EVERYTHING
FOR YOUR FAMILY
editor's note
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While on a recent 4 1/2-mile run, my mind wandered back to a youth team whose season was about to begin. We hadn't spent much time in the dozen or so practices to verify what the heck it was we were all trying to do. We stretched, we worked out, we went home. I thought about gathering them afterwards for a talk. Not 30 seconds, but 3 minutes. And I wanted to tell them this: "The reason I don't put 'winning' as a goal each season is because in 20 years, you won't remember how many games you won, but you'll remember how you played the game. It's important that you try, because if you don't, how will you ever know? You want to play the same way - with heart - every day. Because the perfect player is able to say to himself, 'I gave it my best,' and if he's on the perfect team, he'll look his teammate in the eye and think, 'And you know, so did he.'" So, you ask, where did all that come from? Must have been a hard run, you ask? Thinking a bit too much while huffing uphill, old boy? I was reading the Los Angeles Times' account of a study of more than 5,000 high school athletes. Ethicist Michael Josephson, president and founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles, noted that athletes tend to cheat more than classmates who don't compete in sports. The logical conclusion is that they are learning something on the field that is counter to the character-building we all hope to gain from the tremendous sacrifice families make. My wife wants the season to end with a pair of twins (our 9-year-olds) who have a stronger sense of self. She doesn't want a couple of cheats. Each season, I quote a friend and coach, Jerry Palazzo, when write my letter to parents: "This season is not focused on winning games. It is about developing strength of character through sport. Winning games is a byproduct of that done well." The most chilling quote in the Times story came from a CIF commissioner, Barbara Flege. "When your coach has not gone through four or five years of college, does not have a degree in education and is not involved in the kids' grades or classes, there's going to be an inherent amount of drop-off in the effect they have on the kids." Wow, except for the college degrees, that could be me. How can I make an impression on the rest of their lives? By trying to win at any cost? I think not, because some time ago, I learned that youth sports really isn't about winning. This is why this current season, I use a favorite borrowed quote: "I would rather have you finish last trying to be first, than finish second trying to be second." Someday one of my little players may be hired by Josephson, the survey writer. His motto? "Hire for character, train for skills." Craig Reem Executive Editor Here's how: Photo contest goes monthly! Following in the shutter clicks of our successful, first-ever Family Photo Contest that ran last December, we've launched a monthly version for you to upload and share. If you click here you will see details on how to enter the contest. The winner and honorable mention choices are automatically entered into our annual contest. Our decision to create a monthly photo contest comes from the fact that millions of Americans are taking billions of photos each year. And their favorite subjects are their children. As with our Kid Quips, this user-generated section will rise to the level of your expertise. Good luck. Churm Media is in the midst of updating all of its websites, and these include, in the coming months, OC Family and Inland Empire Family magazines. We're asking for your input. What would you like to see on our websites that will make them of particular interest to you? Are there other sites that provide you with some, if not enough, information? Places we ought to look at? Let's start a dialogue. Please reach me at: creem@churmmedia.com or call direct: 949.757.1404, Ext. 237. And thank you for your continued faithfulness. Craig Reem Executive Editor |
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