Here is an article written by Gary Thorne on the report:
All schools need to read UM report Friday, January 14, 2005 - Bangor Daily News
Of the 983,600 high school students who play football in this country, 5.8 percent or 57,000 will go on to play in college. Two percent of that college group, about 1,140, will move to the pros, few of them to be stars. That means of all those high school players, according to the report, only 0.09 percent will someday make it to the pros, and that does not mean stardom or long-term deals. This is called reality.
That 0.09 percent is the third-highest figure, yes, the third-highest, of high school students who will make it to the pros of all the major sports: behind baseball and men's hockey but ahead of basketball and s****r.
These figures and what they mean for high school and middle-school sports comes in a just-released report called "Sports Done Right" from the University of Maine Sport and Coaching Initiative.
The easy-to-read, jammed-with-substance 47-page report should be in the hands of every coach, teacher, administrator and parent, not just in Maine, but nationally.
Dean Robert Cobb of the College of Education at the university has been a leader is this field for years. This study adds to a growing body of work on youth and college sports to come from the university under Cobb's guidance.
This is not a work of paper. This is a work of "how to" at the point of impact - in the schools and communities.
The report defines core principles and practices for high school sports and when actions are "out of bounds."
There are sample "compacts" that can be entered into between student-athletes and coaches, parents and communities.
"At their best," says the report, "school sports provide an opportunity to teach good sportsmanship and other values. ... Sports Done Right creates an environment in which to instill core values such as discipline, respect, responsibility, fairness, trustworthiness and good citizenship."
Make no mistake, the battle to maintain the integrity of high school sports, to allow the games to be a part of the educational system, are under attack from the narcissistic parents and coaches who preach win at all costs while loudly and belligerently pushing their kids on to be pros. One senses that good people have been intimidated and too often silenced by these obstreperous people who imitate the worst of sports we too often see on television.
"Sports Done Right" is a thoughtful, direct and applicable response for those who care about the children. There is no backing down in this study, just as there should be no backing down from ensuring high school sports maintains that important, but balanced place in the educational system.
High schools and middle schools in Maine have been sent copies of the report. Highlights and order forms can be found at
www.mcce.umaine.edu. It is worth the read.
Old Town native
Gary Thorne is an ESPN and ABC sportscaster.