State Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, succeeded in persuading the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee last week to advance a bill to allow high school swimmers and divers to also practice with nonschool club teams year-round. It’s of concern that lawmakers are meddling in the rules of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, which forbids such crossover participation. Another thing: Why should such dual training apply only to swimming and not to teen sports across the board? And anytime one lawmaker is pushing a bill inspired by personal experience — Schmidt’s two sons are talented swimmers — the rest of the Legislature needs to ask: Is this legislation really necessary?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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It’s been known for a long time on the coasts that club training is much more effective than high school training in sports such as swimming, soccer and tennis.In some places the schools say, “We want you to win games and races for us. You’ve gotten extracurricular training. We’ll take it.”In other places that have a backwards ethos, the sentiment is, “It’s not fair. Your parents have given you training other kids can’t get.” But, actually in many cases, it’s a matter of parents making sacrifices: A new HDTV vs. swim-club dues to benefit our daughter. We’ll invest in her.These kids get college scholarships and earn degrees that might not be possible without their athletic skills. Some even go to the Olympics. Kansas outside of Johnson County has a strong anti-excellence prejudice. This is why the state’s economy is weak. It is why Wichita’s top-rated public college preparatory program is International Baccalaureate, not Advanced Placement. It’s why a lot of Kansans don’t want to let Johnson County taxpayers pay more money to educate their kids. It’s unfair to cultivate young talent maximally. Never mind that they might then be able to help other Kansans. Kansans love to shoot themselves and everybody else around them in the foot. Not very smart.