I recognize the importance of sports. It is not an exaggeration to say sports are largely responsible for my success in life. Tennis and swimming helped me generate habits of self discipline and organization so essential to consistent production. They also gave me my first genuine feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction.

But to require so much from student athletes that they cannot successfully pursue an academic career defeats the purpose of a sports program in the schools, and this emphasis on winning further alienates and isolates the rest of the young people of America. Those that do compete are worked to death, and many of those who do not, often feel inadequate and left out. The extreme emphasis on winning totally defeats the purpose of sports, it does more harm than good, and it is unnecessary. I taught at AFCENT school in Brunssum, NL. The emphasis was on participation, not winning. Theirs was the most successful sports program I have ever seen. Practically everyone in the school was on a team of some kind, in spite of the fact that they seldom won an event in team sports, because of the rule that "everyone that shows up regularly gets to play every game", ( a rule I think should be mandatory in all public schools at least through high school), but no one seemed to mind. The students conversations dwelt with great excitement upon what they did in the game, not on how badly they were beaten. They always excelled in individual sports, primarily because of sheer numbers, (their cross-country team of sixty usually faced a competing team of only five or ten members). Sports are for participation with others in something that is fun and relaxing, not for getting up tight and all bent out of shape. Hence, the following:

Sports & Education Bill

No school will receive federal funds or assistance of any kind that requires its students to practice more than fifteen hours a week, or requires its students to play on any days other than Friday, Saturday or Sunday during the regular fall, winter, spring school year.

And there is more, but I'm not exactly sure how it should be put into a bill. I believe participation is the name of the game when it comes to building a strong group of young people. I believe teachers should be encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities with students and given reduced work loads if they do. Young people need lots of strenuous physical activity in order to mature properly both physically and mentally, and sitting in the stands cheering on a dozen players just doesn't get it. We should acknowledge and stress that playing the game is fun, and the fact that one loses doesn't erase that fun, and that having lots of fun and socializing is the main object of sports.