Harrisburg may have no sports, how does that affect everyone else?

So it's finally come to the point where the Harrisburg School District is so deep in the hole that they need to cut back on sports and extra curricular activities in the entire district....  REALLY???   ALL SPORTS???? 

Something they might seem like a small situation, can actually have a snowball effect on the entire area.....  Some situations may be good but some may not be so good as I see it....

First off, I'll start with the Middle School kids....  When you initially look at the situation, it's easy to get frustrated if there's no sports for Middle School kids.....   I can remember growing up in NYC and we didn't have Middle School Basketball or Football teams so what we did was participate in local Fall and Winter leagues...  We also did aau basketball all year round....

That's an option for the Middle School kids as they have developed a youth program called Children Changing their Communities (C.C.C) ....  With that youth organization plus the assistance of Dr. Dwayne Thomas and his youth recreation programs, there can be an abundance of programs and activities for the younger kids....  If C.C.C is willing to form a few more teams and travel out of State once a month to a few competitive aau events, it may actually prepare the kids for HS better than playing local schools....

These kids can also play in local winter leagues in Steelton and Susquehanna ....  So it may not be the norm for this area, it can still work out in a positive way for the Middle School kids.....

It's a different story for the HS kids....  They currently just don't have too many options and outlets during the basketball season....  It would be nice to think that these kids would have more time to work on their grades BUT reality says a good number of these kids find relevance in school through sports...  It's true and it's like that all around the country....   

There's a chance the District could work out a "pay to play" situation but how many families are willing to invest in their child's athletic future....  I could see the programs doing heavy fund raisers and reaching out for donations from any and everybody.....  That will be a must if these kids want to put on a Cougar uniform....  

If not, now you have an influx of student athletes looking to transfer into other schools....   That can get a little chaotic because we haven't seen a situation like this in this area.....  Things like this happen in bigger cities like Philly, DC, NYC and others as kids are switching schools like the switch socks..... 

Switching can really hurt a kid academically if they are coming from a situation where they are two to three grades behind in a subject but is now being held accountable for their school work because of the rigor in the curriculum....  So now we're talking about eligibility issues...  IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT SPORTS!!!!!

Parents are going to have to make a decision quick fast and in a hurry....  Time is of the essence.......  First thing first, get together as a COMMUNITY and raise some money.....  

IF EVERYBODY DOES A LITTLE, NOBODY HAS TO DO A LOT!!!!!

Coach Little