A major, but frequently overlooked, part of a successful prep program is a successful junior-high program. Any junior-high program that instills all the basic qualities and fundamentals which coaches can draw on in future years can be considered a great program. I am in no way, shape or form saying that competitiveness should not be encouraged in these future high-school athletes. Having a team with a strongly competitive spirit often separates the winners from the also-rans. It does not matter if a person is a seventh grader or a senior with a strong leadership role - everyone would rather win than lose.
Sports only get better with practice.
But that in no way means these sporting events should not be attended or that they are not exciting. Just as the fundamentals and qualities needed to be successful in sports should be instilled at this early level, so should community support. These young athletes are out on the tracks, fields, courts and mats giving it everything they have - striving to be as good or better than the high school athletes they watched and idolized for years. Copyright 1999 North Platte Telegraph Online and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.