Letter To The Editor
Author: Audrey Martin, Winston, Montana
Dear Editor:
A school board member recently remarked, “I think we’ve lost sight of what extracurricular activities are for, and I think our focus sometimes as parents has shifted too much to its just about football or its just about basketball, and it’s not about developing young people into adults.”
The high school doesn’t even offer the classes need be eligible to attend most universities or colleges without a waiver. Many schools don’t accept “elective English” type classes offered to satisfy enrollment prerequisites. The district does not have a second-year foreign language class. Parents are forced into paying for college classes for their students while still in high school to be able to get them academically eligible for college.
Many students don’t have the opportunity to inherit family businesses, farms, and ranches. In many cases, it’s cheaper to go out of state than to remain in Montana due to the high cost of higher education and living. Therefore, many students turn to sports and extracurricular activities to help finance that. The coaching they get at a high school level directly affects their success.
NCAA eligibility comes with a strict set of requirements for student athletes. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the NCAA student-athletes in 32 sports accounted for half a million students representing 1074 colleges and universities. The NAIA has 17 sports, in 241 schools with 83,000 student athletes.
In football alone, only 7.5% of high school athletes will compete at an NCAA level, 3% Division I, 2.0% Division II, and 2.5% Division III.
Without high-quality coaching and mentoring, students’ futures in athletics or extracurriculars are nearly impossible.
Therefore, the selection of these people should not be taken lightly. The comment was incredibly unprofessional and short-sighted.
Good coaches understand the sport or activity, want to share their knowledge with the kids and motivate them to be the best version of themselves. They are aware of individual differences in athletes/participants, skill level, dedication, personal situation, motivation, and desire. Great coaches communicate well and exude credibility, competence, respect, and authority. They lead by example and are firmly committed to the sport/activity and display a clear commitment to looking out for the best interests of individual athletes/participants. The best coaches are in the profession because they love it.
These coaches play a large role in “developing these young people into adults” as they are the sole role models or mentors for students.
Townsend has some amazing coaches.
Perhaps the school board should focus on curriculum, monetary transparency, teacher pay and support, astronomical dropout rates, and the needs of the students, rather than taking shots at extracurriculars and parents.
Audrey Martin
Winston
Article Images
Click on Image Thumbnail(s) to view fullsize image
PhotoCredit: file photo
Image 1 Caption: File photo
