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Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter in response to the youth sports programs we have in the area.
Year-after-year we see the coach’s kids and friends of the coaches (or the friends and family network I call it) constantly get all the playing time in these leagues. There are so many kids that have equal ability or more ability than these starters on the field.
Football, for example, used to have the Bill Booth League which demanded that all kids get so many plays a game. I have been on both sides of the fence with my kids ranging from 23- to 10-years old. Coaches have no idea the disappointment these children, and families, get when they don’t get a chance to play, not to mention the parents spending much time and money on their kids to watch them sit the bench.
We lose more and more children each year in sports and they end up in front of an xbox, unhealthy, and we also lose them to high school sports – we may have the next Peyton Manning in our backyard, but will never know.
These coaches should be ashamed of themselves and hopefully will get a taste of it first-hand some day. I can’t speak for all teams, but all the ones in the valley I know of have this problem – Chester being the worst.
I have always loved wrestling and boxing for this reason, because whenever you want a spot you challenge for it – it’s funny that wrestling always seems to be the valley’s strongest sport. Imagine that.
Sandy Burchett
Chester