Hold coaches accountable
After reading the letter about removing our high school boys basketball coach (Dean Bellanti) I felt compelled to voice some concerns of my own.
What has happened to our sports programs over the last five years? Not just basketball — football, hockey, girls basketball, softball, etc.
They have all taken a downhill spiral. Our programs do not have the participation they once did. We have great feeder programs in place in a lot of sports. But once we get to the next level we seem to lose something. Maybe it's the competitive edge. Our participation numbers drop. We lose kids who start and drop out, which does not help. But I also feel we need to hold our coaching staff accountable for what is going on in these drowning activities.
I applaud anybody who puts in the time with these kids. They are underpaid, if paid at all. It takes a lot of time to run a program to make it successful. And no, winning is not the only way it will be successful. But being competitive breeds winning. Kids do not want to be part of an unsuccessful program. Would you? So I would think we need to hold them (our coaches) accountable for what happens in the programs they are responsible for. If you did a below average job at work, would your boss start questioning your ability to the job?
Mine would. Not to say any of these coaches has not tried to bring everything they can to the program. Sometimes it just does not work out.
How long do we wait to make a change? It is hard enough to keep programs alive with all the budget cuts these days, but if we do not have enough kids to support our teams, do you think they will even have a team to play on? So making changes in coaching positions is a good thing when your program has been struggling for a while. Nobody has ever said these coaches have not tried their best to help every kid they have ever been a part of on and off the playing field. Remember, change is good.
— John Sobrilsky
Beaver Dam
Celebrate Children Day
The month of April is observed nationally as Child Abuse Prevention Month. It is time to reflect on what we are doing as a community to support children and families.
Children don't come with instructions and many parents face raising their children without the support they need. We all have opportunities to reach out to parents in our families, neighborhoods or places of employment.
Research has shown that home and community life shape a child's character, intellect and talent from birth through a child's older years. PAVE is asking that all community members make a commitment to end child abuse and neglect in our community. Children need adults to prevent child abuse and neglect and there are many things we can do.
One thing you can do is plan a special event or activity on Wednesday, April 30, for Celebrate Children Day. This day is about honor children in a positive way. By honoring child or children in your community, you are recognizing children are special and deserve to be kept healthy and safe, We must pay attention to the kinds of efforts that will prevent child abuse from happening in the first place. So this April, learn more about what you and your community can do to support child abuse prevention. It is a shared responsibility and we're stronger together.
— Chris Kamrath
Children's Advocate
PAVE
Positively Hoops says thanks
The board of directors and coordinators of Positively Hoops would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the girls tournament held March 2 and March 9 and the boys tournament held April 12 and13. Both tournaments were a huge success.
We would like to thank all the teams, players, coaches, parents and fans who attended. We'd also like to thank everyone who helped in the operation of the tournament from the set-up, selling of concessions, to the cleanup and everything in between. We would especially like to thank Beaver Dam High School and middle school, Caine Trucking, Culver's, Cousins Subs, Design Plus, Mick Fischer, Rechek's Food Pride, Richelieu Foods, and the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce. We would especially like to thank the players, parents and coaches of Positively Hoops.
Positively Hoops will be holding its annual meeting on Wednesday, April 30, at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Please see the Positively Hoops Web site at www.bdpositivelhoops.com for further details.
— Positvely Hoops