Run the 31 SpongeBob, Coach

I draw your attention to Warren St. John's latest article for the New York Times. It documents the challenges of coaching a football team of 9 and 10 year olds these days. The article will both shock and amuse you.

In more grown up news, the Times has an article on how the Duke rape case has caused university administrators to crack down on derelict athlete behavior, including taking discipline decisions away from coaches. Mentioned in the article is UConn's recent decision to kick a few players off their football team because they were found with beer on a road trip. That seems a bit harsh to me. I'm not condoning the egregious behaviors of some college athletes (including rapes, assaults, and drug offenses), but beer seems a logical indiscretion for college kids, even high school kids. Get ready for more overly punitive penalties for what were once viewed as embarrassing, but mild episodes of athlete rowdiness. If it were up to me, there needs to be a middle ground in disciple decisions between coaches, who have an obvious conflict of interest as suspensions have a negative impact on team play, and university administrators, who are far more concerned with political correctness and their peers than having a positive impact on a kid who made a minor mistake.