There seems to be an epidemic these days in minor sports. Not just in Estevan or Saskatchewan, but across Canada.
There just aren't enough kids signed up.
It has been a familiar story in the Energy City in recent years. In 2014, barring a miracle, there will be no bantam football team and the atom and peewee teams are also struggling to find enough players.
Minor baseball is also hurting, as there is no bantam team, despite that Haulers club excelling the past two years, and at the peewee AA level, there will only be a provincial tournament team.
We're seeing declining enrollment numbers almost everywhere now. If minor sports are to remain a viable option for kids across Canada to have fun, make friends and develop their skills, we have to reverse the trend somehow.
In order to do that, we have to find out why this is happening. Is it costs? That certainly shouldn't be the case with Estevan Minor Football, as equipment is provided. Is it that some kids these days would rather stay inside and play video games than play sports? Is it a fear of the kids getting hurt? Is it that parents are too busy and don't have time to run their kids around to their sports? Is it summer vacations? What is it?
Of course, it doesn't boil down to one of those things. Everyone has their own reasons for not wanting to play or not being able to.
I wonder if it has any connection to the similar epidemic of not being able to find people to volunteer on minor sports boards.
It's becoming extremely rare that every board position is filled at the annual general meeting for minor hockey or football or baseball. In many cases, there are multiple positions left to be filled.
We are all so busy these days that we want to take advantage of our down time and relax. We have too many things crammed into our schedules and don't have time for extras. There's no right or wrong and those decisions are up to each of us to make, but minor sports organizations sure are hurting as a result.
It might be worth considering for these associations to reach out to their communities and try to find out why there aren't more kids coming out. Perhaps a forum could be held or people could fill out a form anonymously.
Widespread societal problems never have easy solutions, but we have to start looking.
Contact Josh Lewis at 306-634-2654 or sports@estevanmercury.ca. Do the members of the Philadelphia Flyers' front office drink too much every year on June 23? Their trades on that date point to something being amiss.
