Why Don’t Dayton’s Kids Play Sports? (¡Parte Dos!)

Last week I wrote about how Day­ton’s kids— especially boys— aren’t turn­ing out in numbers for sports compared to years past. I also noted that the lack of turnout had noth­ing to do with school size, which has remained fairly consistent over the years.

Today I stop reminiscing and kvetching and get down to the big question: ‘Why?’

As I put together my origi­nal article on Dayton’s school board voting to let eighth- graders play up on the high school team four weeks ago, I asked several interviewees the “why?” Why do you think kids aren’t turning out?

Bulldog boys basketball coach Roy Ramirez was at a loss for an explanation.

“You know it’s hard to say,” said Ramirez. “We discussed that at the (school board) meeting—why aren’t we getting the kids to turn out. I just don’t know. The success that we’ve had since we took the program over and just building it every year until last year when we went to the state tourna­ment— we thought we’d be able to get more kids to turn out and want to play, just from the success. But we just don’t have the interest here in basketball—or in football. A couple years back we had eighth graders playing baseball just to salvage the baseball team.”

Superintendent Doug Johnson fired off several intriguing possibilities in his interview.

“Whether, it be a larger or smaller school, I think if you go outside the boundaries to your community there is an overall trend that individuals, no matter the age group, are not joining clubs, organiza­tion or activities like they used to,” Johnson said. “If you look at the number of people in the Elks, or the Eagles, or the Lions Club or whatever, they are less and less. The same thing’s true if you go to the school level. There’s a general sense that, well it used to be everybody did it so you did it, but I think now kids believe they have other options.

“Kids that were kids when you and I turned out had par­ents who said, ‘You will turn out. Not playing is not an op­tion, because you’re not just going to come home, sit, and do nothing’,” Johnson told me. “Well, I think there’s less of that now. I think there’s less demands being placed by parents on it,”

The superintendent wasn’t done. “Sometimes I think the kids feel like there is less to be gained by being part of a team for whatever reason. Given the fact that they have more individual rights and freedoms and choices and whatnot, more of them are choosing not to.

“It’s a matter of appealing to kids to make it a positive thing for them and something they want to do,” Johnson continued. “And that’s where coaches come in. A lot of coaches have local charisma and leadership qualities that they are able to attract a lot of people to their sport or activ­ity. But in a community like ours where a majority of our coaches work off-site, they aren’t around the students as much—or at least not around the ones who aren’t par­ticipating. How do they have access to all the kids who might turn out if they were able to talk to them every day that they came into their classrooms? That’s creating part of the problem. Maybe I shouldn’t call it part of the problem, but it could be part of the solution.”

Currently only three teachers coach sports at Dayton. Clayton Strong is the junior high football and high school girls basket- ball coach; Dan Nechodom coaches cross-country and track; and Clint Reser coaches junior high track. High school volleyball coach Shannon Turner, while not a teacher, works at the high school in another capacity – as ASB secretary.

During the past week I received a good deal of feedback from my first col- umn on the matter. One man who phoned me suggested a lack of youth training was to blame. He noted the fab five seniors from last year’s state basketball team played AAU ball together for years. He doesn’t see that happening now.

On Friday, I questioned two Dayton male athletes on the subject. Their expla- nation for the problem was much simpler than those Johnson or my reader gave, but its solution is much more difficult.

“We’re a bunch of pot- heads here,” the one letter- winner, who will remain nameless for his sake, said to me, clearly frustrated. “ That’s what Dayton’s known for. We smoke weed.”

And those who smoke it care little about doing any- thing else, the two went on to tell me.

Whatever the reasons, slight or serious, it is a problem that needs a solution. And not just for the sake of a sports nut like me.

Next week I will share some of the reasons why this matters in the bigger picture, and FINALLY talk solutions. In the meantime, if you have any ideas to improve the situation please send us an email or write a letter. We’d love to hear from you. Please email editor@waitsburgtimes.com or news@waitsburgtimes.com.