Serena's Celebratory Dance

Yes, ok but are we talking schools?, cities?, it's jumping back and forth. As you said football equipment is paid for, so then would baseball, no?

BTW my bff her teen son wanted to be a WR. His coach classes etc and equipment was costing her hundreds a month.

But think of boxing too and MMA which you said BP dominate. The boxing club costs money....coaches cost money...and MMA classes and GI's, pads, belt exams...it cost's a pretty penny too...so is it always money? Or choices or "gentle" direction to "certain" sports only. (see Lacrosse post). IDK, just things I ponder....

 

Damn. That was a good article. Crazy

 

Learning how to swim IS a matter of life and death. It's not just a sport. In Canada, most kids get swimming lessons - my whole school went to the local swimming facility for gym just to have our lessons and we all knew what level we were. They also have REALLY nice indoor year-round facilities, even in small towns.

As I kid, I couldn't tell time, was behind in math, but I did know how to swim. I'm not an Olympic athlete by any means, but I feel comfortable in the water. It makes me sad to know that a grown adult can't swim, when it's so easy to teach a child. To me it is a NECESSITY and a responsibility to make sure your children know how to swim- the same as knowing how to dial 911 and knowing their own address.

Some people here in the country (in KY) don't know how to swim - both black and white people - I will never understand that! You have creeks, rivers, and lakes all around you! My father most certainly didn't learn to swim in a pool - he learned in a swimming hole. My old boyfriend (black) didn't know how to swim and wouldn't get near the water - I felt VERY sorry for him. I felt he was missing out on one of the great joys of life as well as an important life skill... all of those times he could have had fun that he did not/could not allow himself to.

 

I'll address these as best I can since I am only speculating but baseball as far as baseball equipment is concerned mitts were the bulk of the cost for me and since hands come in much more varied sizes than padding for football I'd assume those are harder to transfer from year to year not to mention the sanitary issue of sweat gloves. Also football is a game that can be played in any empty lot and only requires a football. So you have a higher likelihood and volume of participants opposed to baseball which requires bats and gloves and everyone might not have those.
As far as MMA you'd have to ask Petty since that's more his area but if its similar to karate (which I took growing up) a gi came with signing up and classes were like 40 a month maybe less and the pads were provided in class. The training wasn't that costly since all you had to bring was yourself and a willingness to learn. Belt exams were either really cheap or free up to brown belt then it got expensive. And that I think about it as far as boxing is concerned most inner city areas have free spaces for kids to train to keep them off the street. Its only when they really come up the ranks does it start to really cost money

 

That is definitely a part of it.

If you are black and poor and you grow up seeing Jordan, Magic, Shaq, Kobe, Lebron, Durant, etc and those guys are playing a sport easily accessible to you and making the big money in that then they will likely pursue that.

Same thing for football, big money if you get to the pros.

Colleges give out big time scholarships for College Football and Basketball as its their two money makers. Which is why Penn State is shitting themselves right now.

Many inner city schools have a basketball and football program, even if they have nothing else.

 

football IS the truth

penn state aint worth watching now tho

you really can't blame star players for leaving and going elsewhere like Silas Redd did by transferring to USC. Most players that sign with the PSU, OSU or any other big time program, do it because of the pro aspect, bowl prospect and national tv coverage. that's why they sign in the Big 10 or SEC, and not some bullshit school like Rocky Road College. Take away all that and you're going to lose dudes.

they did it to themselves tho by not turning Sandusky over to the authorities. That's why heads are rolling. fuck em all. anything in my apartment with Graham Spanier's signature is getting torched.

 

A few years ago a coach I know said Lacrosse scholarships were free for the taking. If you had only mild interest and talent in high school you could grab a full ride in that sport. He said other sports were so saturated that you had to work to stand out but at that point Lacrosse was the up and comer. He said he didn't coach Lacrosse but he guided people to that sport to get a free ride. Now mind you, like you said their is no NFL after college for the lucky few but most college football players just get college paid for then done and bragging rights anyway.

 

basically

football/basketball..that's where everyone goes because of the fame and tv coverage. plus there's that small chances that you could be drafted.

but then you got sports like volleyball, lacrosse and perhaps even wrestling to an extent, where so many schools have teams but don't have a deep pool to draw from. hell, my wrestling team in high school didn't even have tryouts, because they just wanted 'warm bodies'

even tho the school had phenomenal players that had insane records and routinely won city championships, they still didn't have the amount of guys they'd like to have. football on the other hand...i remember the first tryout i went to had like well over 120+ guys come out. by the time the season started, we were down to much less. in that case, you got too many guys coming out and not enough spots. half them dudes were bums anyway.

 

Exactly, football is pretty much a job for these dudes with advancement to the pros as the big time promotion.

Some guys will go to play in the CFL if they don't get drafted, same thing in basketball where guys will go to the Euro League if they aren't drafted into the NBA.

 

LOL, its all about that exposure and getting the most notoriety.

Even dudes who were in my college (Division 3) were getting girls jocking them just for being on the hockey team. Even though none of those cats were ever going pro.

 

to be honest, if you want to be a WR, all you need to do is find someone to throw you the ball or play with friends. you really will get better just by doing it often. You can work on speed and footwork on your own just by sprinting and going through drills in your head with a stop watch. I don't understand paying someone for something that you can do on your own. Unless his HS team is stacked with studs like Randy Moss or something, and he really needs to go into his freshman year in HS catching shit with one hand with a 4.2 40yd dash.

otherwise, id take him to a football field with a few of his friends, and have him practice running routes under coverage, out of coverage, short, long, etc. I'd have him work on his release from the line of scrimmage, first moves, stuff like that. Fade routes, slants over the middle, outs, common routes you find. I'd also have him start lifting weights. Being in the weight room goes hand in hand with football, even on the HS level. He may find himself in blocking roles, or even playing TE where some strength development is important.