Inside the Cupboard

Football, volleyball and golf are winding down with most finishing up this month. Basketball is getting ready and anxiously awaiting their start time.

No matter how the seasons end this year, it is a win-win as far as I am concerned. I don’t always gauge successful seasons on wins and losses or championships.

What happens off the field to me is very important. There was a time when it seemed like every team I covered had issues with one or more of their players. This year, I am not about to say there hasn’t been one or two minor issues, but I have not heard of any inexcusable issues from any of our Jackson County teams.

You know I keep my ear to the ground for what I deem inappropriate behavior.

Athletes have to realize at a young age that their talent does not excuse them from being held accountable. A coach known across the panhandle, Sheila Roberts said some of the wisest words I’ve ever heard from a coach and I’m sure you’ve heard me say this before. She said, “Life is about choices and the choices you make can change your future.” Truer words have never been spoken.

 Other coaches I know and have known are just as hard-nosed as they come but they never sell out for a player, a parent or a win. Rules should apply to everyone equally on teams. Last names, talent nor financial status should ever play a part decisions for starters, benchers, relievers, whatever.

 Discipline should be handled with the same mindset. In the words of Baretta, if you do the crime, you did the time.

Were the coaches I speak about tough – you better know they were – tough as 16-penny nails. Were they fair to everyone? Yes they were. I wish I had a dime for every time I’ve heard “You can’t fix stupid and you can’t steal first.”

 You would have had to be a parent of a player to get the full gist of that but the saying was right on the money.

So, this year, there have been wins and losses for all four Jackson County football teams and three volleyball teams.

 Through it all, I have not heard of one player being ineligible due to behavior issues. That stat tells me coaches and parents are doing a good job and that makes me proud.

 I consider it a winning season when you can take a group of 15-50+ players times however many schools we have in a particular sport, manage to coach them into a competitive team and have every player eligible to be present for games and practices is not an easy task. It takes parents doing their jobs at home, coaches finding the right motivational technics for each individual player because as we know they are all motivated in different ways.

When you have that, you have a successful program and that’s the way it is from Inside the Cupboard.