WCMessenger.com: Football league is proof a parks program is needed

WCMessenger.com Sports: Sports Columns

Football league is proof a parks program is needed

By Robert Morgan | Published Sunday, September 9, 2007

I have coached middle school and varsity select basketball for the last 12 years. I would not trade any win, loss, technical foul or unruly parent that I've dealt with along the way because it has helped make me the coach I am today.

Those are just a few of the reasons I felt I was ready to step away from the court for a couple of months and become a fan. I was sure that watching my youngest boy play for someone other than me would be simple. After all, it's just a group of toddlers running around an unmarked field.

Boy was I wrong.

Brad, my 5-year-old Tony Romo, has always talked about starting his football career the minute he was old enough. That time has come. Though he just started pre-kindergarten and is playing kids a grade or two higher, he is officially a football player - and he will remind you of that, too.

Making it all happen has been anything but easy. In just one month I have learned why I get dozens of calls a year from disgruntled parents about problems with some of our local youth sports organizations.

There are a few things I would like to call the local sports editor and complain about too, but since that's me, my co-workers would see me talking to myself on the phone so I'll skip that.

The poorly managed league we chose is proof that parts of Wise county need a parks and recreation department - a structured parks and recreation program that has people accountable at all levels is needed to make sure the foundation is solid from top to bottom - from president all the way down to the team moms.

We got our first call three weeks before the first game, but it wasn't from the person it should have been. The wife of Brad's coach left us a message from a blocked phone number with the day and location of the first practice.

The first practice - and almost the last - finally arrived and it was obvious the other teams had been practicing for weeks as they were executing plays.

I was just glad to get Brad onto the field where he can be the big, bad football player he thinks he is. He had only known his teammates for 15 minutes, yet there was nowhere on earth he would have rather been - not even McDonald's.

My frustration remained. We were told there was not a roster available, no game schedule and that we would get a call with information on the next week's practice.

Two weeks later my wife called the head honcho of the league three times and got no answer. I called and, of course, left a message explaining the situation and that we either wanted our money back or to be moved to a different team.

The man in charge returned the call and said our team practices on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, but he wasn't sure. If he ran into the coach he would relay the message. Now this is a guy who is in charge of the league and he doesn't know anything about his teams.

My wife never heard from our son's coach so she demanded a phone number so she could be the one to call the coach whom we are to trust with our toddler. However, she was told by the head of the league that he was, "not authorized to give out that information."

That is a big problem in many ways. Three days before the third or fourth practice, we get a call from the assistant coach. He had become the interim coach because the head coach was out of town and had all the names and numbers of the team members.

The team had continued practicing without our knowledge and without a phone call. All we had was a blocked phone number.

We got in one more practice and then hit the field for the season opener against Springtown. The score is meaningless in flag football, which is why there is no scoreboard, time limit or even pads. Each team simply runs a dozen offensive plays and then switches to defense.

I expected this to look much like youth soccer where it's every boy for himself and the first one to get away from the cluster takes off with the ball. I should have known better.

Two youngsters did all the work for our team - one boy played quarterback and one filled in as a running back. Oh yeah, both were coaches' kids.

It was the same routine the following week as well, only this time a player who had missed the previous two practices and the first game was put in the backfield for some carries. Oh yeah, she was a coach's kid, too.

The five kids that were left on the line of scrimmage were hounded by coaches for not holding blocks. They were starting to grow roots from standing in place for so long and their attention span was gone by the end of the game.

Watch a little league soccer or basketball game - everyone is everywhere. The ball doesn't stay with just two people while the rest stand and watch the others do the work.

Heck, in football, at least put a kid at receiver and tell him to run a 50-yard route - he will at least feel like he is contributing to the cause even if the coach's kid does run a quarterback keeper the opposite direction.

It wasn't just Brad that I felt bad for by the second game, it was for every kid who is missing out on trying new things so that a few others could show off for their parents.

Who plays to win at the 5-year-old level? That is the silliest, craziest thing I have seen in youth sports. I carry 12 girls on my varsity team and all of them are expected to play all positions. In fact, if a post refuses to handle the ball or shoot outside, she is removed from our team. If a wing doesn't want to rebound or run the point, she gets an earfull.

It's called learning. Apparently the kids are not the only ones who need to do a little of it.