Haven't I already been through this enough? I had to confer with some of my assistant coaches and then ask one of them not to come back. It was a tough decision. It certainly wasn't made lightly. But the interests of the kids have to come first.
The reason really doesn't matter. The possibility that something might happen had been keeping me up nights. I was lulled into a false sense of security. The season was going along well. Actually better than I could have hoped for with this particular coach. Then out of nowhere the tide turn. That was actually a major point. There was no warning.
Youth sports is such a circus. It's almost too mainstream now. I have railed against the system before (and I probably will again). Parents are to blame. Not all of them. But a lot of them. They take youth sports more seriously than the kids. It is not right. It's no wonder kids get burnt out on sports by high school. Someone needs to do a study. I bet there are more Marinavich stories now than there once were. I bet teen rebellion now is more quitting sports because their parents can't force them to play anymore. I bet there is an uptick in kids making poor choices into trouble making just to show mom & dad not only are they no longer an athlete but not the person they were hoping for. The stories of the Tiger Woods playing golf at 3, or Larry Bird spending hours in a basketball gym growing up, or Dustin Pedrioa playing baseball all the time. They didn't do it because someone made them do it. They were having fun. Youth sports needs to work the fun a bit more in general. It is possible to be competitive and have fun at the same time. Despite popular opinion.
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