There Are Other Reasons Than Money

There are PSAs currently running on television bemoaning the fact that kids are dropping out of youth sports.  CBS News recently released a report stating that middle-class and poor kids are pulling out of sports due to not being able to afford to participate in them.  Lack of money is an issue especially in certain sports like tennis and golf, which carry heavier prices to play than others.   know of at least a couple of kids who dropped out of the boxing program because of their parents not being able to afford money for gas or bus fare to get the kids to the gym.  That happens.  However, lack of money is not the sole reason for the lack of participation in every case.

Technology is heavily to blame.  We now live in a world where playing video games is considered a sport.  There are massive gaming competitions that take place, some on a worldwide level.  I've had kids in the boxing gym tell me they can't wait until class is over so they can go home to their XBoxes, Nintendo Switches, and Play Stations.  Often, the kids are registered for my program because their parents and guardians want to keep them from sitting and playing video games constantly. 

It appears that many grade schools have cut back on physical education classes.  Some grade schools don't have those classes at all.  Of the ones who still do, kids have told me they play kickball or dodge ball during the classes.  They don't do exercises.  I know because of all the blank looks I receive when I ask the kids to do crunches, push-ups, leg raises, etc.  The kids don't know how to do any of that.  It makes me wonder if the kids are moving much during recess if that is still allowed in most schools.  I'm guessing recess is probably another chance to play video games on their cell phones.

Housework is a way to get exercise.  Judging by the kids I deal with, it doesn't seem they are required to do that at home.  A kid on one of the sports teams at the field house asked me where he could find a broom and I pointed to a nearby utility closet.  They pulled out a mop.  When I corrected them, they went back to the closet and pulled out another mop.  I remember another kid telling me they shouldn't have to do housework because their only job should be to have fun. 

Parents who don't support the youth programs are another reason.  I have to deal with parents who use my program for babysitting purposes and don't care what their kids are doing while in class. On the other side of the coin are helicopter parents who push their kids to the point where the kids no longer find sports fun.  Those same parents grumble to me and the volunteer about everything from the length of the gym hours to the quantity of equipment available for use. 

The cries about kids dropping youth sports don't tell all of the stories. 

Chances Going Down Or Gone

Sahia, Richey, Noel, and Mikaela are fine.  They just took an extended vacation.  They should be back in the gym this week.  But I can't guarantee that of everyone else who has been missing for past month.  

Looks like I'm going to keep the gym open during the break between the winter and spring session since the City-Wide Boxing Tournament will take place during that time.  But I'm not going to allow everyone to register for it.  Malik is dangerously close to being denied a chance to compete.  He'll have to show up every day from this point on in order to get a spot.  Iz and Abrahant's chances are already gone because of their constant absences which they had been warned about many times.  Based on Kaylib's lack of urgency to do what he had to do to enter the Chicago Golden Gloves, I'm going to demand that he sit out the City-Wide as well.  That's if Kaylib ever shows up to the gym again.

James won't be a factor, either.  I talked to his parents about his statement to me about not liking any sport.  His parents are dismayed, but they have known that about their son for some time.  They also aren't happy about James only wanting to play video games constantly.  His father told me that they are keeping James out of the gym for awhile until his attitude changes.  His parents aren't the first ones to complain about their kids' obsession with video games as opposed to participating in more physical play and activity.  What I'm not understanding is why don't they just take the games away from their kids?  Different parenting styles than from what I grew up under, I'm guessing.  My parents may not have brought the video games from the jump.  Since playing the games uses electricity, my mother, in particular, would not have allowed my younger siblings and me to play them often.  If we kept playing them obsessively, the games and consoles would either have been locked up, sold back to the game store, or thrown out.  

JJ Takes All Comers

I emailed the clip of my first fight that's on YouTube around to various people.  My stepmother called to say that she didn't watch it.  "I didn't want to see you get hurt!" she said.  Pastor Roger took a little while to watch it, but he did.  I asked if he had any advice. "I don't know much about boxing.  I'm not sure how it's scored.  But if you had cornerned your opponent and kept hitting her, would you have won?" he asked me.  "I probably would," I answered, thinking about the mistakes I saw on the clip.  "Then that's the best advice I can give you," he laughed.

"Where's Ieisha?" Alan asked me last night.  She hasn't been in for awhile, and neither has Leon.  JJ came in last night, expecting to have another round of sparring with Leon.  Instead, JJ took on everyone else who was available, including Chris, a guy who came in with Earlvin (I'll have to check the spelling of his name).  Jamil told me that his jaw was still hurting from when JJ hit him the week before.  Jamil's lip was cut when they mixed it up again last night.  Even Alan took a turn with JJ.  "I'm so out of shape," Alan told me right before he got inside the squared circle.  He lasted two rounds with JJ.  "I sparred with JJ once, back in 2003 or 2004.  I never got a lick in on him.  He was too fast," I said.  Alan figured that JJ did about nine rounds altogether. 

Justin was heavily engrossed with his hand-head video game when I asked him, "Do you watch Sesame Street?"  "I did when I was a baby," he said.  His answer reminded me of Spanky McFarland in an old "The Little Rascals" short, telling an adult, "When I was a kid. . .", despite of the fact that Spanky wasn't too far out of the crib himself.  "How come?" I asked, assuming that all little kids watch Sesame Street.  Justin just shrugged his shoulders. I was almost eight years old when that show premiered on TV.  Despite of the fact I was a little out of the target range, I watched it.    I guess kids find other things -- like video games, for example -- more fascinating these days.