As a coach, the Oct. 11 story, “Haves, Have-Nots: Football’s year-round demands hard for less-affluent athletes,” is, in my mind, a mandate to re-evaluate the contact rules for high school coaches. It is apparent that the lower-income families have less access to outside coaching and it is showing up on the playing field.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association could solve this by giving access back to the educators and coaches who are right there and can be a major influence. Contact rules were put in place because of coaches who overpracticed or forced specialization of athletes. Unfortunately, the rule has just separated the “haves” from the “have-nots” and taken true life coaching away from many athletes that need it. Wealthy families spend thousands of dollars paying for offsite coaching and the less fortunate are penalized by contact rules.
Giving access to athletes wouldn’t cost the state any more money and would help develop all the athletes across the socioeconomic board. High school coaches are educators and major influencers of young people, so why would we have rules that regulate access to a positive influence?
Korey Kier
Vancouver
