Colbert Column

SPORTS

E xcitement in the air a s fall sports crank up

As I e n t e r m y 2 5 th year of doing this, one person I am going to miss is Brian Weidman. He was the person who hired me part-time at the Dixon Telegraph in 1996.

S p o r t s w r i t i n g w a s t h e A m b o y native’s lifeblood and now he is relegated to finding a new career after being told his position at Sauk Valley Media was eliminated.

This is a commonplace decision in the newspaper business and a sad state of affairs resulting in less and less coverage everywhere.

•••

With fall sports cranking up, there is excitement in the air, as towns comes to life. And in some of these communities, the football and basketball coaches seem to carry more clout than the mayor.

To that end, I heard a pertinent comment by Dr. Chris Brauns of the Red Brick Church in Stillman Valley, who hosted a Fellowship of Christian Athletes gathering a few weeks ago.

Moderating a discussion by Matt Trowbridge of the Rockford Register Star and Scott Leber of WTVO, Pastor Brauns mentioned that in small towns like ours, sports is when most of us see each other and how coaches are leaders in creating community.

Along that line, coaches have been subjected to increasing interference by parents in questioning team discipline, playing time and even game strategy.

At the same event, I heard Rockford Auburn basketball coach Bryan Ott say, “I’ve hardly ever had a parent issue and that is a sad thing,” in reference to the lack of parental support in the Rockford public schools. “But, at least I don’t have a parent shadowing me and asking why his son or daughter isn’t playing.”

C o m p a r e d t o o u r l o c al s c h o o ls where parents pitch in and help out athletics, Rockford public schools suffer from lack of the such.

So what is the lesser evil – the parent who questions the coach, but is willing to step up and do their part as a ticket taker, concession worker, etc. or the parent who does neither? •••

On the volleyball front, Rockford Lutheran, Genoa-Kingston and Rock Falls have separated themselves as the elite in the BNC. The NUIC has too many good teams to count.

Oregon found this out early in the non-conference slate with losses to powers Aquin, Eastland, Dakota and Le-Win. As some sports struggle with numbers, the Hawks continue to have good participation in volleyball.

The Oregon girls golf squad is having a strong season and believe it or not, will be teeing it up for post-season play in a couple weeks.

The conference meet is this Wednesday and the Hawks will be a serious contender.

Sorry that Polo’s football opponent this week, Decatur Lutheran, has COVID issues and won’t be able to play. Besides losing a home game, the Marcos would potentially lose the momentum they’ve had after two big wins against Milledgeville and Amboy.

Re-scheduling a football game is tough enough on late notice, but try doing it in a state with only 23 other schools playing 8-man.

That’s almost impossible, forcing Polo to maybe look out of state.

VIEWS Andy Colbert

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