What ever happened to crawdads?
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The point of emphasis for this letter is to allow many of us (former coaches, parents and spectators) to reflect on their days of growing up in this community.
As an educator and former coach, as well as an avid sports fan, I was brought up in the ranks of cup ball, wiffleball, FYF (Front Yard Football) and the GBA (Garage Basketball Association). Every yard had a sandlot and a hoop, as well as Dad’s bean poles for the goal post for the big football game every week.
The most interesting thing is that when we got tired of playing, we usually found our way down to the swamp to catch tadpoles and crawdads. If it were not the season for them, we found pogo sticks or an old can and played kick the can (modified tag for you youngsters).
These were the best times of my life, because I did not have to choose a sport or really worry about practicing for some travel team (year round). I had a chance to be a kid.
With the marketing of athletes and the money that they foolishly give these people, it is no wonder that parents today want their child to be the next Tiger Woods or the next Peyton Manning (so the parent can retire). I think I am safe in saying that the kids today would give you the same answer that I did, they would like to play tag and ride bikes. They might wait in anticipation on a Friday afternoon for their father to get off work, so they could go black perch fishing or squirrel hunting. And again — whatever happened to the tadpoles and crawdads?
I am not saying that athletics is not a valuable part of or culture. I know that we as Americans are very competitive. What I am saying is that what kind of pressure are we putting on our kids?
Are the kids playing all these sports because they come to mom and dad and ask to play? Or, are they being asked by coaches and parents, who are reliving their lives through these kids? In 30-some-odd years of being an athlete or coach, I bet it’s the latter.
School and youth sports are great teachers of discipline, social skills and work ethic (which we need now more than ever). I remember Mr. Charlie Dalton — who I thought a great deal of. He coached basketball and football, and in the summer time he was at the Dottie West Field umpiring and working with young baseball players. We did not have the pressure put on us, because the good Lord gave us the seasons — and when the climate changed, so did our sports.
I have heard many comments over the years about athletic scholarships. Just a bit of information, many athletic scholarships are at best a partial (quarter or half). So as parents, we need to look at our priorities. The academic scholarships far out-weigh any athletic scholarship — and they are certainly more numerous.
I’d bet if we, as parents, spent half as much time on our kid’s academics, we wouldn’t have a large illiteracy rate and our schools would be on the exemplary list.
And yes, we would still have time to catch tadpoles and crawdads.