As we sit and ponder the last of the eggnog and watch the embers burn out on 2007, it’s a good time for some introspection on just how naughty or nice we were in the grand scheme of things this past year.
We’ve already seen the naughty list that former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and his baseball report helped jolly old Saint Nick with, but just how good were we in our daily actions before we go casting aspersions on others? What have each of us, as parents, coaches, players or just plain old fans done to better our teams and our schools? With so much negative press on the national level with the doping, we have to concentrate on our youth sports and make doubly sure that our future heroes don’t fall prey to the same enticements that their befallen idols have in recent months.
It has been a year of changes — a long time coming since that dreaded 1998 lawsuit — on the high school sports scene and that reality has hit us all like an errant snowball hurled from the bushes.
Just five weeks into what promises to be a very long high school basketball season, the realization that what could have been rather ugly in reality has turned out pretty good. In the spirit of cooperation, fairness and equity, both the boys’ and girls’ squads have seen decent, albeit smaller, crowds. It’s tough to allow kids out three to four nights a week to watch sports when they should be crunching numbers and learning about our forefathers. And the anticipated shortage in qualified officials appears to have worked itself out, with some solutions yet to be put into place. Level heads and understanding has helped put Michigan in line with the rest of the nation. Sometimes, change is good.
Now, having said that, there are a handful of coaches dreading the New Year because they are the last of the coaches that have a long, hard decision to make as far as what team they will coach in the spring. All I can offer to them is to think long and hard, and follow your heart. The kids will understand and stand behind you in whatever decision you make.
Actually, the kids are a lot more understanding than some give them credit for, and if they were in your shoes, what would they do? As in past seasons, coaches simply cannot coach two different teams in one season. It’s an unenviable decision that the basketball coaches have already gone through. It’s a tough call, too. Which team do you give up on? And, truthfully, is that even a fair question? One has to be left behind in order for both to remain strong in their pursuits. Giving up on them is just not the right choice of words. Setting them free to prosper may be a better choice.
So perhaps, as one of the questions below asks, the good deed you do this year may be to choose the less traveled fork in the road as the kids continue down their successful path with a new leader. It’s food for thought, anyway. And speaking of food, chocolate always helps in the tough decision-making process.
So, instead of making meaningless New Year’s resolutions that won’t last past the last football bowl games, ask yourself this:
The person I want to be more like this year is:
The good deed I want to do this year is:
The skill I want to learn this year is:
I can help my team/school this year by:
I will support my son’s/ daughter’s/coach’s/school’s decisions whether I agree with them or not:
Be good to yourself, help your friends and neighbors, and let’s all enjoy the rest of the winter season. It has served to show us that the changes imminent for the spring will likely all work out, too. Play on, young men and women. Let’s see how far you can take your game this year, regardless of who is helping you get there.

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