's golf and outdoor track and promoting cheerleading to varsity status.
Consequently, the players members and coach of the university's women's volleyball team filed a lawsuit, which is being heard in a federal court in nearby Bridgeport.
Even limited strength training can have positive effects on young exercisers, according to a new report in the May/June issue of Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach (www.sportshealthjournal.org).
Co-authors Katherine Stabenow Dahab and Teri Metcalf McCambridge, both physicians at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, contend that participation in a strength training program lasting as little as eight to 12 weeks during childhood and especially during adolescence can increase strength by 30 to 50 percent, while improving bone mineral density, body composition, balance, blood lipid profiles and self-esteem. They then recommend an individualized program based on age, maturity and personal goals of the young athlete.
A comprehensive youth strength training routine should incorporate:
Paul Steinbach
May 13, 2009
© 2009 Athletic Business Magazine
If a coach presides over a team of 15 athletes, odds are he or she works with at least one asthma sufferer. And there's a good chance that the coach doesn't know how to make participation as comfortable as possible for the athlete, or how to respond to an asthma attack.
The "Winning with Asthma" Coach's Clipboard Program is a free online educational tool that not only explains asthma's causes and symptoms, but lays out strategies for dealing with the disease, which affects an estimated 6.8 million children ages 17 and younger. To date, more than 8,000 coaches have graduated from the program.
Paul Steinbach
May 13, 2009
© 2009 Athletic Business Magazine
A local recreation director held a softball jamboree for kids in his town's first- and second-grade program this spring. All of the players had their names announced as they came up to bat, and all of the players got to bat once every inning.
It was a great day.
Check that: It was a great day except for the one parent on the sideline who didn't understand the point of the event ... for the one parent who crossed the line.
The director said the parent was upset because it "wasn't fair" that the teams weren't batting the same amount of kids each inning, due to the number of kids on each team that particular day.
"We weren't even keeping score," the director said. "People told me later that it was a great event, but they went home shaking their heads because of this one parent."
BILL WELLS
May 10, 2009
The Republican Sports Desk
QUINCY -- A recent report showing the lifelong damage concussions inflict on young athletes' brains should prompt schools and youth sports leagues to establish uniform guidelines on how coaches and game officials respond when one occurs.
It should also move the same groups to consider what rules can be changed to lessen the chance of such injuries.
A study being conducted by Boston University's medical school and the Sports Legacy Institute in Waltham recently announced that a trauma-induced brain disease previously thought only to effect career athletes was detected in the brain of an 18-year-old football player.
The disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, can initially cause memory impairment, emotional instability, erratic behavior, depression or loss of impulse control before developing into Alzheimer's-like dementia.
Feb 17, 2009
The Patriot Ledger
Refereeing. It certainly can be a thankless job.
At the best of times, sports officials are usually invisible. At the worst of times, they are a black and white striped target.
Players, coaches and, sometimes worst of all, fans, show little respect for the police officers of the sporting world.
Yep, there’s definitely no mistaking referees for rock stars.
They get insults, curses, garbage and folding chairs tossed at them, rather than beautiful young women’s undergarments.
This lack of respect for officials doesn’t exist only in professional sports, it has corrupted sport right through to its most grassroots levels, from amateur to youth sports.
Tyler Zdan
May 9, 2009
The Daily Graphic
On average, athletes are eight times more likely to suffer anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in competition than practice and girls are eight times more likely to suffer ACL injuries than boys when playing similar sports. These findings are among those reported by researchers from The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Here, they share their analysis of knee injury rates for high school athletes as they relate to sport and gender.
Knee injuries are a common concern amongst athletes because they can lead to a discontinuation of their season, particularly if a ligament such as an ACL is torn. This is a valid concern given that previous research has found that knee injuries account for 60 percent of all sports-related surgeries. Specifically, ACL injuries can account for more than 50 percent of knee injuries. While they will never be completely eliminated, sports injury surveillance can help athletic trainers and coaches develop sport-specific strategies to decrease their athletes' risk for ACL injuries.
Dawn Comstock PhD
May 11, 2009
Copyright© 2007 MAG, Inc
The Flying High organization teamed up with Youngstown City, OH schools to put together the Rise-N-Shoot Basketball program, which gives kids something positive to do while teaching them valuable lessons. There motto for the basketball clinic is character is the pathway to winning. "Nine times out of ten, they're (the kids) in trouble when they're released out of school," says Flying High Support Specialist Tanisha Franklin. "So we try to give them somewhere to come to to stay off the street and give them some kind of positive feedback; to be a safehaven for some of these individuals."
Hudson Valley Lacrosse Officials
You will be entered to win one of 20 Youth Sports NY fleece's we've designed if you will help the SUNY Youth Sports Institute identify youth lacrosse programs in the Hudson Valley that create a positive atmosphere and Honor the Game.
Click HERE to score each program's conduct.
Your Scoring is Anonymous
After officiating, for every 5 games you provide an anonymous grade on the team that best honored the game, we put your name in for our drawing. Your scoring of will disappear after they are made assure you anonimity. Your name and phone number are used only for the purposes of the drawing.
Details
Scoring is based upon 1,2,3,4,5- with a 5 being the best score as a program that Honors the Game. Programs with the highest score will receive a free Powell Brothers Clinic for their Community. For programs to be eligible, coaches MUST be certified and MUST wear their lanyard during the game.
Now you can grade the spectators, parents, coaches and players of each team. Your thoughtful input will have a lasting effect in the Hudson Valley Lacrosse Community.
For every five games that you score you'll receive an entry to win one of 20 Youth Sports New York fleeces.
