Some of this has merit, some I'm not so sure. I agree with the part about the coach that coached everything. There were a lot of those. Now, it's just at the smallest level possible for football to exist that you might see the same guy coaching hoops (or wrastln', I suppose) and then track or baseball. Those coaches typically weren't pulling the strings of a kid to keep him in the weight room over the winter. They wanted them to help on the basketball court. So I get that point.
The commitment thing, I've just never understood. I coached basketball for 18 yrs. I wanted our kids at everything they could possibly attend. BUT, if they had to work or had other school commitments (including other sports obviously), we never viewed that as a bad thing or a lack of commitment. I know different coaches are different, but fact is, if you're good enough, no coach worth his weight won't keep you and play you. Doesn't matter how many off season workouts you've been to or missed. Where I always questioned an athlete is when they didn't make an effort to manage their time. Heck, with all of the contact days restrictions and such, you really don't have to be all that committed to show up. I also struggled with the non school stuff. AAU basketball, whatever all the non school baseball stuff is called, and all of the "select" football workouts and teams. Those people prey on the parents that have to see their kid "succeed" even if it means writing a check to guarantee some playing time. And they lessen the value of games played at the school level.
I know, I know...get off my lawn.
