My kids' school -- Piney Branch Elementary in Takoma Park, Maryland -- is the only elementary school in our county with a pool. That pool, however, is now closed because the local YMCA has decided it no longer wants to operate it.

Prior to the closing, the kids had two multi-week sessions when they used the pool for physical education classes. Pool parties were also used to celebrate big school achievements, and my son always mentioned the pool as the best thing about his school.

My daughter, though, is in her first year at Piney Branch, and may never have a chance to use the now-drained pool. My kids have been very active in a "Save the Pool" campaign, helping to collect signatures and speaking at a town council meeting on the subject.

Finding someone to operate the pool won't be easy, and it's hard to tell at this point if the pool will ever reopen. That would be a shame, and a further example of the decline of physical education in grade schools across the country.

We have a huge child obesity problem in the United States, and supporting physical education is one positive step we can take to help with this. Many schools, like Piney Branch, really stress the academic subjects, which is fine, but we need to exercise our kids' bodies as well as their minds.

The pool is a symbol of this struggle between athletics and academics. You can bet if this was an academic facility a solution would have been worked out by now. We need to treat this with the same zeal, because instilling the importance and interest in exercise is just as important a life lesson for our kids.

The past two years my son came home from school all excited when a swimming unit was about to start, and it was something my daughter most looked forward to about her new school.

This is about much more than some physical education classes. The pool was and can be again a valuable community resource for people of all ages, but only if we make it happen. No matter the decision, our kids will get one of two messages: the pool is important enough to save, or it isn't.

It can literally be a life-changing experience in terms of shaping their views on exercise and physical fitness, not to mention the power of the people. It's a battle worth fighting for.  

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:49 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

There is nothing like watching celebrations that ensue when a player hits a walkoff home run, scores a winning touchdown in the final seconds or a team captures a championship. These are spontaneous and feel-good moments for sports fans that live in our memories for a long time.

Today, though, the celebration threshold is very low, as they are commonplace, personal and out of control. Excessive celebrations are now as much a part of sports as sports talk radio or fantasy sports. You see football players celebrate everything from a first down to a tackle for loss or even a hard hit after a positive gain.

And while reasonable end zone celebrations are OK, the kinds of things that players like Terrell Owens do after scoring is anything but role-model behavior. 

The problem with all this is that it's setting a bad example for our kids, who want to imitate what they see on TV. The famous saying "There's no I in team," comes to mind, as teamwork has given way to individuality.

While we don't want to dampen our kids' enthusiasm and excitement in any way, we also don't want to endorse crazy celebrations at inappropriate times that are clearly more staged or scripted than natural. Such actions display poor sportsmanship, needlessly disrupt the game and draw attention to individual rather than team accomplishments.

The next time you're watching a game with your kids, talk to them about the problems with inappropriate and excessive celebrations, and the importance of good sportsmanship. You may be surprised how such conversations can impact their behavior and actions for the better.  

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:48 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I grew up a huge baseball fan, a Philadelphia Phillie fan to be specific, and often went to bed listening to Phillie games on the radio.

I didn't go to more than one or two games a year, though, as I lived about 3 1/2 hours from Philadelphia in central Pennsylvania, so going to a game was a big deal.

Now I work almost literally in the shadow of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. Most days during baseball season, I walk through the stadium's concourse just beyond the right field wall, which allows me a great view of the field.

I often stop for a few minutes to watch the grounds crew work on the field, or to think about what it would be like to play on that field. This pre-work walk makes me feel like a kid again, and is my own personal field of dreams.

In many ways, this weekday ritual is a trip down memory lane. The oversized retired numbers of Oriole greats like Cal Ripken, Jim Palmer and Eddie Murray, the statue of Babe Ruth, who was born less than a block from the stadium, the memories of games attended long ago with my father, my baseball card collection and my days as a Little League shortstop.

It's hard to think of a better way to start my day.  

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 10:09 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The University of Michigan was expected to be one of the nation's best college football teams this season. The Wolverines were ranked highly in all preseason polls, and despite a very difficult schedule figured to contend for the national title.

Today, though, Michigan lost to Appalachian State 34-32 in what some are calling one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Appalachian State had won the last two I-AA titles, but this is the first time a I-AA team has defeated a ranked I-A team.

Imagine the emotions of the Michigan players and coaches, of whom so much was expected. Some people were even calling for Wolverine coach Lloyd Carr, who has won 76 percent of his games while coaching in one of the nation's toughest conferences, to resign, with others in the media saying he's now on the "hot seat."

The overreaction to losses like this one are incredibly unfair. True, Michigan lost a game it was heavily favored to win, but my guess is that at season's end Michigan will have won at least 8 games, and probably more, while Appalachian State will show everyone it is no fluke.

Having said all that, it was still a heartbreaking loss for Carr and his team, which made Carr's postgame news conference all the more impressive. He gave Appalachian State credit for playing a great game, and said that while his team made a lot of mistakes and missed out on a lot of scoring opportunities, that it was unprepared to play and that that was his responsibility. Too often in sports today players and coaches do not take responsibility for their actions, and it was nice to see Carr take the high road in a very difficult situation.

There are valuable lessons here for youth sports coaches, parents and players: losses happen, and when you lose, do so with class. No matter how much of an "upset" a loss may be, they happen, and as coaches and parents, it's important that we set a good example for our players and kids. The bigger the "upset" the harder this may be, and the more important it is to do. After all, even in Michigan's case it's only a game, and the key in this situation is to put the loss behind you and work hard to prepare for your next game. The longer the loss lingers the harder it will be to overcome.

This may be harder said than done, but give it a try -- after all, taking responsibility for our actions is one of the biggest and most important life lessons we can, and should, teach at every opportunity. 

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:47 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)