Matt Harrelson
The grunt of players, the crack of helmets, the pounding of pads. They are music to the sports lover's ear -- and football is back.
Specifically, high school football.
Over the last couple of weeks, players have sweated out practices. Players, coaches and fans are optimistic because it's a new season and no one has lost a game yet.
High school football gets most of the attention, attendance and headlines during the fall, but other sports are gearing up as well.
Sports may not be essential to a student's development, but they are important. The physical aspect of playing sports is obvious, but there is so much more to playing sports than getting fit.
Sports build teamwork and provide lifelong memories and friendships. Sports offer an opportunity for youngsters to meet one another and develop camaraderie.
They require discipline, perseverance and hard work, qualities that will help a student succeed no matter what the future holds.
Sports -- and all extracurricular activities, really -- help enrich a person's life. No matter whether the person is a quarterback on the football team or the top person on the debate team. Each activity, while different, offers students something to do besides sit around and play video games.
Respecting authority and allowing every person their dignity -- no matter what color their jersey -- is a lesson not only for the high school years. It's a lesson for life.
Abiding by the rules is another lesson learned through sports. Winning and losing isn't as important as learning how to live with the results. If you give your best, good things will happen.
Good athletes tend to be good students because of the lessons learned through sports. A study at the University of Kansas showed that high school athletes earned higher grades, graduated at a higher rate, dropped out of school less frequently and scored higher on state assessments than non-athletes.
The benefits for athletes are well documented, but there are wider community benefits as well. Successful teams build community pride. Win or lose, communities rally around their teams.
Football games have become social gatherings. Many school activities revolve around sporting events. The most well-known is homecoming. There wouldn't be homecoming dances if it weren't for football. There may be a different dance, but it wouldn't be the same as homecoming.
High school years were the best part of many people's lives, and there are many who still sit around at night and reminisce about the touchdown they scored to beat an archrival.
Year after year we see tremendous displays of sportsmanship on the field. However, adults in the bleachers too often get swept up in the excitement of games and display inappropriate behavior. Hopefully we don't see much, or any, of that this year.
Most people want school sports to be a practice ground for life. Some will win, some will lose, but all will do their best. And we are all in this together.
