Hey parents: High school sports aren’t life and death

Last week’s fiasco is yet another reason why people in general need to take a chill pill when investing too much into high school.

The average person lives, what, 80 years? High school is only four of those. A blip on the map. A whopping 5 percent.

But some parents seem to think it’s the end-all, be-all, the most important time in life, life and death.

Unfortunately, Big Foot football coach Rodney Wedig fell victim to one of these, “Everything you do will be defined by how successful you were in high school” types. Wedig, a loving father of six and one of the nicest, most understanding, smartest coaches I’ve every worked with, learned a hard lesson: When it comes to your kids, all bets are off.

Wedig was warned with an e-mail that his failure to give a certain senior playing time was a bad idea. When the coach didn’t respond in the exact way a parent wanted, the parent took it to another level.

Along with two others, the parent showed up at the school and had a meeting, which got “way out of control,” according to Wedig. It was later leaked that physical violence was threatened. So much so that there was extra police security at last Friday’s game.

Luckily, Wedig left the game, which the Chiefs won to go to 7-0 by the way, without incident.

But will he ever be the same?

A strong, confident guy who is too big for the Average Joe to intimidate was shaken. He said he even considered giving up coaching. Decades of success including a state title, and the sure-fire state Hall of Famer contemplated early retirement.

I feel Wedig’s pain, and I’m fuming right now. I’ve had parents try to get me fired, and, since I’ve started this new job, received phone calls almost daily about how “my kid wasn’t in the paper,” “Where’s the story on my kid?”

Do you want the team in the newspaper, or just your kid? That’s a serious question parents need to start looking in the mirror and asking themselves.

Granted, I haven’t been threatened with physical violence, but one situation was a tad sketchy.

I was sports editor in Lake Geneva, and I was working a basketball game at Badger High School. A parent walked down from the stands at halftime, charged in a fast walk toward me under the basketball hoop and got within inches of my face.

“Why don’t you get the cheerleaders in the paper?,” he screamed. “Why isn’t my daughter in the paper?”

I was 30 seconds from popping this dude in the face, that’s how close he was to me. Thankfully, I ignored him as best I could, and he was escorted off the premises.

In the past week, I’ve talked to coaches and parents alike. Sadly, several coaches recalled incidents where parents either threatened them or verbally assaulted them.

“It was scary,” one Burlington coach. “I left the meeting crying.”

Burlington High School Athletic Director Eric Plitzuweit told me Tuesday night that it’s just the nature of the job to hear complaints. As a parent, he understands that it can get difficult because parents become so invested in their kids.

What’s the deal, parents? What is it? Are you disappointed with your athletic accomplishments? Is the only way to make up for that to have your kid do well in sports?

What are we teaching these kids? Sitting the bench is unacceptable. Being a team player doesn’t get you in the paper. If you’re not in the paper, your team doesn’t really matter.

You always get what you want, no matter what. Everyone should be the CEO. There is no second place.

I must be a throwback. I still play flag football, softball and the occasional pickup basketball game because I flat-out, unconditionally love the game. Thankfully, at Burlington, coaches like Hans Block, Tim Gesteland, Steve Berezowitz and Scott Staude taught me the most important aspect of high school sports – having fun.

Coaches, reporters, teachers and others should listen to parents’ concerns, but sometimes the kid has to learn on its own.

The next time you want to pick up that phone or send that scathing e-mail, practice a concept called empathy. Put yourself in their shoes.

Do they come to your work and tell you how to do your job? No, they don’t.

That coach or teacher or reporter or whoever may be going through something bigger than your concern. They may have a serious illness, they may have recently lost a family member or they could be experiencing financial trouble.

Wedig is the epitome of a positive role model for our youth, and he doesn’t deserve this.

Parents, the next time you want to go off on a coach or a respected public figure regarding your kid, think twice.

Ask yourself, will this ultimately protect or hurt my kid?

In the case of Wedig, this poor kid may never be able to trust his dad again.