Middle School Sports Eliminated in Charlotte

CMS started "Pay to Play" this year. It is $100.00 for HS sports per season and $50.00 for MS sports per season. The Charlotte Bobcats made a huge monetary contibution also. All of this money was to support MS sports. However, F&RL folks could fill out a waiver. With more than 50% of all CMS students on F&RL the amount of funds collected dropped tremendously but there should be some money including $500.00 of my own for HS sports. Why I'm paying $100.00 for each HS sport to support MS sports when MS parents only have to pay $50.00 is beyond me. HS sports get NONE of that money.

I think they're "crying wolf". More people will agree to a tax increase to support MS sports because it pulls the heart-strings, but truth is there is a lot of other BS they could cut - like CMS TELEVISION for one. Administrators and support staff is another. I'd say cut MS sports and then see what they're going to whine about not having enough money for next. I can guarantee you it won't be long.

Now, I no longer have a "dog in the fight", because my two MSers refuse to play MS sports because they feel they can get better coaching and play better competition in rec leagues and travel ball. Their goal is to improve their skills for HS.

CMS is a "clusterf***" and has been for a long time. They've ignored the massive growth in the suburbs and built state-of-the-art schools in the inner city, thinking that they could resume busing once the suburbs schools got overcrowded. Well, when people saw the crowded suburb schools many opted for saner areas like Union and Cabarrus Counties, thus eroding the overall tax base. Many who didn't want to sell have opted for private schools. Now they have schools that are half-full. Serves them right if you ask me.

Just my $.02

 

Well, I could comment on the state of Detroit today and say that is not a good example but I wont. However, there is some merit in the idea that new communities should pay for their own infrastructure. Why new homes do not have an infrastructure tax applied to them that would pay for the new schools, roads, traffic lights, etc... is beyond me. The surrounding community should not have to fund the improvements that new homes demand of an area.

Despite all claims, homes do not contribute a positive amount to the tax base, that is a developer/county commissioner lie.

The thread may resume to its regular rant....

Why do middle schools have interscholastic sports anyway? This should be handled at the rec level or at the very most, intramural.

 

I Thought The Lottery was going to fix all of this.

 

No dog in this race....HOWEVER

MS sports have a tremendous value that you cannot put a dollar sign on and should not be considered for termination until every last conceivable option has been tried...and fails.

For some kids middle school sports may be the difference between overall academic success and failure. MS sports made all the difference in my daughter's life. She has battled dyslexia and a visual/cognitive distortion throughout her entire education and by 6th grade had decided when she grew up she would join the military because she was too "stupid" to be considered college material. The introduction of MS sports into her life completely changed her. The grade requirements to participate in sports was directly responsible for her determination to battle her LD's. A fantastic coach - to whom I will NEVER be able to express enough appreciation - instilled in my dd that not only was she "smart" enough to attend college, but placed in her head the idea of playing BALL in college. She became even more determined and set out to prove everyone that said she couldn't or never would or wasn't capable WRONG.

Directly due to MS sports, my dd is preparing to graduate from high school this year. By her choice, she stopped taking LD classes and started taking honors courses. This semester she slammed an academic homerun again with straight A's. She is a member of Beta. She is graduating with a great unweighted GPA and a fantastic weighted GPA, in the top 15% of her class. She has been recruited to play by several schools and has committed to play for another fantastic coach at the next level. She plans not only to complete her bachelor's degree - while playing the game she loves - but to go on to become a teacher and coach while also obtaining PT training. The military is not even on her long list because MS sports and a coach inspired her to overcome all the obstacles which should have made her fail.

When she begins her college softball career, she will be wearing the number her MS coach wore in HS himself...as she has for the last 6 years of school and travel ball. Every time she is on the field, she is honoring him for giving her the dream and as a reminder of how much her life changed in MS.

MS sports fulfills a vital role in the life of our tweens and early teens. They don't only help keep the kids off the street and directed, they also can help children, like my dd, SOAR.

 

Excellent! This is the kind of result that makes it all worthwhile! And it sounds as if it will be passed down to other kids! Congratulations to your DD!

 

Very touching story that needs to be posted for all young ladies to be able to read. And even coaches,parents and teachers.

 

YEA

Great story and shows what an influence a positive and caring coach can be to kids! Kudos to this coach and to a family that recognized his impact. I am sure there are many more kids this coach has assisted but if this was the only one, he changed a life for sure!
Kudos to the kid as well! She certainly over came an issue in her life and proved to all she was special! Please let people know when they have an impact in your life as they may be needing assistance as well.
Sports can have a very positive impact on all whom participate as long as all of us remember to keep everything in perspective! It is only a game! A game to enjoy, to develop relationships, to improve our skills, and to challenge us to go beyond what we thought we could accomplish, and to hopefully help us learn to work with teammates, coaches, umpires, and yes parents and fans for the enjoyment of the game.

 

I was an AD in CMS for 3yrs as well as a coach for 9yrs. The budget I was given and the "RED tape" you have to get through to get these Student-athletes anything is mind boggling. It is no surprise to me that CMS is having to make such a crucial and unfortunate decision. Operating a full athletic program off a budget for ONE team is a task. Who is hurt? The innocent as usual, kids.