How about fewer nights for sports

Back in the old days, everybody went to the big game on Friday night. The boys played basketball or football, the girls played volleyball or took part in the pep club.

That was before Title IX required an equal number of sports for boys and girls, and such changes were needed. It wasn't fair for boys to enjoy more sports opportunities than were available to girls.

So, sports were added for girls, rather than subtracting boys' sports, and that was good, too. No one wants any athlete, male or female, to be deprived of an opportunity to excel.

But now, decades later, we are still dealing with the effects of expanded athletics. Now, it's not just the big game(s) on Friday or Saturday nights, but the big games on Tuesday and Thursday nights as well. When it comes to tournaments, games can be any day of the week.

And, the old rule that there are no games if there is no school seems to be gone with the wind as well, and many spend Christmas holidays on the court instead of with families.

For schools the size of McCook, the situation is especially trying, with students facing hours on the road, on school nights, driving to opponents' towns for the game, and then expected to be wide awake for class the next morning.

There is not much let-up when it comes to warm-weather sports such as tennis, golf or softball, but most of those meets are during daylight hours.

This is not to detract from the value of sports in an academic setting. Nothing improves morale more than a winning team, and a positive mood permeates all parts of a learning institution. Many an athlete has improved his or her grades solely to remain eligible for sports. Learning teamwork and striving to do our best are valuable skills in any area of life.

Any mandated schedule changes, of course, will have to be made on a statewide basis, so one school and its athletes are not put at a disadvantage.

But let's not allow athletics to be the tail that wags the dog.

High school sports, varsity sports, at least, should be confined to Friday and Saturday nights.