I got a few responses to my On Deck column "Youth power" that appeared in Monday's print edition of The TImes Argus, and one of them, from Cabot, really stood out.
The text of the response follows. It's a different perspective on the "problem" of decreased enrollment and what some schools are doing to make sure school sports are still offered, and that they teams continue to have the opportunity to do well. Thank you for your responses!
"Ms. Grearson,
Chairman- Cabot Recreation Department"
I agree with your passionate support of the value of youth sports programs. I also was an active participant of youth sports as a child. I have made youth sports one of my priorities as a mother of 5 and a member of a very small community.
I would liked a chance to clarify some facts about Cabot's youth sports in reference to your article in The Times-Argus on Monday November 14, 2011. This year Cabot High School only has 20 female students. In order for the school to field a varsity girls soccer team almost every one of those students would have had to have been an athlete and wanted to play soccer. In contrast to that there are 40 boys in the high school and 17 of them played on the varsity boys' team. That team had a very successful season. The Cabot Middle School fielded 2 soccer teams this fall, one for girls and one for boys. Based on that there is a very good chance that Cabot High will have a girls soccer team again in the future.
As for the youth program, the Cabot Recreation Department took over the sports program for grades 3 through 6 after Town Meeting in March of 2010. That is when due to budget cuts the school eliminated elementary sports. Prior to that the recreation department had already instituted a skills program in soccer and basketball for our Pre-K to 2nd grade students. That program continues and had 24 participants for soccer this fall. We were also able to field a 5th/6th grade co-ed team of 16 players and two 3rd/4th grade teams that had a total of 16 players this year.
Our basketball teams have also been playing with a large number of participants in the past few years. Last year's co-ed 3rd/4th grade team had 16 players and there were separate girls and boys teams for 5th and 6th grade.
We also have a very solid group of volunteers to coach, schedule games, run concessions stands, drive players to games and every thing else that needs to happen in order for a program to run.
Thank you for the chance to highlight some of the positive aspects and strengths of Cabot's youth sports programs.
Rebecca Nally
-Anna Grearson
Comments