Cut JV? No way. Figure something else out.
If there’s one thing the youth in Augusta County know, it’s how to be the red flag in a tug-of-war.
On one side are the good elements pulling with all their might, doing everything they can to keep kids on the proverbial “straight-and-narrow path.”
On the other side are the bad elements. Gangs. Drugs. Crime. The whole nine yards, folks. The bad things. The things you don’t want your kids having anything to do with.
There are plenty of good things on the good side. Throw your beliefs out the window and take your pick. There’s religion, there’s school, there’s the library, there’s volunteer work and, of course, there’s sports (and countless others we’re pretty sure we’re forgetting at this moment).
Taking one of those, or even one element of those good things away and the result can be devastating. With one fell swoop, the tide could turn, the flag ends up on the other side and you, as parents, end up on your butts, shaking your heads and wondering where you went wrong.
Sorry, Augusta County Schools. Sorry Superintendent Gary McQuain and Stuarts Draft Athletic Director Steve Hartley and anybody else who looks at the books, takes a peak at the gas prices and says, “You know, we may have to scale back or cut the high schools’ JV programs,” but this isn’t a budget you’re fiddling with. Sorry, you wish it were that easy.
These are kids and, whether you like it or not, the good side in this tug-of-war needs JV sports programs.
The mere mention that JV sports may be on the chopping block is a complete and utter disservice to the kids. Sure, they say it’s because of rising gas prices, but hey, you, yeah you, the family of four, you somehow manage to go on with your normal lives despite spending more money of gas.
It’s a disservice to kids who play ball in middle school (or wrestle or run track or run cross country) and dreamed of someday wearing the big boy or girl varsity jersey. It’s a slap in their face.
To the coaches that dedicate countless hours for little extra pay trying to build winners and good kids, it’s the ultimate middle finger.
Questions? Sure, I have some.
If they do decide to cut or scale back JV teams, will McQuain join the athletic directors to explain to each school community why their kids won’t have sports? In a town-hall like meeting? At each high school over the course of a week?
Will they look these kids in the eyes and tell them, instead of treating them like numbers on a budget?
Will they explain, in person, to each coach why they just cut their legs out from under them?
What will they expect your kids to do? Will they personally take them to their homes and make sure they stay out of trouble on those nights you have to work late and they would have normally been at practice?
Or will they look to you and ask how you manage to move on with your life with rising gas prices?
Aren’t there any other things you can cut?
Do you guys pay for your cell phones, you know, like these kids’ parents do?
Sorry, we can’t live with cutting back or slicing away the JV programs. You shouldn’t either. JV programs are what make kids fall in love with sports. JV programs are what make kids better athletes and human beings and, when you’re a great athlete, those JV teams mold you into a scholarship-worthy athlete who might not have to pay for college. Taking that away from the kids is a ludicrous option that should never be considered.
You pay taxes and trust your school system to do the right thing, not break a kids heart. You want to win this tug-of-war, now it’s time to let the people in charge of this school system that they’re either with you or against you. And, if they’re against you—which touching JV programs would prove they are—maybe it’s time you do something about it and let McQuain know this is not an option.
I mean, all you do as tax payers is pay his salary, right?
