A SCOUT'S PERSPECTIVE - OBSERVATIONS & RUMINATIONS

It's that time of the year again. March Madness! High School playoffs are happening across the country. Conference tournaments abound. In California, we get a double dose of fun. Both high school soccer and basketball playoffs are in full bloom. One thing that most, not all of these playoff or tournament games share, is that it will be the end of the season for one of the teams, the last time that these athletes and coaches will ever be together. That fact alone heightens the intensity of the majority of these contests and piques the curiosity and attention of so many.      COACH STEVE FINAMORE I was reminded of the down side of March when I heard that Coach Steve Finamore's East Lansing Spartans lost their first round district game on 3/7/11 to Okemos High School. This is Steve's first year coaching at ELHS. Previously, he has been a head coach at the Junior College level and an assistant in college. His team had a sensational year under his guidance. They were...

I volunteered to be a youth soccer (AYSO) coach the second year (2001) my daughter played soccer. I was an assistant coach that year and in 2002 I decided to become a head coach. Since then, I have always been a head coach to all of my daughter's or son's regular season teams (13). I coach for many reasons, but the main reason I coach youth sports is because it allows me to bond and communicate my philosophy of sports and life to my children and other children. My daughter no longer plays soccer. She gave up soccer after playing it in her freshman year of high school to try basketball. She had an outstanding year as a member of her school's JV team, and if she decides to play next year, can be a valuable interior player on the varsity.  The sport that she loves is volleyball and she is currently training with a club volleyball team.  Soccer was her primary sport as a youth.  When parents ask me what's the first team sport their child should do, I reco...