Officiating basketball games at the youth recreation through high school level is my avocation. Most of the kids I encounter display good sportsmanship at all times. Of course if they don't, it's my job as an official to penalize them for their misconduct. In the real world parents and guardians are the officials. It's our job to penalize our children for poor behavior. More often than not, we are falling short of the mark in this area. The rash of violence by and against children in recent weeks in the D.C. area is troubling if not surprising. There are adults killing children, children killing children and children killing themselves. Some of you are thinking "I thought this was a sports blog, why is he talking about kids and violence?". Frankly, from what I hear from the stands during games, I'm not surprised at the violence in our communities. How can the kids be expected to display good sportsmanship and follow the rules if we don't set that example for them? Children are not born bad. Behavior both good and bad is learned.
When I arrived at the site of my game assignment on Tuesday I learned that there had been a shooting near C.H. Flowers High School. Flowers is well known for its science and technology program that draws students from all over the county. What may not be so well known is that not all of the neighborhoods that feed children to Flowers High School are created equal. There are kids from Glenarden, Palmer Park and Ardmore attending Flowers. According to a story in the Washington Post, there are gangs representing each of these areas and students from these gangs attending Flowers. The principle of Flowers High School, Helena Nobles-Jones says that "claims that the shooting involved gang activity at the school were hysteria". She does admit to seeing graffiti tags at the school, but denies that there is any connection between gangs and any incidents that brought harm to her students. It may be premature to make that assumption, but I think there is some degree of ignorance in Ms. Jones' statement.
The problem with these neighborhood gangs or crews as some call them is that they are a team in and of themselves. They are comprised of people with similar backgrounds who most likely lack a sense of family at home. Their members don't value life and don't hesitate to use weapons to settle disputes. We as parents have to participate in the lives of our children. We must be advocates for them. We must model acceptable behavior for them. Sports can be used as a tool to teach kids good sportsmanship and teamwork. Please model that behavior at home as well. Please talk to your children. Please listen to your children. Please give them a reason to live so that more innocent lives are not snuffed out by senseless acts of violence.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Our Kids are Not Safe Anywhere
Friday, January 4, 2008
'Skins in it to Win It
Who would have thought four weeks ago that the burgundy and gold would be preparing for a playoff game in January? Certainly not me. Losing games is tough, but losing a teammate and friend during the season is almost unthinkable. I figured the 'skins would either win the rest of their games following the death of Sean Taylor or lose the rest of their games. They won four of their last five games. And they didn't win those games with the help of any heavenly intervention from the spirit of Sean Taylor either. The burgundy and gold's resurgence can be attributed to an offense that has played mistake free football in combination with an opportunistic defense that is gotten better at taking the ball away from its opponents. Todd Collins stepped into the starting QB job when Jason Campbell injured his left knee and has yet to throw an interception. Shawn Springs is playing his best ball of the season with 4 interceptions in the last 4 games. The entire team from the coaches to the players seems to have a focus that was lacking during the middle of the season.
Not only are the 'skins in the playoffs, but they are primed to make a long run. There isn't a team in the NFC playing better than them right now. The only team in the NFC playoff bracket that they haven't faced this season is Seattle. If this team can continue to play as it has the past 4 weeks you have got to like its chances of advancing deep into the playoffs. Seattle has a very good quarterback and a decent defense but that's about it. The best thing the Seahawks have going for them in Saturday's wild card game is their home field advantage. The 'hawks are 7-1 at Qwest Field this season. I expect Gregg Williams to devise a defensive scheme that will put pressure on Matt Hasselbeck. This may require some creative blitz packages so it will be imperative that the corners cover well and make good tackles after the catch. I expect Seattle to try the same approach with Todd Collins. Collins is a pocket passer who will hang onto the ball as long as possible to give his receivers time to run their routes. If the offensive line can keep Seattle's defense out of Collins' face he will have time to pick apart their secondary.
The offense has been more dynamic in the last 4 weeks as Al Saunders has let us see more of his 700 page playbook now that he has a QB he trusts. Yes, it's true. Either Saunders or Gibbs doesn't trust Jason Campbell to manage the game because the play calling has been different since Collins became the starter. Campbell's decision making had been questionable especially at the end of close games against Tampa and Dallas. The coaching staff will never admit it but it's obvious that Collins would continue to start even if Campbell were healthy. Jason Campbell is the future of the Washington Redskins at the QB position, but the future is not now. Now is the time when you need a savvy veteran. Now is the time to play your best ball. Now that we're in it, let's win it!
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