Tryouts for Viking boys court volleyball were held Sat., Feb. 21. In the coaches' information on the school website for students wanting to try out for the varsity, junior varsity, and novice teams, it says: "The coaches will assess players, taking into consideration different criteria—skill level, motivation, attitude, potential, 'coach-ability,' and responsibility/maturity."
Head Coach Dave Jones and I have talked about this multiple times over the past several years. His program is not merely to prepare teams to win games. His philosophy includes an overall perspective that takes into consideration the whole person as student athletes participate in his program.
This is important to me, because I am a classroom teacher, I am a stepfather and grandfather, and my parents inculcated similar views into my sister, brother, and myself as we grew up. A grounding in values is important for any individual, young or old. I know I'm preaching here, but without these values being held foremost by coaches and other adult role models, high school sports become an empty shell in which self-advancement, placement in college with an athletic scholarship, and similar become the end-all and be-all for parents and their daughters and sons playing sports for all the wrong reasons.
The tryout information section goes on to say: "Volleyball is a TEAM sport; the goal of the coaching staff is to place athletes in the best situation for the success of the program first, then each team, and finally, the players’ individual volleyball development. We’ve built a tradition of excellence in our volleyball program here at LJHS; selection to the team is an honor and privilege."
Amen. This has to be said over and over, because individual parents and others, while seeking to advance the interests of their young athlete, may try to override the coach's grasp of the entire situation--academics, the athletic team, individual situations, and so forth. That is why classroom coaches and walk-on coaches have to have accountability. These are school sports. They are not professional sports. They are not scholarship procurement programs. But the occasional parent will go off the deep end in trying to push their way for their child to play more, play a different position or role, or you name it. It's not the purpose of the program.
I remember as a youth baseball player a 12-year-old opponent's dad who screamed and yelled at games and generally completely embarrassed his son by his behavior in the stands at the games. Another horror story I've witnessed was when I was public address announcer for girls basketball at a high school in Ventura County many years ago. The coach's spouse, who I had played basketball against in high school and who had played professionally in Europe, carried his vocal behavior from the stands so far as to be prohibited from attending his wife's games. Can we keep a little perspective? These are the visible examples at games. Other actions may occur behind the scenes.
Support your local coach. That's my motto. Let's make school sports a healthy vehicle for our young people to develop and mature, both as athletes and as young people. The behavior we model is what they will learn. Let's teach them--using words, if necessary--the values of team spirit, modesty, honesty, hard work, and all those other things we value.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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