Jocks and Candy Bars

I almost exploded yesterday. After an entire year of insisting that he wanted to run on the Lincoln South Youth track team, my 6-year old Spencer changed his mind and decided he wants to play t-ball instead. Of course the deadline for t-ball with the Junior Saltdogs League was a couple of weeks ago, now we would have to pay the late fee, so that the sport that we can't afford, now we really can't afford. Looks like we'll be signing him up with the Y.

Not that I don't love the YMCA-the Y is very budget-friendly, but every time we sign one of the kids up for a sport, no one steps up to coach. There's always a last minute dash for coaches. Why don't we do it, and volunteer our time to teach the little ones the finer points of soccer or baseball? Because I spent an entire summer of my youth doing cartwheels in right field (that's how great of an athlete I am) and Chris spent summers sneaking smokes behind the fieldhouse. Not exactly ideal coaches.

We did register 4-year old Mia for track, though. I love South Lincoln Track Club or Go Little Green. Its one of those organizations in Lincoln that has been around for forever (1967). These are 2nd Generation athletes, and the organizer Jerry McGinn is fantastic and still running the show. He refers to the kids as "ath-el-letes," never as little kids and treats each one of them as a super star. It's a great organization that lets each "ath-el-lete" compete and feel pride and embrace sports and camaraderie.

And Go Little Green is very affordable. It costs $85 for 10-weeks, the kids get a nifty t-shirt and shorts and every other week they win a ribbon of some color. At the end of the event in June, each "ath-el-lete" gets some kind of plaque or trophy and has a great time. To make things really affordable, you can participate in the fundraiser. You get 80 delicious candy bars to sell for a $1 piece, so really registration is just $5.

If you sell the candy bars. So far my family has eaten at least 10. (Keep in mind, we just got them yesterday). Can you imagine the argument when they come home from school, the smell of delicious rich chocolate in the air, an afternoon of learning taking effect on their metabolism? "Mom, can I have a candy bar?" "But we're supposed to make money on them," I plead. "But Mom, I'm really hungry!" The boxes just sitting there mocking them, teasing them.

Mia doesn't understand why we need to sell them at all. She thinks they are her prize for signing up for track. Sign up for a sport, get a cute little uniform and 80 candy bars. Isn't that the way the wide world of athletics is? And imagine if it were. Run a mile, get a snickers...shoot a basket, get a piece of cake...hit a home run and get a couple of beers and some nachos. The world would be full of "ath-el-letes." Granted we would all be enormously fat, but we would be athletic!

My point to this post is 3-fold. 1) If you have time on your hands and like kids and know a thing or two about sports, volunteer to coach. The Y needs you and so do the kids. Especially the ones with parents lazier than you. 2) Sports are expensive. If you are a rich millionaire, donate some money to kids who would like to play, but can't afford it, because they are from families with a lot of kids or their mom just lost their job. Start a fund or something. Call Jerry McGinn. 3) And finally, if you're craving chocolate, you know where to find me. All it'll cost you is $1.