Trey wrote:
>Certainly, equipment and coaching has improved. Yes, the young man at
Penn
>State was an accomplished athlete who had quality coaching. Accidents do
>happen and coaching or the lack of it is not always to blame. The basic
fact
>remains: Coaching needs to be improved at all levels.
A nice thought. Heck, when discussing High Schools in their wholeness, a
LOT of things could be improved - including in many places, teacher pay and
benefits (here in the State of Texas, which was governed for 6 years by our
education President, there still is no state funded teacher benefit package
- and in many poorer districts a teacher must buy healthcare his or
herself), or facilities (those include classrooms and labs, and not just
track upgrades).
This isn't to go off on a political rant - but rather to point out that
there are school systems across the country where high school athletics,
much less track and field - occupy threatened positions on the budgetary
ladder. Reports are that a majority of the states in the country will be
cutting programs to avoid budget deficits next year, at the same time the
annual Federal Deficit is jumping back into the twelve-digit range.
Down here in Texas, a coach will often cover Cross Country or Track and
Field for a whopping 2K stipend. It would be nice to think that each
school can find a well-trained high quality individual willing to put in 3
months of an extra 25 hours a week into coaching and running a HS T&F
program - but it's my suspicion that given the economics of the situation
having the defensive backs coach or a PE teacher pick up the responsibility
is the best you're going to do.
Unfortunately, if you push for much more than that, without finding a way
to pay for it, you could end up with nothing.
Phil
