News Categories

Advertising

Sideline Slants

Tasting wins makes losing hard to swallow

Attention: open in a new window.

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Wednesday, 14 November 2007 07:01

Watching Tabor College football this fall was deja vu all over again.

Tabor’s football history has far more lows than highs. And while the past four to five years ranked anywhere from good to great to amazing, this year came closer to resembling the norm.

Only two years ago, Tabor won the KCAC and its first-ever NAIA playoff game. This year’s seniors have experienced the highest highs and some of the lowest lows in their collegiate career, which is far better than many Bluejay football alumni can say. Most only experienced lows.

In any case, it didn’t take long for the football program to fall from the penthouse to the outhouse. It’s funny how fast fortunes can go south, only no one wearing blue and gold is laughing.

Losing is...

Compassion fixes homecoming popularity contest, touches a life

Attention: open in a new window.

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Wednesday, 31 October 2007 12:14

Homecoming never was a big deal to me in high school or college. The festivities were OK, but I never was into the king or queen, or host and hostess contest.

Maybe it’s sour grapes because I was never a candidate, but I don’t think so. Even then I realized that it was a glorified popularity contest. Besides, the kids who won usually were friends of mine.

Although I still have doubts about the significance of homecoming royalty, I read a story recently that caused me to see things differently. The contest was rigged, but for all of the right reasons. The following account is excerpted from an article written by Jay Weinder on the ESPN.com Web site.

Four senior candidates for homecoming king at Lake Fenton High School in Michigan...

Coaches like limelight more than criticism

Attention: open in a new window.

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Wednesday, 17 October 2007 12:22

Nobody said coaching is easy. Well, maybe some disagree with that opinion, but there’s more to coaching than coaching. Got that?

Coaching isn’t simply teaching players how to play together as a well-oiled machine. At the collegiate level, coaching involves wining and dining recruits, parents, alumni and pleasing a fan base that is more fickle than the Kansas weather.

Coaching involves fundraising so the program can grow bigger and better.

A successful coach probably has earned the equivalent of degrees in psychology and communications. A coach needs to understand the minds of 18-to-22-year-olds while also knowing how to communicate effectively with sports reporters.

In reality, very few coaches have the whole package. Winning...

Paterno asks team to clean stadium, polish reputation

Attention: open in a new window.

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Wednesday, 03 October 2007 09:54

Coaches use many forms of discipline when dealing with undisciplined or misbehaving student-athletes. Run extra laps, bench a player, suspend a player for a game—these are the routine forms of punishment.

High-profile coaches walk a tightrope. Fans like student-athletes to conduct themselves appropriately on and off the field, but coaches know that good character only goes so far if the team isn’t winning games.

In a perfect world, a coach makes his point without sacrificing too many wins, but this isn’t a perfect world, and suspending your most talented players often results in more losses than wins.

And if you win without taking disciplinary action, critics say the coach or school has a “win at all costs”...

An open letter to USD 410 regarding the mental health risks of recess games

Attention: open in a new window.

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Wednesday, 19 September 2007 07:29

To whom it may concern:

Whether you want it publicly known or not, my entire K-12 education occurred in Hillsboro and USD 410. I had my ups and downs, but I really didn’t have any complaints . . . until now.

It has only recently been brought to my attention that I was subjected to unusually harsh and unusual punishment during those critical, formative years.

I’m talking about the damage that was done to my psyche because of having played games like tag during recess. And make no mistake, throughout the course of my educational experience, the school district not only allowed, but encouraged the playing of those games.

Here I thought we were merely playing games and having fun, but apparently we were having our self-esteem...