What is happening to high school sports programs?
I recently read an article about the economic state of high school sports programs, and how many school are LOSING their sports programs due to the economy and budget cuts. It saddens me to think that some youth around our country may not be able to experience the JOY of competition and sport. One of the few areas left in our society to teach about character and leadership is in the arena of sports. If cities begin to lose their sports programs, we as a nation, lose one of our GREATEST LEADERSHIP development programs.
Here is an excerpt from the SI article:
Forget the wins, which hit 300 in February. Forget the four New York state public school titles in eight years. Of all the statistics Mount Vernon (N.Y.) boys’ basketball coach Bob Cimmino keeps, he cherishes one the most. He’s 82-for-85. In his time as the Knights’ varsity coach, all but three of his players have gone on to college. Cimmino, a social studies teacher who counts Chicago Bulls star Ben Gordon as a program alum, considers sports a critical part of any high school’s curriculum.
The Mount Vernon school board disagrees. Two weeks ago, the board eliminated funding for high school sports after a school budget tax levy failed for a second time, forcing the district to draft a $187.4 million austerity budget that also required the elimination of 115 jobs — 51 of them teaching positions. The decision left Cimmino, Knights football coach Ric Wright and the rest of Mount Vernon’s coaches scrambling to raise the $950,000 required to fund the athletic program for the 2008-09 school year. If they can’t raise at least $300,000 by August, the coaches said, Mount Vernon’s fields and courts could be empty for a long time. Cimmino, a Mount Vernon native, doesn’t want to imagine that possibility. “It’ll be a devastating thing,” he said.
Read the entire SI article CLICK HERE
I would LOVE to hear what is happening with your community’s sports programs. Please, share in comments section below. Thank you, and let’s save our nation’s youth sports programs, as they will develop our LEADERS of tomorrow!
Technorati Tags: Character, Leadership Development, Athletic Scholarships, Youth Sports
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