Trouble entering score, just call directly at 877-828-8811and we'll record your scoring over the phone.
Click HERE to begin.
SILVER SPRING, Md., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of youth sports events taking place every day across the country, it's not uncommon for families to have several youth sports activities scheduled in a single day, not to mention the many families who even travel across state lines and overnight for all-star or traveling sports teams. But this summer, why not let Quality hotels take care of the travel accommodations for you, so you can just enjoy the game.
Quality brand hotels are offering families a chance to win the ultimate youth sports travel getaway, including a trip to the Little League(R) Baseball World Series inWilliamsport, Penn., August 27 - 31, 2009. Guests can enter online now through June 25, 2009 at www.choicehotels.com/youthsports.*
"As a familiar national hotel brand, Quality hotels provide a compelling value for families who travel for youth sports," said Chris Malone, chief marketing officer for Choice Hotels. "Youth sports are about families, fun and good sportsmanship, and Quality hotels provide the perfect place for all your youth sports and family travel needs."
Copyright © 2004-2009 NewsBlaze
May 05,2009
A letter landed on my desk a few days ago from a woman in Zumbrota complaining about coaches who require kids to participate in summer leagues and camps.
"Here, if you aren't on a summer league team for your sport, you get to spend 99 percent of your time sitting on the bench," she wrote, "because you aren't professional enough to play... You have kids out there that have a passion for the sport, but, because their family can't afford the fees and to take the time off from work to transport their child to and from the games that are all over the state, they get discriminated against. This is a form of bullying!"
This is not a new complaint. During the 17 years that I have been a parent, volunteer and coach for youth athletics in Rochester, I've heard this many times. It's one of several that get repeated over and over.
Some of these complaints have at least a degree of validity; others don't. Here's my two-cents worth on a few of the most common beefs:
Greg Sellnow
5/5/2009
Copyright 2009 Post-Bulletin Company
What message is the School Committee sending to the children and young people of Gloucester when its "public school budget does not include any funding for athletics," as pointed out by reporter Patrick Anderson (The Times, April 18)?
The committee's message suggests that the good people looking after the educational needs of the city's school-age population place far less value on the training and skills that are taught and gained on the field of athletics than they do on those acquired inside the four walls of the classroom.
Unfortunately, that kind of message fails to appreciate the vital role physical fitness and athletics play in an educational system, the stated goal of which is the development of a sound mind and body in each and every child.
Jim Munn
April 23, 2009
Gloucester Daily Times
Face-masks on baseball and softball helmets can help prevent serious injuries including concussions and damaging to the teeth or jaw. Once big and hard to see through, face guards now resemble those on football helmets costing only 10 to 20 dollars each. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission says over 4,000 injuries can be prevented by using these face-guards. However, many people including Hillcrest softball coach Lee Dishman believe the use of face-guards should be optional and left up to the player to choose.
I found myself agreeing with James Forni last week, even though I didn’t want to agree, even though I found myself a bit embarrassed after I did.
“I tell the kids, sure, you can play three sports,” said Forni, Casa Grande’s athletic director and basketball coach, “but you better be Matt Nadolski.”
Nadolski is Casa’s three-sport star, all-league for the last two years in football, basketball and baseball. Unquestionably, Nadolski is a unique talent. But that’s not what bothered me.
Isn’t it a shame that an athlete has to be that good to play three sports?
Why can’t a kid — and I emphasize KID here — be all thumbs with two left feet and still be allowed to play as many sports as he wants?
BOB PADECKY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
May 2, 2009
It was a special moment. A moment that makes me realize there is a darn lot of good that can come out of youth sports.
The other day, I sat along the right-field foul line at a baseball game. It was 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning and the ninth batter was at the plate.
He had been struggling for the last few games, slowly dipping toward the bottom of the batting order until he could go no further.
He stood 5-foot-10 and was about 125 pounds, soaking wet. He was a singles hitter and a reliable bunter.
There were runners on first and second with nobody out, an ideal bunting situation at any level of baseball. I anticipated watching this player lay down a superb bunt to move the runners along and allow the top of the order to knock them in.
The pitcher wound up and delivered. Instead of squaring to bunt, the batter swung, and all of a sudden the ball comes soaring toward me in right field. A huge smile came over my face as I realized it was definitely going over the right fielder's head.
I thought to myself, "Is there any way this slight-of-build ninth hitter, who had hit nothing but singles all season, can hit one out of the park?"
JON BUZBY
May 3, 2009
© 2009 The Island Packet & The Beaufort Gazette
Those school sports fees are going up, up, up, pinching parents who want their kids to play. Now, an area school superintendent wants to use some federal stimulus money to eliminate the sports fees for the next two years.
The Globe's Bob Holmes reports that Shawsheen Regional superintendent Charles Lyons and members of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association board are urging Governor Deval Patrick to use $24-million in federal stimulus money given to the state to do away with user fees for the next two years.
"I think feeing kids at the public school level is a disgrace," said Lyons.
May 4, 2009
Boston.com
It's that time of year for student-athletes in eighth grade to decide which fall sport they want to play next year.
I had a parent write and ask my opinion about her son, who is slated to start on the varsity soccer team next year. He has asked to instead play football, citing soccer burn-out and having always wanting to try football.
For some athletes, choosing a fall high school sport is an easy decision. They love the fall sport they play, are confident they can make the team and can't wait for the season to get here.
For others, it's not so easy.
For the soccer player who has always been the star in the recreation league but is now going to a school that has a rich soccer tradition, making the team is not automatic.
He or she may question whether he or she will even play, and just as importantly, worry what he or she will do if cut.
JON BUZBY
May 03, 2009
Norwich Bulletin
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