It’s no secret that adults have been plaguing sports, from the youth level all the way to high school.
Whether it is pressuring their child too much in a sport, or berating umpires or referees, to coaches doing sketchy things just for wins instead of actually helping their players in life, and it’s all becoming way too common of a theme now.
With that being said, Junction City High School football coach Randall Zimmerman out of Junction City, Kansas gave his brutally honest opinion about the current situation with youth level to high school sports.
Zimmerman, who has just entered his 30th season with the school, said to KSNT:
“Sometimes we get this all mixed up. We think it’s about the sport of football. We think it’s about the sport of basketball. We are cheating our kids in the biggest way if we’re just coaching the sport.
I’m so frustrated sometimes with people who cannot completely get that. This is an extension of the classroom. This is educational-based activities.
It was put in public education to help with character-building skills. We need for as many kids as possible to be out for activities, sports, that kind of thing. Sport is the nugget to get them out, to teach them life skills.”
He also was brutally honest about the amount of high school athletes that actually go on to play on the collegiate level
“Of the 1.1 million high school kids playing high school football this year, 7.6% will play beyond high school. God willing, 100% of them will be adults. And what kind of adults do we want to be around?
We gotta get this figured out as adults that are working with the youth. We gotta get this figured out.
I get so frustrated by watching what goes on with all the club stuff and all the pressure on these kids to play one sport. We’re looking at high school as a stepping stone for college.
What are we doing to get them ready to compete in life?
That’s my biggest thing. I could go on and on and on. Am I frustrated? Oh, I am frustrated watching adults work with kids.”
Needless to say, Zimmerman finally addressed what needed to be addressed.
