Not everybody's fall break are the same week.

 

Thats the first thing to change, make everyone have fall break at the same time.

And they aren't all a full week. Boone County takes a Friday and the following Monday off. They schedule the game on Friday night and have the bye the previous week.

 

Everybody west of 65 seems to take a full week off for fall break.

The problem is most Fall Breaks fall within the KHSAA district matrix...so not only do you have a game, you often have a district game. Also a lot of districts have a full week off for fall break.

Then don't sign up to play for the team. You know going into it that fall break will be during the season. If that's an issue don't play. Same for baseball and spring break.

 

That said maybe the KHSAA should just mandate all teams off week be during fall break.

 

I agree with all of this. My kid plays basketball but if he played football or another fall sport then we would not be vacationing during Fall Break. He would be honoring his commitment to the team.

So team over family?? I get what you are saying. The team commitment is important, and I for one have never taken our kids from their teams over any break...spring, fall or winter. But I also understand the year long grind that is required for most sports, which didn't exist when I played. With the way we discuss and bemoan the lack of time families spend together, it's hard for me to criticize a family that values their time together over a sport that is played mostly for fun, and chooses to take time over a break to bond and enjoy some time together. That to me doesn't seem like a "me first" attitude. Seems like a family first attitude. And is that really a bad thing??

 

A decision to play a sport is a committment that Mom and Dad must respect, value, and work around. If no work around is possible, than the committment absolutely comes first. Family time is very critical, but the decision makers in the family have to value life lessons of committment over scheduling inconveniences. Take a kid on a vacation that allows him to selfishly let his teammates and coaches down and I guarantee the enjoyment of the vacation will be dwarfed by the regrets the young athlete will feel down the road.

Those breaks help recharge the battery.

 

Oh I'm sure it does, and if a school wants to do a long weekend, say take a Friday and a Monday...ok maybe. But a week (two weeks for both)?:no:

A decision to play a sport is a committment that Mom and Dad must respect, value, and work around. If no work around is possible, than the committment absolutely comes first. Family time is very critical, but the decision makers in the family have to value life lessons of commitment over scheduling inconveniences. Take a kid on a vacation that allows him to selfishly let his teammates and coaches down and I guarantee the enjoyment of the vacation will be dwarfed by the regrets the young athlete will feel down the road.

 

Again...I would never schedule a vacation in season. But it's hard for me, even as a coach, to be critical of family spending some time together. Especially as the family unit is becoming more and more endangered. I do think too often we elevate sports over things that should be more important. I get the fact that you can learn a lot from sports. But I think too often, sports can become life consuming, which isn't healthy. The other thing to remember, is most often, it is not the kid making these decisions.

Everybody west of 65 seems to take a full week off for fall break.

 

Some do two weeks. Bardstown was out two weeks and a day.

And do coaches "punish" players for missing practice or even games because of fall or spring break? In my opinion, just "going to the beach" and missing practice isn't a valid excuse/reason, and there would definitely be some making up to do (running, conditioning, etc.) when they got back. Heck, I even hesitate to call that punishment, that's just making up for what was missed during the absence. I think that should be more than expected, then add whatever on top of that as "punishment" for missing.

 

Family time is family time, and families should be free to enjoy it how they please. Should a player do fewer gassers if the coach deems the family's choice of vacation appropriate — say, only 20 if they went to the Holocaust Museum and Smithsonian instead of the 40 they'd get for "just going to the beach?"

Family time is family time, and families should be free to enjoy it how they please. Should a player do fewer gassers if the coach deems the family's choice of vacation appropriate — say, only 20 if they went to the Holocaust Museum and Smithsonian instead of the 40 they'd get for "just going to the beach?"

 

Suspect someone is playing a little "devil's advocate".

Everybody west of 65 seems to take a full week off for fall break.

 

It extends farther than that. NKY seems to be the exception to fall break and Jefferson County.

 

Lawrence County all the way in far EKY had a week long fall break the first week of October. I know Danville had theirs that week as well. Lincoln County had theirs last week. Bardstown (and, I believe Nelson County) had a two week fall break, and just went back this Monday.

 

It's from Pikeville to Paducah for the most part.

I don't see how a kid could take off for a whole week during football season. My post was with the assumption the break was from Friday through Monday.

I don't see how a kid could take off for a whole week during football season. My post was with the assumption the break was from Friday through Monday.

 

Mayfield's is Friday through Monday with no practice and many heading South to Florida for the week. We returned and this last Friday put a 52-0 beat down on a decent district foe in 4-3 Ballard Memorial

Had coffee at our regular Liar's Club this morning. 5 retired guys all 70+. Brought this subject up and concluded by this very limited sample: 1). Split 3-2, with the three former HS and college athletes all agreeing that team unquestionably came first. 2). Two non-athletes, but both had children and grandchildren in youth sports, felt team committment fell behind family vacations...no matter when it was planned. 3). All agreed that scheduling of school vacations and sports activities should be made in conjunction with each other (i.e. fall break means no football game is scheduled).

 

One other thought is that by the time our athletes have moved through youth sports with volunteer coaching to the high school level where coaching careers depend on the program put on the field, the committment (or lack of committment) to the Team and its Coaches becomes much more impactful than junior just missing out on playing a game

Mayfield's is Friday through Monday with no practice and many heading South to Florida for the week. We returned and this last Friday put a 52-0 beat down on a decent district foe in 4-3 Ballard Memorial

 

Bowling Green and John Hardin did the same. And, those are just the ones I know of off the top of my head. What you don't hear about are how crappy the practices are at places who have a game and/or don't have a game during fall break.