Too Many School Sports In the Next Six Weeks

As of this coming Monday, if my arithmetic is up to par without a calculator, there should be roughly 40 high school days left in the current academic year. Maybe less - and that would be for sure if you include the many students taking off classes for sports.

Can`t forget what is also coming - the gradual disappearance from classes in preparation for those things that tend to raise blood pressure for many.

I am talking about final exams.

But back to high school sports. Now is also the busiest of the three seasons - and maybe too busy?

Last I counted, there will be something like 16 sports and games up for participation and competing against each other for students, media attention and fans. Are there enough qualified coaches?  Sadly, these sports won`t all get the attention. I thought it might be a good time to mention these sports and I also have a few questions: do we need them all? And, if so, is there another time of the year for any of them?

Let's see, we have Archery, Ultimate Frisbee and Chess  Why not Monopoly, Tiddlywinks and Video Games? Others could have a desire to try Rowing, Water Polo or Dragonboat Racing. Better yet, how about Mountain Biking or Rock Climbing? I am not pulling your leg.

And then the regulars - Soccer, Cricket, Rugby, Baseball, Fastball, Slow-Pitch, Track and Field and Tennis. Hold on, there are more - Badminton, Gymnastics and Lacrosse. If I am missing something, my apologies and please let me know.

And, one last item - how about all those intramural sports too!

What I would like to know are your thoughts about trimming the list, shuffling some to the Fall or Winter? If you had to cut, what would go - and why?

Playing High School Sports: Cap it at Four or Five Years

There must be some magic to staying in high school.

I can remember my teenage years in a Toronto high school, and that goes back a bit when there was a Grade 13. Students could hardly wait to move on: to college, university and some to the work force or just take a breather.

When the Government of Ontario decided to claw back the years by one, ah, the relief for many. No grade 13. Others didn't think it was good move to shove kids out of the grade school a year younger. I raise this because of the discussions that I have had with some Star readers the past few weeks about the number of students who are returning to high school for something they call ``the Victory Lap``.

While I really can`t figure them out, I am sure there are some valid reasons for the extra year and staying behind. Alright, some need it to boost grades. Some are not ready for college.  Some want to increase their chances of scholarships. From what I am told, many more are wanting to simply play sports. Waste 200 plus more days - to play sports and take some meaningless courses.

In team sports, such as hockey, it can be interesting having a 19-year old play against a 14-year old.

That`s just about where the discussions started to get a bit heated - and not by me. Parents and their children, teachers and students, and the list goes on. Of course, I just listened. When asked, I offered my opinion.

So, when do schools coaches, teachers and administrators clamp down on students by saying: if you`re back for school - then no sports. When is enough high school sports just that - enough?

How about weightlifting as a school sport?

Surprise. I learned something new the other day.

Neil McNeil, the all-boys' Toronto Catholic high school has a weightlifting team. It sounds like a great idea. Makes more sense than Ultimate Frisbee, something I thought was watching people throw a disk and having a family pet jump to retrieve it.

Weightlifting is an Olympic sport and many schools have invested lots of tax dollars in exercise rooms. So, here's an alternative to keep in shape.

Hani Kanama apparently started the program, Toronto's first, with teacher and coach Eamonn Dorgan. Kanami is very well qualified and has been involved in Olympic weightlifting for 20 years, as an athlete and therapist. He's also trying to start-up school programs for girls. So far, the phones are quiet.

There will always be people pointing to injuries.

For the record, I am told that weight training injuries are on the rise, increasing by nearly 50 percent between 1990 and 2007 in the United States. According to a report, U.S. emergency departments treated almost one million injuries related to weight training during that time period.

Those U.S. reports claim that men were by far the most likely to be injured, sustaining 82 percent of injuries. And young people between the ages of 13 to 24 accounted for nearly half of the injuries, The report, which is published in the April issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, revealed that 90 percent of injuries occurred while people used free weights, such as dumbbells, as compared to machines.

Like many sports, there are injuries without proper training, good coaching and common sense.

Great start for Neil McNeil. Any other takers?

Let's Play (School) Ball!

Just flipping stations and caught the weather for the next few days - warm, sunny - and then a reference to start-up of the baseball season.

Yes, it's that time of the year. If the weather is right, let's get the bats and balls out for the high school season.

Apparently, not so fast.

The good news is the school sport continues to grow in the Greater Toronto Area and the Toronto Blue Jays have had a huge role in that success. We just might be looking at another Joey Votto, the kid from  Toronto's Richview Collegiate who's now with the pros in Cincinnati.

But we have a dilemma. Lots of teams and lots of players, but very few fields - and almost every one under the jurisdiction of the various municipal parks and recreation folks. Like always, they won't let anyone on the fields until they are properly groomed and prepped for the money-making summer season of rep teams. No one appears to have answers on when the schools will get to play.

One answer would be for each Board of Education to create one, just one, baseball diamond. But the boards say they have no money.

How about looking for sponsorship?

Durham, Halton, York and both the Toronto Public and Catholic leagues haven't even prepared a baseball schedule according to their websites. Peel, with 41 school teams, has May 3 as Opening Day. The 10-team CISAA private/independent school league throws out the first pitch on April 21 with St. Andrew's playing Royal St. George's.

With school exams are early June, that leaves lots of games crammed in to a short time span, potential for injury, missed classes, no OFSAA championship date yet - and we haven't even mentioned that four letter word: rain.