ARE PARENTS TOO CRITICAL OF THEIR SONS’ BASKETBALL PERFORMANCE?

Are parents of student athletes to critical of their sons’ performance on the basketball court? I ask that question to myself sometimes when I walk into a gym and find myself hearing parents shouting instructions and coaching from the sideline.

During the summer period kids go play on the AAU circuit for different reasons. Athletes want to get the best out of the AAU season while trying to get better for the high school or in some cases it is a time for kids to get recognized by college coaches.

I do truly believe that parents play a HUGE role in a player’s life on and off the basketball court. The thing that seems to bother me while I attend games and cover different games are the parents that think that they have to scream and yell and try to coach their own kid while on the sideline.

I have no problem with parents cheering for their kid on their team but what I have a problem with is when parents take it too far.

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA DROPPING 'FIGHING SIOX' NICKNAME, LOGO

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

North Dakota's Board of Higher Education has agreed to drop the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian head logo, a move intended to resolve a decades-long campus dispute about whether the name demeans American Indians.

The name and logo, which is a profile of an American Indian man with feathers and streaks of paint on his face, could still be saved if North Dakota's Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Sioux tribes agree by Oct. 1 to give the university permission to use them for at least 30 years.

However, tribal officials say that possibility is remote. Unless the name and logo receive tribal endorsement, they will be retired for good on Aug. 1, 2010.

The board, which met Thursday at Dickinson State University, voted 8-0 to retire the logo and nickname. UND President Robert Kelley began making plans for replacements.

"This has been a long-standing tradition at UND, and I think the board action now instructs the university to develop new traditions," he said.

Board member Grant Shaft, who is chairman of a committee that has been studying the issue, said the move may help UND's likely application to join the Summit League, an 11-member NCAA Division I conference that is seeking a 12th school.

Tom Douple, the Summit League's commissioner, has said the University of North Dakota won't be considered for membership as long as the nickname and logo dispute festered.

The education board's action does not suggest any blueprint for UND to follow in choosing a new nickname and logo.

Richie Smith, the president of the Board of Higher Education, said the issue would be left to the campus, and jokingly suggested "Moose" as a new nickname. Kelley said a transition team will be appointed to oversee the process.

"What this permits the University of North Dakota to do is to start a marketing initiative," Kelley said. "Over time, I think we would see enhancement of our revenue structure for athletic programs. I think we would see the enhancement of fan interest."

UND sports teams have been known as the Fighting Sioux since 1930, when the moniker replaced Flickertails.
Arguments against the nickname's racial origins have flared regularly for decades. Its supporters say the name is intended to honor North Dakota's Sioux tribes, while critics say it is demeaning and fosters racial tension on the university's campus in Grand Forks, in northeastern North Dakota.

The debate came to a head in September 2005, when the NCAA declared Fighting Sioux as "hostile and abusive" to American Indians and said UND would be barred from hosting NCAA postseason tournaments if the school continued using it.

The Board of Higher Education then sued the NCAA, arguing the organization had not followed its own rules in issuing its edict. The lawsuit was settled in October 2007; its terms gave the University of North Dakota permission to continue using the nickname and logo if the school could get approval from the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes by November 2010.

Ron His Horse Is Thunder, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and a fervent opponent of the nickname and logo, cheered the board's decision.

"It's not an easy step," His Horse Is Thunder said. "And it is full of controversy. But I think every great step in this country was filled with controversy ... The civil rights movements in the '60s didn't happen with a whimper."

American Indian backers of the nickname, who have been campaigning on the reservations to garner support for it, asked the Board of Higher Education before Thursday's vote to back the nickname and logo. Many residents of both reservations take pride in "Fighting Sioux," they said.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS FEEL MONEY CRUNCH

By RACHEL GEORGE OF THE STAR NEWS

New Hanover County athletic directors and board of education members agree the district is in a budgetary pickle. They differ, though, on county athletics’ role in getting out of it.

While the board has proposed new cuts, the four high school athletic directors have come up with their own plan that would continue cost-cutting measures put in place this year, as well as expand them for next year.
“We realize that we’ve got to contribute, too, and we’re willing to do that,” said Laney athletic director Fred Lynch. “If we were just told the dollar amount that we were going to have to reduce, I think that would help a lot. … We know that everybody’s having a shortage. But we feel like, give us some input.”

Without knowing how much money they’ll get from the state and county, district officials have put together several proposals to cover the predicted difference, including a decrease in supplements to county coaches and a pay cut to county athletic directors. Neither of those options are flying with the county’s four high school athletic directors.

“Although while it appears to be a ripe apple to pick, when you look at the overall budget, (athletics is) actually a small, small sliver of the piece of the pie,” said Hoggard AD Scott Braswell. “(We hope) the hit that athletics takes, the cut that athletics takes, would not be disproportionate to the cuts that are going to be seen in the overall educational budget.” Cut here and here.

The county’s athletic directors already know they will have to cut 10 percent for 2009-10. Last year, the athletic department received just more than $1.5 million, or 0.7 percent of the district’s more than $204.6 million operating budget. The athletics budget covers everything from equipment to reimbursement for officials to coaching supplements. Teaching salaries for coaches and base salaries for athletic directors are not included.
The district’s reduction proposal cuts the number of game workers, transportation and meals for the playoffs and emergency athletic equipment repairs.

On top of the 10 percent overall cut, the district also has proposed cutting all extra-duty supplements by 5 percent – for everyone from the band director to the football coach. The district would save $21,630 by cutting supplements for coaches at the middle and high school level, part of a proposed additional 5 percent decrease in the budget.

