Return to mother ship should be penalty-free

Sports choice - The idea behind school choice is that it puts the emphasis on performance and reputation and allows a student from one public school district to petition for admission to another.

Cape Henlopen deals with a steady stream of school choice applications and just last year approved close to 150 choice applications from grades one through 12. There are no restrictive participation rules for academic transfers; after all, it's not like academics are as important as athletics. Imagine telling a talented math and science student and a Cape district resident transferring back to Cape after sophomore year that he or she would have to sit out trigonometry and physics for a year because “that's the rule.” The silly “sit out” rules apply only to athletes. Real choice is scary to sports programs because some athletes will come home from the private and technical schools if the penalty is lifted. Is the penalty punitive? Well sure, it's a penalty. Why not allow students to return to the mother ship - home district - whenever they want without a sit-out period? The board of DIAA hears a steady stream of waiver requests to set aside the sit-out transfer rule from student athletes and their families, usually citing some financial, academic, family or social hardship. Waivers are sometimes granted; the word gets out, so other athletes wanting to come home may logically conclude, “I'm getting a waiver, too.”

Silhouettes on the sidelines - Unemployment is over 9 percent, but some parents need to “get a job” and stop stalking the sidelines of their kids' practices. Trust me, your own kid hopes for the day when he or she can look beyond the fence and not see you. I often tell coaches, “The better the team you put out there, the more people who want to coach them, and it goes without saying some parents can coach your team better than you can.”

Forced choice - All schools teach students about making informed choices that will keep them safe and healthy, not to mention lead them to future successes. Sometimes athletes who have always done the right thing are forced to make a choice they don't want to make. I like the example of someone suddenly pointing a gun at your head as your mother stands behind you. In that split second you have to make a decision: do you duck? The dilemma sometimes happens for well-rounded, two-sport athletes who are asked to give up perhaps their best sport on weekends because the coach feels they should keep a single focus, citing the argument, “We're not good enough to be doing two things at the same time.” I don't want to prejudice any parent by offering an opinion on this issue, but I can tell you that the decision of the coach on this policy is final. And I'd tell all coaches to have all your rules and policies written down; and if you're too lazy to do that, then you forfeit the right to say no.

Sharp turn - My big brother Tom was impressed by Shannon Sharp's NFL Hall of Fame induction speech, especially the part in which Shannon said he was the second-best athlete in his family, giving the nod to his twin brother Sterling, who is not in the Hall of Fame as his own career was cut short by a neck injury. Brother Tom will be on the ballot for the next Lower Bucks County Hall of Fame, which by the way is located at an I-95 rest stop. "They were going to put your name on the ballot also but didn't want to run the risk of two Frederick brothers in one year or rejecting both in the same year," Tom said. I told him if he got in I wanted to introduce him but I was going to do a reverse Sharp, telling everyone, “It should be me getting a rest stop wall plaque.” "Immortalized on a bathroom wall is never good," Grandmom Rose said.

Snippets - Caravel Academy softball, coached by Lewes's own Randy Johnson, has won the Delaware state softball title the last two seasons behind pitcher Carolyn Szymanski, who still has two seasons left to pitch. On Aug. 13, Laurel won the Senior League World Series for ages 13-16, beating Puerto Rico 2-0 in the title game, which was telecast on ESPNU. I am not surprised Laurel won the game played in Roxana. Delaware girls can play some softball. What I'd like to see is a Caravel versus Laurel game put on the schedule for 2012. Go on now, git!