Wir suchen Dich! » driver Chris Amon, who was conside

Last week, our local county recreation department opened team registration for kids winter basketball, which is like a national holiday for overly-invested sports-parents.I coach second graders and wanted to create playing opportunities for as many of them as I could, so I expanded the roster from one team of 12 to two teams open to 20 kids. I reached out a fellow dad about possibly combining his team with mine. As it turns out, he was disbanding his rec team and taking his son to a private league -- a choice he has every right to make, of course. He wasnt the first kid to leave our school league, and as a firm believer in rec leagues, it saddens me that he probably wont be the last.Ive been thinking about a comment made at an Aspen Institute Project Play panel I hosted on revitalizing in-town sports leagues. Ryan Eckel, vice president of branding for Dicks Sporting Goods, told the audience the name rec league is undercutting the mission of the local organizations who run them.That point resonated with me, so I followed up with Eckel for some clarification:The word recreation implies fun, which is what these leagues should be, because thats what will keep kids wanting to participate.?But it also implies a lack of seriousness, which I think undersells all the very serious benefits of this type of sport participation.In a culture when parents are constantly being reminded of how competitive it is to get into -- and expensive to attend -- college, and the options are elite or travel and recreation, its easy to see why parents would choose the elite option. But the parents who pull their kids out of the in-town leagues in favor of the elite programs are the ones who can afford to do so, and this pulls dollars out of the in-town leagues and reduces their relevance.Between playing, parenting and coaching, Id say I have accumulated about eight years worth of time in the rec league. I know first-hand the benefits of a well-rounded sports experience that includes fun and skill, but the larger effect these local leagues have on kids throughout the region -- including introducing them to organized sports in the first place -- cant be denied.Is the answer as simple as re-marketing rec leagues as something more compelling or exciting, like elite or travel? On the one hand, we want to encourage a return to in-town leagues; on the other hand, we dont want to intimidate or put off families who arent looking for an intense experience.Eckel made a rebranding suggestion that made sense to me: calling it a developmental league, which puts youth sports in their proper perspective while still providing the cachet of progress toward a bigger goal -- after all, it works for the NBA and USA Basketball.Obviously, more compelling marketing isnt enough. Local county-funded recreation organizations could call it the Best Way For Your 8-Year-Old To Get Accepted Into College League and it would still require improved infrastructure, investment and parents willingness to be involved.For now, the colloquialism I typically use that makes the most sense to me is friends team, because in the end, that is the thing about the experience that the kids themselves notice and appreciate most.Wholesale Shoes USA . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. Yeezy 350 Sale . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. 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The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference.WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand motor racing driver Chris Amon, who was considered one of the best Formula One drivers of his generation, has died aged 73, his family said.The cause of death was cancer.Amon competed in Formula One between 1963 and 1976, starting 95 races, taking five pole positions and finishing on the podium 11 times without winning.American F1 champion Mario Andretti said Amonn was so unlucky if he became an undertaker, people would give up dying while three-time champion Jackie Stewart called him one of the most skilful and natural drivers ever to grace Formula One.ddddddddddddAmon won the 1966 Le Mans 24 hour race with compatriot Bruce McLaren. ' ' '