Two weeks? It's been that long?

I blame the economy. It will be my standard answer until this darn recession is over.

Well, a lot has happened since May 6. I could spend some time recounting the ways, but if you've seen my bylines over the last week or so, you know where I've been. And I have a lovely tan to show for it.
But no T-shirts, never a T-shirt.

What I would like to do is spend some time again pleading with the Santa Fe Public Schools to not do two things:
- Get rid of middle school athletics in lieu of an intramural program.
- Get rid of your high school athletic managers.
Yes, I am biased when it comes to sports, but I will add this. I feel that every teenager needs to be involved in some sort of after-school activity. It doesn't matter if it is athletics or if it's band, drama, mock trial, chess, lacrosse, fencing or even choir. What matters is that these programs are there for kids. And not just for a select few - all students.
These programs do more than keep kids off the couch and away from trouble. They promote the general qualities all young people need to learn and acquire before they head out to the real world.
Such as:
- Learning to function within a group.
- Growing their social and networking skills.
- Giving them opportunities to develop interests that could lead them down the path of a viable career. Or even a good hobby.
- Instilling self-confidence.
- Learning how to adapt, drive and overcome obstacles.
- Dealing with failure and how to cope with it.
Those skills help produce not only better quality students, but also better quality human beings. So often, we complain about the things that people do or don't do, and many of them are simple things that we were taught growing up.
Like respect.
Or sympathy.
How about understanding?
And maybe even taking action?
We see so little of those qualities nowadays, and I blame the loss of those because of the sedentary and sometimes nomadic nature that teenagers have learned over the decades. And I believe it comes from the lack of interaction they have with their fellow peers and with adults who are there to help instill the core values of what a community should be about.

As for the athletic managers, my defense is simple.
If you've ever wondered why an event ever goes off smoothly - or not - look at the athletic manager/director.
If you've ever enjoyed an event - or didn't - regardless of the outcome on the field, look at the athletic manager/director.
If you've ever thought about all the little things it takes to make an athletic event function, talk to an athletic manager/director.
If you ever want to see who is the first person in the gym and the last one there at night, ask an athletic manager/director.
It may seem like a gift title where all you get to do is watch games, matches and meets, but so much more goes on than the naked eye.
I wish somebody would tell the school board about the long hours a good athletic manager log - perhaps Joe Moulton, who has been the rock of Gibraltar at Capital High. A good athletic program is the product of a good athletic department leader.
It might seem like the head coach and the players make the difference, but a coach can focus on his duties on the court or field because a good athletic manager takes care of the little things.
Like equipment.
Uniforms.
Transportation.
Scheduling.
Meal money.
Booster club management.
Financial accountability.
In short, an athletic manager - or director, or coordinator, or whatever the title - does the things that go unnoticed by the casual fan - or administrator - but are appreciated by those in the know.
Without them, athletic programs fall apart.
Without them, Capital and Santa Fe High are going to find out how.
It might be worth the savings now, but you'll pay more for it in a few years.
When everyone is laughing at how pathetic those two programs become.
You've been warned, SFPS.
You've been warned.