While coaches wouldn’t be alone in sharing the burden, their athletic directors feel it’s unfair for people who are already underpaid.

“I think morale is the biggest issue when you’re talking about cutting coaching supplements,” said Lynch. “For some, they’re going to see it as a slap in the face that, you’re really telling me you don’t appreciate what I do.”
Added Braswell, “I don’t think that’s a good place to look for cuts. These are coaching stipends that have not been raised in 15 years.”

But the athletic directors could face their own financial hit. The district is considering moving them from 12-month to 11-month employees. The change would amount to an 8.33 percent pay cut which few other district employees would be required to take.

Alarmed by the ADs’ salaries, some board members say they don’t understand why the position is a full-time job year-round.

Combined, the four athletic directors make $292,516.28. County athletic director Joe Miller makes $96,000 annually.

“For me, that is an example of, ‘Is our budget in line with our mission?’” said board member Elizabeth Redenbaugh. “Right now, I don’t feel, as a board member, that our budget is aligned with our mission in every single area, and athletics is an area I can point to.

“We’ve got this bloated bureaucracy there. Do we really need all of that?” she added. “When you look at the salaries of those individuals, to me it doesn’t pass the smell test.”

Board member Nick Rhodes said the district would work to make sure employees are not hit with multiple cuts. For example, if ADs would lose money from their base salary and face a 5 percent cut on their athletic director supplements.

Rhodes added that an earlier proposal to return the ADs to the classroom was unlikely. According to Mary Hazel Small, the district’s chief financial officer, that would only save the district money if the ADs taught a full load of three out of four blocks since it’s a position that wouldn’t need to be filled.

However, a Star-News survey of 84 4A athletic directors statewide found that while the majority (60.7 percent) do teach at least one class, only one teaches a full course load. Next year, ADs in Forsyth County will take on a full class load to help with budget shortfalls there.

But the athletic directors point to their long hours and year-round commitment. They are among the first people at school each day and the last to leave once all games are over.

“The job of an AD, it is a full-time job,” said Lynch. “It can be a long, long day. It’s challenging, and then in between that, you’re trying to take care of yourself and your family. You’re trying to juggle everybody.”
A different set of options.

As some board members question the efficiency of the athletic directors, they aren’t merely sitting and waiting for the axe to fall.

For some of their coaches, the supplements are already so small that a 5 percent reduction will mean less than $100. Still, it will have an impact.

“When you look at it, yeah, it’s only 5 percent, but that hits home with them,” said New Hanover AD Keith Moore.

The four high school ADs have worked for more than a month to put together a proposal to make cuts that would: absorb the 10 percent cut desired by board, allow the coaches to keep their current supplements, and let the ADs stay in a 12-month position.

Among their proposals, all four schools would: purchase items, for example soccer balls and scorebooks, in bulk to get a lower price and save on shipping, cut the number of junior varsity contest, share transportation to major events such as regional meets and state championships, not order uniforms for one year until economy improves.

Some of those changes have already been implemented in an effort to be proactive. For instance, if tennis and volleyball are playing on the road, those players shared a bus to cut down on transportation costs. The schools have also ordered equipment in bulk. The conference moved game times up in some sports to save on electricity.
With realignment next year, the Wilmington schools will play Greenville Rose and New Bern in the Mideastern Conference. Cost-cutting plans are already in place. The tennis teams will play each conference foe once, not twice. All weekly wrestling duals will be eliminated and the teams will compete in all their conference dual meets in one day.

“We knew that the budget cuts were coming,” said Ashley athletic director Roy Turner, “so we started already.”
Let’s work together.

That attitude is one the ADs hope will help them as numbers are crunched by school board members, who agreed on the importance of athletics, yet reinforced they must do their part.

The board has not yet received the athletic directors’ proposal, but Redenbaugh and Rhodes were encouraged by their willingness to help with the problem.

“I applaud them for taking that approach,” said Rhodes, “ ’cause that tells me they understand what we’re up against, and they’re willing to work with us.”

Rhodes said the board expects to learn about its funding in May or June. Then the district will decide what cuts and changes need to be finalized. The ADs hope their input will be considered.

“Our ultimate goal is to say, ‘Give us a number, give us a percentage and tell us you can fund this amount of money,’” said Turner.

“And once they give us that amount of money, then let us as athletic directors, principals, coaches, put our heads together and say, ‘These are the line items. This is how we can make it work.’”

TEXAS OFFICALS CALL OFF HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS DUE TO THE SWINE FLU

Texas officials on Wednesday postponed all public high school athletic and academic competitions until May 11 because of the swine flu outbreak.

The move suspends the baseball and softball seasons and eliminates the regional track championships that were to start Friday, said Charles Breithaupt, executive director of the University Interscholastic League. He said league officials acted on the recommendation of public health officials.

"The health and safety of our student activity participants is of the utmost importance," Breithaupt said. "Taking every possible precaution to prevent the further spreading of this disease is an important contribution to the welfare of our great state, and altering the schedule of our events is a way to keep our participants safe."

School officials say 53,000 students are out of school due to concern over the virus, and dozens of schools were closed to be sanitized.

The state golf and tennis championships are scheduled to begin May 11.

The state track meet, one of the largest high school track and field competitions in the country, has been extended from its normal two days to three and is scheduled for May 14-16.

All UIL academic competitions, including a state meet that was to begin May 7, were also postponed and will be rescheduled later.

With 16 confirmed cases of swine flue in Texas, Gov. Rick Perry announced a disaster declaration Wednesday for the entire state. The declaration will allow officials to begin emergency protective measures and seek reimbursement from the federal government.

(This version CORRECTS dates of state track meet to May 14-16, not May 12-14.)