Sledding Hill

This morning on my way in to work a talk radio host was bemoaning the end of the multi-letter high school athletes. His commentary was in response to a local 12 year old having a verbal commitment to play football for USC in 7 or so years. For whatever good or bad of that particular story, it led to a discussion concerning the one sport athlete so prevalent today.

No longer can a boy play football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring. All sports have their season of course. But in the off season there are camps and league plays. Indoor soccer, fall baseball, coaching sessions are the norm in my area. I know that this isn't new. My 24 year old had to choose between trying out for the baseball all-stars or attending his travel soccer spring game when he was about 11 years old! It just seems that it is worse.

Children today are so scheduled and never seem to have any free time. No longer do they arrange a game amongst themselves. Sledding seems to be off limits as well, unless there are parents present. Today, a beautiful sunny afternoon, less than two days after a BIG snowstorm, there was NO ONE sledding on the local hill. The elementary schools had dismissed. It wasn't that cold. There was plenty of snow. I had thought that there would be plenty of sledders. Wrong! Not a single child was out sledding. I guess they all had other obligations - religious school, music lessons, team practices, etc. What a shame!